I grew up in the heart of the Appalachian mountains where we lived on good ol' down home cooking... hearty meals meant for hard working people. Now that I live in New Jersey, I'm expanding my tastes and I love all types of food, but nothing beats my roots of WV! I tend to love baking more than anything... but as long as someone else will clean up, I'll cook. The things I remember the most are holidays, especially Thanksgiving and Christmas. My family always went all out. My grandmother was a wonderful cook who never measured anything. At Christmas my mother's cookies were known by all! They were the most anticipated treat of the season. I miss those days. I'm mastering some of my grandmother's old-time recipes. No gourmet for me. No real tragedies to speak of... yet!