My name Sylke is pronounced sil-kay. Over the last 2 years I suffered with severe, multiple illnesses. After many physicians and no real, long term recovery I began searching the Internet for my own cures. That is how I found out about the benefits of eating natural foods, growing organic vegetables/herbs, cooking with dehydrated vegetables/herbs, and curing illness with Chinese herbs. My health has been increasingly better with all that I have learned and how I have changed my cooking and eating habits. The Chinese have known about the healing properties of herbs for over 4,000 years and now I'm just beginning my journey. Don't get me wrong... I love junk food and goodies as much as the next person. I just make up for my occasional bad eating habits by increasing good eating habits. I love cooking homemade breads, soups, and casseroles using fresh vegetables and herbs from my garden. I grew up with a French Grandmother who baked the most fabulous deserts I've ever had so occasionally I like to make scrumptuous cakes, pies, cookies, and sweet breads from scratch. Since I was raised by my French Grandmother and often helped her in the kitchen as a child, I love making french bread, gravies, sauces, cold soups, and special egg dishes. In 7th grade Home Economics, we were given the assignment of making a pie from scratch. I did not follow the receipe the class was given for the pie crust and made the crust using my Grandmother's receipe, which I knew by heart. The Home Economics teacher was so impressed with my pie that she kept it in the classroom as an example of a superior pie. By the time I was allowed to take it home to show my Grandmother, the pie had begun to grow mold. Can't think of anything except for the time I got a new set of pans and everything I cooked in them stuck to the bottom and burned. Needless to say I wasn't very happy with the pans and threw them out before I got the reputation of being a bad cook. :-) Of course, if my husband didn't like something I cooked, I'd make him cook. He hates to cook!