I have recently discovered my love for cooking. Pre about 8 months ago, i couldn't even make orange juice. I tried a couple recipes and realized that it wasn't that hard and a lot of fun. I love this site because i like all the reviews so i can tailor recipes to my taste before ever having made them. We are a complicated crew...I am a recovering vegetarian living with a recovering sugar addict/meat at every meal boyfriend. I started cooking in part because we are concerned about all the additives in foods (high levels of sodium, MSG etc). We try to make 70% of our meals vegetarian to leave a lighter footprint on the planet. Our family on both sides are foodies...some are traditional, follow recipe folks and others are throw things together and see what they can created. Regardless, the prep time talking/drinking/laughing is always the best. Realizing that it isn't that hard and that it really does taste better when you make your own food versus eating out. My biggest tragedy was attempting to make a hazelnut torte and realizing i was out of butter. Having watched my dad cook, he always used butter and olive oil interchangeably, NOT so with baking. I added olive oil to my recipe and ended up with a layer of green jello on the top. I proceeded to ice my torte but the taste gave it away!