I'm a novelist and a budding chef; I've loved to bake since childhood, but since moving into my first apartment and setting up my own kitchen, I've never been more eager to prepare everything in sight! I get attached to a recipe and make it over and over again for months--so my favorites rotate. I'm very interested in expanding my pallet, though, and learning to cook some of the Middle Eastern classics I crave as well as some slightly experimental vegetables in more healthful dishes. I come from a dysfunctional family - a mother who hates to cook and a father who adores good food but orders pizza best. I've learned by experimentation, practice and interrogating my best friend and her mother who cook like their lives depend on it. Baking bread for the first time and having it come out beautiful and fluffy and golden. Occasionally the workings of new ingredients still elude me. I recently hosted a dinner party for some friends and the desert--a low-fat vanilla panna cotta--was ruined when I picked up jam jelly mix instead of actual gelatin. Still learning!