I'm a 23-year-old female framing carpenter, soft landscaper, youth worker and actor. I was a vegetarian for about eight years and learned how important it is to be able to make tofu -and a lot of other less desirable healthy foods- taste good! I love inventing new recipes for my family and friends, and my youth work keeps me hunting down and creating easy, healthy recipes for youth. Hmmm... I love doing soups, especially my French onion or wild mushroom. I also really like working with tofu, and finding new ways of making it delectable. But I really love baking. Pies are a specialty of mine. Home-made pastry, and stick-to-your-ribs hash (meat and bean stew dish). I make a fantastic dip with avocadoes and cooked shrimp... I'll post it sometime. And my dad loves my oatmeal-coconut-cream cheese cookies. But my biggest hit has got to be my Christmas gingerbread houses. I've had small children completely torn between wanting to devour them and wanting to play with them. Uh-oh... I once had an old electric mixer with a plastic head shatter in the bowl of egg whites I was beating for an angel food cake. I tried to get the bits out, but couldn't get them all, and then I couldn't beat the eggs into stiff enough peaks... so I ended up with a very flat cake full of plastic surprises. Happy birthday Mum.