I am an artist. I mostly oil paint, but enjoy drawing, graphic design and I am beginning to try my hand at printmaking. I love to see the beauty in the world and turn the ugly into something spectacular. I love decorating, shopping for/designing clothes, and cooking! Taste is very important, but presentation cannot be neglected. I love to experiment with different embellishments and serve-ware. DESERT (chocolate and caramel are heaven!), salads, soups, potato dishes. I am vegetarian and my husband is not, so recipes that can go either way are great. Marzipan is one of my favorite desserts and my family makes it every Christmas. For as long as I can remember, I have been helping mix the marzipan then dying it various colors and shaping it into little fruits. My neighbors count down the days until we bring some around. I also remember cooking with my great-grandma. She was the best cook that has every lived. Her rolls were perfection. My grandmother has been an inspiration to me. She somehow makes even the most traditional Thanksgiving recipes taste spectacular. As she has lived all over the country, she has always learned of new recipes, genres of cooking, techniques, etc. from the most interesting cooks. She has an extensive variety of knowledge. It is always great when some one asks for the recipe for something I've made. One of the first times I brought food to a get together with my in-laws, i brought a salade de maison. I thought a clove of garlic was what is really a bulb, so instead of putting 3 cloves of garlic in my dressing i put 3 bulbs! I couldn't get the garlic smell out of my house or blender for 2 weeks! My husband ended up using it as a marinade for chicken, so at least it wasn't all a waste.