I live in China and I love it. I love the people. I love the culture. I love the food. Living internationally, cooking Western food can be a challenge so I often find myself experimenting with local ingredients and flavors. I enjoy learning Chinese cooking methods and am trying to learn how to cook real, authentic, Chinese food. When I crave a taste of home, I often like to attempt new recipes. Baking sweets (cakes, cookies, breads, etc.) is my specialty, but I also enjoy cooking savory dishes as well. Though I have some good stand-bys, I am always looking for new recipes to try. One challenge, however, is that a lot of recipes call for ingredients that I can't find here, so I am often forced to make substitutions. As a result, I am always looking for recipes that use all fresh ingredients and don't require specialty items or spices. Red velevet cake for my dad's birthday...Mmmmm.... Trying to use dried beans instead of canned...I almost burned down my apartment building when I was boiling them. The burned bean smell was in my apartment for weeks!