I'm a happily married, retired grandmother who loves to cook. I also love to eat! Other than eating I love to fly fish, knit and listen to Il Divo. Actually, I've taught women's fly fishing classes and owned a yarn shop, but retired last spring, and I would LOVE to go to an Il Divo concert. We have had a lot of illness and deaths in our circle of friends and family this year, and baking yeast breads and knitting has been a great way for me to work out the stress. In 2009 there's no way to go but up! (And I hope it's not my weight!) I like to cook "main dishes" and bake bread. My goal is to make the perfect salt rising bread! You know, the one that makes the whole house smell cheesey (sounds better than "like dirty feet") when it's toasting. Mincemeat. You either love it or hate it. I love it. I make it every year in October for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, then have a couple of quarts left over to use throughout the year. It was a whole lot easier once my mom suggested that I cook it in the oven rather than on the stove top. Smart lady, my mom! And, she's 85 years old. Cabbage rolls. I make really wonderful cabbage rolls. I use saurkraut and bacon rather than tomato sauce to cook them in. My family often asks me to make them, and my DH can't stand the smell of them cooking, so I always cook them in a Crock Pot outside--spring, summer, winter and fall. I really like them better baked in the oven. Salt rising bread. I have tried 16 times, and ready to start the 17th tonight, to make the starter. I just can't seem to get the timing right. I did make it through the sponge and into the pan once, but I used KAF Salt Rising Yeast, and the flavor wasn't very intense. I really, really, want to do this for my 87 year old dad, who loves it toasted with peanut butter. Good thing he's in really good health!