Although I live in Japan, I *hate* cooking Japanese food! It's so fiddly and tricky. I leave that up to my Japanese boyfriend, who, thankfully, is a good cook! We compromise - I chop, he stirs. I love making slices. Easy, delicious, convenient to pack in my lunchbox for work, and sometimes healthy. I made my Mum's Christmas pudding for the first time this year and it turned out well. Although she got it from a recipe book years and years ago, we're gonna tell my kids (if and when they exist) that it is a family recipe. How evil! ;-) I am able to make a perfect pavlova now. I never could when I was a kid even though I tried and tried. I have many tragedies. I always overcook the evening meal, not burnt, just mushy. I have no proper oven, only a convection oven (kitchen space is a real problem here), so cakes are overcooked on top and raw on the bottom. Forget baking cookies!