I'm the eldest of four and learned my cooking basics from my wonderful Mum, though nowadays my Dad rules the kitchen. I've always enjoyed trying new recipes and finding new uses for larder staples. I'm known for whipping up a meal when it looks as if we have nothing to eat - and the results have been "interesting"! Soups are one of my favourites - so easy and the results are pretty good. There's usually something you can add to make it work, even if at first it doesn't seem quite right. I love trying new recipes - there aren't enough days in a lifetime to make all the things I've clipped out of newspapers! I'm one of those sad people that reads recipe books for fun. Mum's "Cut-And-Come-Again-Cake" - a crumbly fruit loaf that reminds me of home. Mum's cheesecake recipe, made with sieved cottage cheese and jello. One of the things I'll really miss now that I live in the US is our annual family BBQ at Manor Farm. Everyone brought different meats to grill and we had so many varieties of bread, salads and desserts. Wonderful! The best Christmas turkey ever. I roasted it upside down, no stuffing inside (of course), and it was absolutely perfect. The best part was that it was the first time I had cooked Christmas dinner for my parents. I was Queen of the Kitchen that day! And from allrecipes - Old Fashioned Coconut Cream Pie made for my step-daughter's birthday. Worked like a dream and she will love me forever! Trying to make bread using a Tupperware bowl (you're supposed to put all the ingredients in then move the bowl round in a circular motion.) Total waste of time and energy and the bread didn't work. Other than that I think all my disasters have been salvageable! I'm a big believer in "what the diners don't know won't hurt them"!