My grandmother and mother have influenced me the most. I have always been in the kitchen, home, friends, relatives you name it. I feel the kitchen is where the heart of the home is where all can congregate and pitch in to prepare a wonderful meal that all will enjoy. I live in NW Montana and love mountains and beautiful Flathead Lake. I have owned and operated several restaurants specializing in Southwest New Mexico style cooking, in California and Montana. I love to bake and always from scratch. Mexican cooking is my favorite and am very good at it. I have created all my own recipes and have marketed several of my products locally. This products include Mexi-Tana Style Green Chili Seasoning Packets, Big Sky Fire, Red Enchilada Sauce and Cherry Amaretto Jam (local grown cherries). There are so many...it's hard to pick a favorite...but Christmas Dinner has to be the all time favorite. For the past 35 years it has always been the same and if it wasn't the complaints would be unrelenting.... I would say my creation of my Mexi-Tana Style products. My first beef stew when I was 17 years old. Oh my gosh....too much pepper, too thick, beef tough what a disaster.