Shannon M. Smurthwaite is no stranger to the kitchen.  As a young child she fondly remembers the experience of home cooking at her Italian mother and grandmother’s side, soaking up their culinary wizardry whenever possible. “Italians don’t write down their recipes!” This was one big motivation for tackling this labor of love called: Mormon Mama Italian Cookbook. “After years of searching for my mother’s kitchen notes and recipe cards, these longed for recipes literally began falling into our laps. I knew we had to embrace this project.” Her favorite thing about  these family recipes? “You don’t need a lot of ingredients to create a mouthwatering masterpiece. If you use fresh, quality ingredients – you simply can’t miss.”

Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Shannon’s evident first love as a small girl was studying art and design. “I drew on any scrap piece of paper I could find, and my mother kept it handy with pencils and pens.”  She began freelancing in high school and college. Her passion for design has opened many doors. Her love of journaling, family history and documentation has led to freelance writing. She has been featured in online and print magazines, feature newspaper articles and has enjoyed public speaking regularly. Mormon Mama Italian Cookbook is her first book, published in 2013.

Shannon and her author husband, Donald S. Smurthwaite, reside in Meridian, Idaho and are the parents of four terrific adult children and six cherubic grandchildren who are the center of her universe.      email: shannonisitalian@gmail.com