I'm a single girl who loves to cook, but absolutely hates to clean up. I work somewhere that food is provided for us--as long as you're not going for flavor. I used to live with 2 guys who worked construction (how I learned to cook) so I learned to feed HUNGRY men. I'm simply complicated. I love what I love and I hate what I hate. That's just me. Anything that tastes good. Italian dishes seem to be something I wind up doing a lot (might be the heritage, dunno). Things I can throw together and move on with are always a plus, simply because of my schedule. If it's chocolate, chances are I'm going to try it at least once. Every Thanksgiving my grandmother would be baking Applesauce Cakes like crazy. She always sent one to my aunt and one to my uncle for their birthdays, which are right around Thanksgiving. Then there were the Apple Pies. And the ham biscuits every Christmas morning. Or the gazillion cookies that Mama and I make each Christmas. Those are the days when Glade becomes jealous of the way our houses smell... I learned. That sounds bad, but it's true. I was never that motivated to learn until I moved back home from college (in the middle of the year) because of my health. Around the same time, my boyufriend at the time and his best friend (both of whom work construction) moved in with us as well, and my mom became so ill that she couldn't get out of bed to do the cooking. Talk about trial by fire... It took me a little time to learn...:-)