Let’s make something clear. I am not a housewife, mother, chef or an arts and crafts guru. I will own up to being a scientist with a severe coffee addiction (a fungal molecular evolutionary biologist to be precise) but unlike some other scientists, science is not my entire life. But it has wrecked havoc on my personal life. I moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2010 to further my academic and scientific training as a post-doctoral fellow, after earning my PhD at Duke University in North Carolina. I won’t say that the move has been easy. I had a long-term, long-distance relationship fail and I am thousands of miles from the important people in my life; my family (in the Pacific Northwest) and my friends (Texas, North Carolina, Oregon, California, etc). It’s just me and my cats. To say it’s lonely is an understatement.
In an effort to keep my loved ones tuned into my life, I started this blog August 2010 and had no idea of what it would turn into. An online journal? A food blog? An arts and crafts blog? A place to rant about science? So I named it the only thing I could think of: Puck (the Shakespearean imp) and Kudzu (the pesky, Southern invasive weed), after my cats. And it’s turned into an eclectic collection of the different facets of my life. Science and the life of an academic. The constant travels associated with being far from those you love. The occasional handmade project. Constant complaints about the Midwestern winter. The occasional deep thought alongside a completely silly one. But mostly it’s about food. Why? Because a girl has got to eat! And I do enjoy eating … and cooking … and as it turns out, blogging about the entire experience.
Feel free to contact me at puckandkudzu@gmail.com
Puck and Kudzu 
came across your blog. Which I like. I moved here a couple months ago and am hoping to meet new people and make new friendships.
When I re-located to Northern Ontario, Canada from Delaware – I was in TOTAL culture/weather/food/plant/you-name-it shock!! I have adjusted over 30 years tho. I live on an island and cook/eat EVERYTHING. I’m on Tasty Kitchen and Ravelry and live with a FORESTRY SCIENTIST. Does that tell you anything? Hang in there–I’m with ya !!!
I’m from the Windy City and recently started my own food blog. I will say, it is very therapeutic. Your blog caught my attention because of the scientist aspect. I teach middle school science and went with that theme for my blog. Most of my life is devoted to science since I teach it. You’re roasted beet risotto looks DELICIOUS. I’m definitely going to have to try. I will definitely follow your blog!
Thanks for the kind words … the cooking and the blogging were the only way that I survived the Midwestern winter! And each recipe is kind of like a science experiment … which I love.
AH … Beautiful blog! I miss American food so much. And the legit coffee of Minneapolis. My hubs and I moved from Minneapolis to East Asia not long ago, and are now working AND eating here (and… blogging/photo-ing, which is lovely). Still, thanks for the delightful read.
Cooking is sport, art & science! 🙂
Hi you have a beautiful blog, plenty of recipes that just ask to be made, and apparently all the chances at your side to have a post-post-doc science carreer! Very nice to read of a younger scientist, I didn’t make it after post-doc, I converted myself to being a midwife (still strongly interested in science, though) 😉 good luck and I hope you’ll let us enjoy your writings/cooking for still quite some time to come!
Hello! I found your wonderful blog completely by chance and wanted to leave a note about how I’m obsessively reading it during incubations. As a post-doc with academic aspirations , I am so comforted to see the human side of successful academics. Thank you for helping me feel that my goals are doable, despite (or perhaps because of?) personal setbacks.