I have recently gotten more involved with cooking because I'm back on a student's budget can't afford to eat out anymore! Now cooking is a great hobby of mine that I love sharing with friends and family. Anything vegetarian, especially healthy casseroles I can get a week's worth of dinners out of. I also love, love, love to bake, and to both of our benefits my boyfriend got me a pink KitchenAid mixer that lets me bake goodies faster and more often! Growing up I used to sit in the kitchen and talk to my parents as they cooked, and I remember those and some of the best conversations we had. Now I enjoy having someone keep me company in the kitchen while I cook! I also don't mind a drink and some good music as companions either :) Making my boyfriend's favorite family recipe just the way his mother made it. I was honored to get a copy of the recipe (the only one outside the family!) and love being able to make my boyfriend's favorite comfort food. Another triumph was making homemade gnocchi, each one shaped nicely with the tines of a fork - they looked like they were from a restaurant! The first time I tried to bake a cake, a really simple half-homemade one, it didn't end up setting, so I had "Cake-in-a-Bag," which was yummy, but had to be eaten with a spoon... Also, before I knew anything at all about cooking, I tried to make fudge. With no candy thermometer I didn't get the cooking time right and ended up making a fancy ice cream topping instead. Again, yummy, but required a spoon!