I love baking and am just getting into cooking (by necessity and, to a lesser extent, by choice). I am a recipe follower and I hope to some day be good enough to stray from a recipe and create a dish that is truly fantastic. I enjoy spicy foods, especially Thai and Indian, in addition to Italian - spicy or not. I think a meal is not complete unless it includes dessert and although I love to eat "good" food and try new things, I don't eat red or processed meat (yup, not even turkey dogs). I think the process of cooking/baking is as important as eating the food. For me, food is a labor of love and I enjoy making things from scratch if the end result means an amazing treat. Cookies and cakes are my favorite things to make. Unfortunately, they can also be some of the most unhealthy things to make. Just a note on the way that I rate the recipes (for the most part). 5* -> Will probably make again! 4* -> Great; will probably make again if I want something along these lines. 3* -> I didn't think it was anything to write home about, but everyone has their own tastes. Probably won't make again. 2* -> Recipe was not something I would make again unless I can think of a way to fix it. At least the idea was good. 1* -> I can't fix this recipe, maybe you can? Baking cookies with my parents, especially during Christmas. My mom used to make her triple chip chocolate cookies often and I would always be the official stirrer :-) During Christmas, I would make thumb print cookies with my dad (the only time he ever was ever really in the kitchen!). Truffles....anyone who has enough patience to make truffles is crazy. When I was finished with those suckers I thought, next time, I'll buy them! Dry cake the weekend before a work bake-off. I had to make another chocolate cake without knowing the result beforehand. It wasn't as good as I wanted it to be unfortunately.