Just before I moved out on my own, I started to express an interest in cooking mainly because I wanted to eat healthier and stop eating prepackaged meals. My mom always made home-cooked meals and never used prepackaged anything. I thank her so much bringing me up on good well balance meals and therefore inspiring me to do it for myself, and one day my family. I am in my mid-20's and living with my boyfriend and my cooking has developed to a pretty good skill level. I keep learning new things, trying new things and just enjoy food in every possible way, from cooking it, to eating it, to watching others cook. I love the Food Network and this site for inspiring me in the kitchen. :) I love cooking pasta but I am sure it's mainly because I love eating pasta. I also enjoy swapping fatty ingredients for healthier ones without sacrificing the taste. Cooking for an army regardless of whether you're actually cooking for 3, 4 or 5 people - Having no room on the table (bread, side carb dish, main meat dish, veggie dish and a salad)and just being a loud Portuguese family around the dinner table. It's not a well mannered table but a very happy and satisfied one. :) Learning to time dishes to finish at the same time. Transporting dishes to parties. Also, making healthy alternatives taste just as good if not better than their fatty counterparts. (ground turkey/chicken, milk/sour cream in place of cream...etc) The slow cooker. The easiest appliance out there but all recipes produce goo in my opinion.