Damaris Phillips

“When I think of summertime as a kid, I think of my Grampy's gardens full of tomatoes, buckets heaping with blackberries, and countertops lined with an assortment of Ball jars, ready to can the flavor of summer.”

“Where we can, I'd like to cut out sugars. I don't want to make food that is unhealthy.”

“Most people think to make green bean casserole around Thanksgiving and Christmas, but honestly, I make this dish more during the summer, when green beans can be found fresh at the market. I think it is the perfect meal when served with crusty bread, a bountiful salad, and a cup or two of wine.”

“My favorite way to cook is to look in my cabinets and see what I have. That's the most fun. 'I don't have tomatoes, but I have this chili-garlic sauce from the Asian grocery store. Let's throw that in there and see how it affects my beef barley soup!'”

“The tradition of canning is still very close to my heart; that's why I'm so excited to team up with the Ball Home Canning experts at Newell Brands to share how truly rewarding the process can be.”

“For a food lover with a big imagination, there's nothing worse than eating the exact same meal several days in a row.”

“Instead of focusing on what my body looks like, I try and focus on how my body works - how strong my body is.”

“I'm all about creating fun, new ways to enjoy the delicious dishes left in my refrigerator.”

“For me, love always means spending time with people. And whenever you spend time with people, you're going to end up getting hungry at some point - so I bring food.”

“My husband is a vegetarian. So it has really pushed me as a chef. Just thinking about the food that I really relied on as my hunny-hunting foods, that looks different with a vegetarian.”

“I would like to help people cook more.”

“I like to create events where people are going to make memories, and that always starts and ends with food in my life.”

“My journey was never hard; it just happened. From the second I held a knife, from the second I was in culinary school, it's all felt too good to be true. 'This cannot be my job, my life. Somebody has to be kidding with me!'”

“I was going to be a writer, and that turned into journalist. And then that turned into a career in children's literature, which turned into early childhood education, which turned into psychology, which turned into premed, which turned into nursing school, which turned into communication, which turned into marketing and advertising.”

“If you want to eat more vegetarian food, you don't have to become a vegetarian. It doesn't have to be an identity overhaul.”

“It's always good to update your food. It's always exciting to learn and update new flavor profiles.”

“Some companies out there make a great burger; Beyond Beef does a great job. But making a burger at home that feels soul-satisfying and fatty and protein-based while still being plant-based was a challenge.”

“I don't think it exists anymore where you have to be a vegetarian or meat-eater. There's this beautiful gray area that we're all living in now; it just takes some exposure to the different ways to do it.”

“Cooking is one of those things that is universal to people. And any time you can teach somebody a way to connect with all people, there's so much joy in it. And it is always going to be exciting.”

“There are tons of vitamins and minerals you'll get in plant-based foods that are not soluble if you don't eat fat.”