I seriously began cooking about four years ago following a rather unpleasant divorce. Kind of the "cook or starve" school of learning. It has been and probably always will be an experimental venture. I usually just end up combining items I think will go well together, not following any set recipes. But I must admit I have become bored with my own creations and joined this site for ideas to add to my meal planning. I mainly cook for my two teenage children so I usually do not attempt any thing too fancy as it would most likely be a wasted effort as their tastes have not fully developed. In the homemade Fathers Day card my daughter gave me this year she proclaimed my cooking was "extraordinary", so I must be doing something right. Usually pasta and rice dishes. Things that will feed bottomless pit teens for a relatively low cost. I wish I had favorite family traditions. All the elder members of my family passed on before I really began cooking so I missed my opportunity to gather some of their traditional recipes. I am my own harshest critic. Things people like I always feel I could have done just a little bit better. So there is always that next time when I try to up the ante and create a dish I enjoy. Nothing too bad yet. Forgetting to take the garlic bread out of the oven until it was charcoal has been about the worst.