After the 2012 launch of her acclaimed cookbook, “Ripe: A Fresh, Colorful Approach to Fruits and Vegetables,” Cheryl Sternman Rule wasn’t content to rest on the praise collected with its stunning debut. By 2013, she was at work researching her second offering, just released in April.
Recently, Rule was at the Gilroy Farmer’s Market with “Yogurt Culture: A Global Look at How to Make, Bake, Sip and Chill the World’s Creamiest, Healthiest Food.” The second offering by this smart and busy food writer stood ready to be signed and carried home by South County home cooks and fans of the valley’s freshest produce.
Rule’s books are a celebration of the foods she loves.
“My projects are authentic to the way I eat,” she explained.
Although she shies away from being dogmatic, she has a preference for the luscious creaminess of whole dairy, while at the same time stressing that people should develop what works best for them in fueling their bodies.
“Science is coming out with welcome news,” she noted when asked what is considered healthful eating today. “Healthy fats like nuts and olive oil aren’t the demons they were once thought to be.” Her journey didn’t begin in the more traditional way of food writers. Graduating from Harvard with a master’s degree in education, she went on to use her expertise in East Africa as a Peace Corps volunteer. Along with her husband, Colin, she spent two years teaching English to middle school and high school students.
Her food writing took off later after culinary school. And although she holds a professional chef’s degree, she doesn’t consider herself a chef because she never worked the line in a restaurant.
Writing professionally since 2004, Rule writes for publications that she responds to as a reader. Her work appears in national magazines, such as “Cooking Light” and “Sunset,” as well as inside the food pages of big media outlets like the Washington Post.
Living for a time in the Boston area where her two sons were born, Rule and her family came west in 2004 when her husband was offered a job with a major Silicon Valley firm. She says they feel very settled in Northern California now.
“I love the longer growing season (in California) and the availability of fresh foods,” she said. “But with the blessings come the challenges, like the drought we’re experiencing now. “
Rule also writes a blog called “5 Second Rule,” which has won multiple awards. In it, she keeps an impressive recipe collection and laugh-out-loud funny postings. Morgan Hill and Gilroy backyard farmers would relate to her hilariously creative “Top 10” post about what to do when you’ve grown too much zucchini.
Her latest effort, besides promoting her new book, is the founding of Team Yogurt, the collaboration of a panel of accomplished contributors sharing their knowledge about the versatility of yogurt at teamyogurt.com.
In all, Rule’s easy-reading style is rendered much like the foods she loves: clean, clear, bright and delicious.
