I am a devoted single mother of three wonderful children (Dante', Aleya, and Ya'Shua). My favorite thing to do is cook and/or bake. I also enjoy the wonderful times I get to spend with my children. We like laughing and joking around together while they watch me cook. My son Dante' thinks I'm the next best thing to Rachel Ray.LOL. I'm excited about being a member of the allrecipes family and I hope I will add a little joy to your family with some of my recipes as well. My all time favorite things to cook are Squash casserole, Broccoli casserole, and my highly praised Red Velvet Cake. My favorite family cooking tradition is when my mother and I stay awake all night to cook Thanksgiving dinner. We have been doing this since I was about 12 years old. My cooking triumph is when I baked my brother and his wife's wedding cake. It was a Red Velvet Cake, but I had never tried baking a cake that size before. That was the turning point of my baking life. All of the guest wanted to know who baked the cake. I received several orders from both family and strangers after that. I feel so proud of myself for accomplishing this milestone. The most recent cooking tragedy I suffered was when a coworker of mine ordered a cake from me and the cake stuck to the side of the pan causing it to look like all the skin had pilled off of it. I was so embarrassed.