My dad always used to tell me he would feel sorry for my husband whenever I was married, because as a younger child I joked that we would just eat cereal 3 times a day so I would never have to cook or do dishes. That was when I hated both. All that changed when I volunteered in the Kitchens at Christian Summer Camp for a few weeks; suddenly, I loved to cook. I came home and started cooking up a storm, baking cookies and bread and fixing supper as many times a week as my mom would let me. I've slowed down a bit since then, but my view of cooking has been forever changed. Rather than viewing it as boring work, I now think of it as an exciting chance to create or remake. I graduate from high school in May and I'm not yet sure what God has for me, but cooking will always be in my future. I like to change things up every time I cook. I never make the exact same thing twice, even if I'm using a recipe. I love salvaging old soups from the freezer and putting a new spin on them with some fresh vegetables or different spices. Mostly I love cooking with no accountability, simply experimenting and creating. Every Christmas Eve we have the same menu: stake on the grill, sautéed mushrooms, Joe's Potatoes (Joe being my father, who actually took the recipe from someone else), and homemade rolls with homemade jam. All of this is eaten by candlelight. It is a wonderful family tradition which we wait once a year for with much anticipation. My Junior year of high school I decided to try and make a little side money by baking cookies or brownies and selling them at school. I was already very busy with homework, church, family, and cross country (which was why I didn't have time for a real job) so the venture ended after a semester, but while it lasted I built up a little reputation and was never strapped for cash. Many cooking tragedies have occurred in my brief career as a Chef, most due to lack of patience and over confidence in my ability to cook without a recipe. During my time in the cookie business I had many batches come out flat or just plain gross. However, I learned to disguise my failures by turning them into granola. The BEST granola I've ever had came out of a failed batch of Cran-raspberry pinwheels (a type of cookie). The Cran-raspberry granola was delicious and I guarded a bag of it in the freezer for a few months slowly snacking on it when I thought no one was looking.