Doreen Howard

Doreen Howard is an award-winning author, former garden editor at Woman's Day, photographer and enthusiastic gardener. In her acre of paradise on a glacier moraine in the Upper Midwest, she's grown, enjoyed and photographed nearly 300 heirloom edibles.

She has lived and gardened in every USDA Climate Zone, except frigid Zone 3, following a corporate husband in job transfers from So. Calif. to Texas, to Oklahoma to the tropics to Illinois and now to Zone 4b in the Upper Midwest. Along the way, she learned how to adapt gardening techniques, cope with temperature extremes and pick the best plants for the climate.

An admitted foodie, Howard has created numerous gourmet recipes using the fruits, vegetables and herbs she grows. Her first book in 1992 (Cooking for Cash) detailed how to win cooking contests. It was based on Howard's adventures competing in national food contests. Her winning recipes always focused on fresh produce to accentuate protein and/or carbohydrates.