I learned to cook from my mother and two grandmothers, who are all southern women. My Mamaw cooks by intuition because she was a farmer's wife and couldn't go to the store every time she wanted to, had to stretch dollars, and had a lot of frozen and fresh veggies and meats. I learned from her not to get stressed if I don't have an ingredient and how to improvise, and really almost all my cooking is improvisation. My mother taught me the art of baking a darned good pie, and her mother taught me the finer details of breads and soups. Any kind of stir fry, paella, tomato-based pasta dish, corn bread, and all kinds of pastries, breads, and pies.