I live in northern California and have all my life. I'm busy with work, my husband and step-daughter, and our animals. I love to cook but don't always have the time, so I really look for those quick and easy weeknight recipes. I love using my barbeque--I rarely use my stove/oven during the summer months. I like slow-cooking and have come up with a few recipes of my own that we just love. Not much in the way of family cooking traditions here. We grew up on meatloaf, chicken, tacos, etc., which I still make. My husband and I bought 40 live crabs once, we made the most awesome cioppino ever! We threw a big party and served it to all our friends. It was the best! I guess just the usual things, overcooked meats, burnt garlic bread, stuff like that. I broil steaks just to test the smoke detector!