I've been cooking since I was a little girl, thanks to my mom's wonderful guidance. I've just always been interested in food and experimenting with it. My true joy is cooking for others and also recreating recipes to make them healthier, but keeping the flavor. I cook because I'm single and picky and would rather know everything that goes into my meal than have to guess what someone else has done to it! It's also therapeutic for me. I love baking: cookies, cakes, pies, etc. I love trying a new dessert on my family friends and watcing them enjoy it. I started making Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake bars for the holidays and they won rave reviews (still waiting for allrecipes to post it, though!). I also just love making dinner, homemade and fresh everything. Yummy salads for lunch, too. No real favorites...if it's healthy and I can freeze leftovers, I've probably tried it or tried to re-make it! Every holiday, my sisters, mom and I divide up the cooking. I usually handle dessert just because they all trust me with it! I do try to be a showstopper with my many creations every holiday! I don't know if I've achieved a real triumph yet, but I remember the days when flipping pancakes and eggs were challenging. Thankfully, I think I've improved that skill of mine! I have many goofs, but that's the fun of it all. I get upset when I don't make something delicious, but I try to go back and figure out what went wrong. My first "goof" memory was when I was 11. I made my dad beef stew with dumplings and put too much of one of those gravy thickeners in the stew it turned out like paste! I was so sad, but have never made that mistake again!