VALDOSTA — When Kerry Montgomery was 13, she made an Orange Bread for her family and forgot to put in the leavening.

“The loaves turned out like lovely little orange bricks,” she recalled. “My dad (the late Earle White of Welland, Ontario, Canada) said they were the best he ever ate, and that he liked them better that way.”

It was her mother, the late Aggie White of Welland, who primarily taught her how to cook; however, “she rarely wrote down her best recipes.”

“I also volunteered with some wonderful cooks at a Christian kids camp in upstate New York,” Montgomery said.

“I experiment a lot taking the best from everyone around me and my favorite cooking magazine, ‘Cook’s Illustrated.’ I love to take regular recipes and make them healthier or lighter; my favorites are chicken parmesan, and salmon filets with pineapple/mango salsa.”

When she’s not cooking, Montgomery enjoys stained glass, working out at the YMCA, horseback riding, home decorating, reading and watching movies in her spare time.

She is a housewife; a full-time volunteer with B.J.’s Bible Club, a prison ministry; and a member of Covenant Baptist Church.

Born and raised in Welland, Montgomery graduated from the Women in Trades & Technology Program at Niagara College.

Her husband, Don, is an Energy Manager at Moody Air Force Base. She has two adult stepchildren in Ray City and two “wonderful” stepgrandsons.

“I lived alone for eight years before I met my husband, so I didn’t do much cooking, unless it was a special occasion, so now I am rediscovering the joy of cooking,” Kerry said. “Somehow, I don’t think he minds being my guinea pig.”

For our Pumpkin food page today, Kerry made her Pumpkin Cranberry Walnut Bread (although she couldn’t find cranberries and substituted dried cherries). The photographer and writer could both attest to how great and moist it tastes.

“Once when making pumpkin pie, I had some pure pumpkin left over and didn’t want to waste it, and I found a recipe on the back of the label,” Kerry said. “I added walnuts and have started to use cranberries instead of raisins in many recipes; I love how tangy and juicy they are. I’ve made this many times, keeping one loaf for us and using one as a gift.”

In fact, a husband and wife, who are friends of theirs, will immediately cut the loaf in half so they won’t fight over who gets it.

Kerry also shares her Pumpkin Roll recipe.

“This I made because I am not a big fan of pumpkin pie, but wanted a pumpkin desert for Thanksgiving; this did the trick.”