I'm the head of the bulk dept. in a popular natural foods store in Eugene, Oregon. We specialize in organic produce, natural foods, gourmet items and gluten-free products. On my off time I like thrift shopping, reading digg, used book shopping, reading, biking, frisbee, video games, and of course, cooking. I love experimenting with new things. I hate stagnation in the kitchen, so I'm often reading recipes to come up with new stuff. I've been slowly acquiring cookbooks on various topics, and I'd have to say bread and the use of herbs and spices are what excite me the most. I see bread as the final frontier. Baking takes much more skill than most cooking, in my opinion. And I love stealing Alton Brown recipes. Did I mention I love him? The traditional foods that my family have made for holidays are surprisingly boring and conventional. This last thanksgiving I spiced it up a bit, making a green bean salad with bell peppers, home-made crispy onions and a bacon topping. It was amazing. Oh, there have been a few. Mostly I'm impressed with my new ability to incorporate more flavors into my foods, by either using fresh herbs or more exotic, interesting produce. I've not read through my whole recipe many times and ended up not having something or not realizing how long it was going to take (e.g.: making pretzels from scratch at 11pm. I finished around 2am.) I've gotten better at improvising though.