When I feel down, I like to bake! It makes me happy. It is art. I could do it every day and not get tired of it. I love cooking too, except when I have to do it too often and it is "expected" of me. In both baking and cooking, aesthetics are very important to me. I also love shopping for ingredients. I could spend hours happily browsing ethnic food stores and specialty food stores gathering just the right things. I love learning about new things to eat and to flavour foods with. I am a big fan of mouth-watering healthy food that is made from affordable ingredients. It doesn't have to be expensive to be delicious! I am self-taught and have been inspired by living in a very multicultural city and reading a lot. I love baking, especially cakes and breads. I like to bake and cook things that are a bit challenging (for example, making things that meet a wide variety of dietary restrictions). I love cooking healthy things, spicy things, and things from many ethnic traditions. Although I like a bit of a challenge, I still prefer whole foods. So I love exploring different ways to make simple food taste amazing. For example, finding awesome dressings and spices to make grains and vegetables special. German cakes and Christmas cookies. After years of disasters, I finally mastered flaky pie crust! I tend to not watch cookies in the oven carefully enough and burn them too often.