I live with a basset hound, a shepherd mix that thinks she's a basset & 2 cats. My passion is birding and I also try to ID butterflies, wildflowers, mushrooms-well most things in nature. I love to cook and come from a family of good cooks. My brother is a professional chef but he enjoys my home cooking! I am a social worker with mentally challenged adults, most of whom also love to cook. I love to bake cakes & cookies, especially for holidays. I try to cook with local, seasonal ingredients more and more. I grow a few herbs, heirloom tomatoes & peppers & get the rest from our local Farmer's Market & produce stands. My dogs enjoy my homemade dog treats. I bake for various charity bake sales. My mother & grandmother cooked all the southern standbys and church "covered dishes" and so do I. I love all summer salads and fresh veggie dishes. My English toffee is requested often as is Cinnamon Rhubarb cake. The Crunchy Caramel Snack mix recipe I use came from Allrecipes & I have made it at least 25 times. It sells out at every bake sale & I always give Allrecipes the credit! I make salsa, jams, apple butter & various other goodies for gifts. I cannot make pancakes to save my life! Well, I can make 1 good one after the first 12 have to be discarded. I recently had some strawberry freezer jam not set after many years of perfect jam-oh well, it makes a good topping! I'm sure there are more but I can't think right now.