Living in Seattle Washington lends itself well to having hobbies that keep you indoors such as watching movies, reading, and of course, cooking and baking. But the rain doesn't keep me indoors all the time. Hiking, biking, and running in the rain can be a lot of fun too. The smell after one of our Northwest down pours can't be beat! But now that I have a husband and a one year old time for hobbies is rare! I love to make all sorts of baked goods but am starting to enjoy making dinners for family and friends. One dish dinners are especially good. It frees me up to spend time with guests! But I do love to experiment with cuisines from around the world. I have yet to be able to match what I can get at local restaurants but I'll keep trying. Too bad my husband likes about 10 things, all boring meat and potatoes type stuff! Being German, Swedish and Norwegian means growing up with lots of lefsa, lutefisk, and brats. But living in Seattle has exposed me to all sorts of different foods including middle eastern, asian, morracan and indian foods. The first time I tried to make yeast bread was a total success. I couldn't believe I didn't end up with a football. The first time I tried to stir fry a dish was almost a total tragedy. I put the wok on high, added oil and flames just shot up! Of course, I saw fire and thought adding water would be a great thing. Not for grease fires for sure! I decided it might be best to leave stir frying for take out only from then on.