Started cooking in my teens, because everyday food when I was growing up was not the greatest. Think minute steak fried in butter and make a sauce by adding hot tea in the pan. Back then, spices were: salt and pepper. I have since cooked, baked, barbecued, steamed a lot of stuff. I continue to experiment with various ingredients. Though not much of a dessert eater myself, I love to bake them. My current experiments involve ice cream. I make at least one batch a week. My favorite so far is a chocolate, peanut butter and brownie concoction. It was simply sinful. Every Christmas Eve, the kids come to my place to celebrate. For at least the last 25 years, I have cooked and baked something different. Everything is made from scratch and no two menus have been the same; THAT is the tradition.