With our children grown and gone, there's much less cooking to do. But my husband and I try to eat fresh, healthy meals with smaller portions. Yet my dream is that one day I will be able to cook for/with my two young grandchildren. Jack & Caroline, live far away in Walla Walla, WA. (Boo-hoo) Hopefully that will all change someday and I will be doing the "Nana cooking & baking" thing... you know, all those tummy-warming yummy recipes that go with a nice cold glass of milk or a mug of steamy hot chocolate. Some day soon, I hope :) I taught myself to cook when first married - lots of horrible beginner meals, but my wonderful hubby stood by me. Now, 37 yrs. later, he is glad he did. I'm a pretty darn good cook, if I do say so myself. My favorite types of food to prepare are desserts and casseroles. I especially enjoy making fancy, multi-step, impressive baked goods and complicated dishes that others will not attempt. I guess I'm just basically a show-off. :) My family has always chosen any type of special cake or dessert they would like to have for their individual birthdays. We also discuss and vote on what special Christmas Eve meal we would like to have each year. For Christmas breakfast I love to search for special new muffin, scone, or coffeecake recipes. Thanksgiving is always wonderful with everyone crowded into the kitchen helping out - and especially wonderful if relatives come down and make it even more crowded. My favorite and most appreciated cooking over the years has been for the volunteer groups I've worked with. I love to surprise people with dessert gifts when least expected - esp. at Xmas when I've made up to 30 different kinds of cookies and given large boxes of assortments to friends. I enjoy throwing parties & once threw a large office Xmas party at our home in which I prepared - hot & cold hors d'ourves, special Christmas cakes, cheesecakes, 100's of different cookies and candies, etc., all by myself -- and enjoyed every minute of it! My biggest & most exhausting triumph! Never again ... probably. :) My biggest cooking tragedy was many years ago when we invited friends over for Thanksgiving dinner. I had only once before cooked a turkey and this time couldn't figure out what I had done wrong. The turkey temperature would not rise high enough on the thermometer after hours of cooking. We finally decided it must be "done" so served it anyway. We were all sick the next day because it turned out that I had the oven on "broil" the entire time the tented turkey was cooking. I'll never forget that "Turkey Day" and unfortunately, neither will my friends.