Welcome! I’m thrilled you’re here. I hope my recipes and ramblings will inspire you to create a life of truly shameless indulgence. In our complex and beautiful modern world, we have access to such a wealth of resources—so many options for how to spend our time and satisfy our cravings—that it’s easy to overindulge and lose track of what’s important. The solution is to develop an outsized appetite for everything that's good for you, to make life-affirming choices without ever sacrificing pleasure. My goal is to put a positive spin on the idea of gluttony by helping you...

My focus is on seasonal, nutritious, delicious and homemade. I’m partial to bold, bright flavors, exotic ingredients, homegrown vegetables and creative cocktails. I try to avoid white sugar and, since my husband is gluten-intolerant, I incorporate alternative grains and flours. I’m into nutritional healing, herbal medicine and foraging for wild edibles. I love a project, which can mean anything from fermenting kombucha to making candles to keeping bees. I enjoy eating out and traveling immensely, but I firmly believe there's no place like home.

You can listen to me talking about all this, here. And read a little more here, here and here. I'm also a frequent contributor to Edible Hudson Valley, have a monthly column in my local paper, The River Reporter, and a regular segment on WJFF's Farm & Country called What's Cooking.

GET IN TOUCH! I welcome your comments and questions on my posts, or feel free to contact me directly with offers for writing projects or product reviews at gluttonforlife [at] gmail [dot] com.

SITE CREDITS
Design: Studio Lin; Programming: GrayBits
Unless otherwise specified, photos are by Laura Silverman.

Glutton for Life is protected by Creative Commons License 3.0. You may share my work but please link back to this site. 

My name is Laura Chávez Silverman. I call myself a glutton because I’m greedy for all of life’s great goodness, and I find no shame in that. I’m a writer, a reader, a cook, an eater, a gardener, a forager and a world traveler. I grew up in Santa Cruz, California, a verdant paradise that instilled in me a deep passion for nature. After many years in Manhattan, in 2009 we made the move to live full-time in a 1935 cedar-shingle cottage in Sullivan County, just over the Delaware River from Pennsylvania. It’s wooded here and the air is pure. We’ve got our own raised beds for vegetables and a couple of great local farms, not to mention deer, bear, birds and creatures of all kinds. We still return to the city for regular infusions of urban culture (and grocery shopping), and travel the world, but we’ve definitely returned to the garden.

By we I mean to include my soul mate and husband George Billard, referred to on the site as G (out of a well-intentioned but mostly failed attempt to grant him some privacy), and our feline companion Titi, a brindle cat of strong character who is a great beauty and legendary mouser. George and I met online in 2005 and married in 2007. He is an accomplished filmmaker who originally graced this blog with his beautiful photography and has since let me loose with his camera (I still have a lot to learn from him, behind the lens and beyond). He inspires me, tolerates my eccentricities and generally makes me a better person. Plus he loves to eat, which is something I look for in a man. And in a woman, for that matter.

HERE'S WHAT I LOVE:

sharing food with friends • reading while I eat • eating what I’ve grown • foraging in the wild • roaring fires in winter • swaying hammocks in summer • turning over a new leaf • puns, tongue-twisters & verbal vollies • pickles, cheese, bourbon & caramel • cooking for loved ones • linen sheets • food markets in foreign countries • movies • a good hike • ferns, peonies & scented geraniums • textiles • vetiver, sandalwood & myrrh • chiles, ginger & salt • (almost) anything smoked • yoga • picnics, cookouts & camping • Baroque music • flea markets & junk shops • exotic ingredients • afternoon naps • dinner parties • a well-packed suitcase • a bargain • waterfalls • the written word

HERE'S WHAT I BELIEVE:

You are what you eat and how you live.

There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way.

Living well really is the best revenge. 


*In another incarnation, I am a freelance copywriter and creative consultant. View my online portfolio at www.bylaurasilverman.com.

Photos: top, Katie Lobel; bottom, George Billard