As a full-time working mom with three kids, I love quick recipes using fresh ingredients. I have learned through my job as a nutritional analyst for a national food chain to watch my family's intake of prepared and processed foods. I'm not a total nutcase; I still buy Velveeta occasionally because I grew up with it and who can resist buying Fruit Loops every now and then (because it tastes good!)? But, seriously, look at the label! I have tested from-scratch recipes and, with few exceptions, they are less expensive, healthier and just as quick as their processed counterparts. In my free time, I enjoy gardening, biking, camping, reading and dancing. Fresh is best! Salads, seasonal produce and home-grown herbs are my summer favorites. I love to BBQ, but I also specialize in soups and classic American comfort food in the winter time. There's nothing like a good chicken pot pie! I also grow a lot of my own vegetables and some fruits so I can preserve them for the winter. A pickle recipe called Yum-yums from my grandma is the most-requested favorite. As well as classic foods, I have studied throughout the years many French techniques and recipes with which to expand my repetoire. My family BBQs! In the summertime, we all go to a local lake for vacations and spend our days throwing horshoes and potlucking on the beach. I grew up learning how to cook from my dad, who retired early in life. He showed me how to really enjoy cooking. I took his teachings and expanded them to complement his recipes by creating my own sides, desserts and table settings. Cooking chicken! I grew up hating chicken because it was almost always overcooked and dry with no flavor at all! The same goes for white-meat pork. I learned how to judge when it's "just done," so that it tastes good and is juicy without being undercooked. At my first apartment, I tried out many basic recipes that just didn't work because I was such a novice. I went through a whole set of (cheap) pans where large portions of them had food burnt solid to them!