I love to cook! It seems I am always getting compliments on my cooking even from the best cooks I meet. If I have tasted it, I can tell what is in it, it is just my gift. So of course that leads me on great adventures in the kitchen. Many of my friends ask me for lessons, some actually get them, although I don't always like to give out my most coveted of recipes. If everyone can make everything I can, then how can I bribe people to come over and try them, right? Ethnic anything! I adore Asian, Italian, French, American, Vegetarian Dishes, Polish, Greek,Hungarian, Slavic, really whatever... I just basically love food. If I haven't tried it I want to, and chances are, if I have tried it I will make it sooner or later. My family, being Mayflower folks who settled in central Ohio, was basic Colonial food all the way, meat and potatoes. My grandfather always had a garden, so in Summer, everything was fresh, and his friend owned the local buther's shop so of course, so were the meats. Everything was special-ordered, a week in advance. My dad used to take me out to eat and that got me interested in the foods we would eat out. I always wanted to try the weirdest thing I could find in the menu or the most expensive item. Eventually this led to me making the things I ate out, both for cost-effectiveness, as well as for the ability to have them when I chose, without going out of the house. I now am paired with the sweetest man in the world, who happens to be both gluten and dairy allergic. I have had to learn how to bake all over again, using gluten free products. I have perfected it. He is happy, healthy and well-fed. Victory is mine! My worst hurdle was sometimes finding recipes for things like cheesecakes and flan, which were simple, but never met my standards of creaminess or richness or overall quality. I make up most of my own recipes, but some baking is trickier. Texture was a challenge when building formulas. We all have to break a few eggs to make an omelet so to speak,and thus was the case in my finding good recipes for some of my breads and baked goods.