I'm the family CEO, chief cook & bottle washer. I've got a great husband (also my favorite chef), two awesome kids 17 & 27 yrs, so I'm almost an empty nester (1 down 1 to go). I love to cook, hate to bake. I have lots of interests. Yoga is my favorite thing lately. I read always, love to crochet, dabble in playing piano. I'm a big music lover, all kinds, mostly a 70's girl though. Cooking is really one of my new passions. I have cooked for my family for years, doing ok, the usual fare. My husband worked as a chef briefly in his twentys, so he is more confident and creative in the kitchen. Lately I've been finding my niche. I'm loving trying new things and am not so afraid to veer from the recipe. We've had a spice garden the past few years and that has really inspired me, I love fresh spices and am experimenting alot with them. We expanded to vegetables last year and that's been a great addition. I'm really glad I found this site, there are so many new ideas here! My favorites have to be stews and casseroles, must be my Irish ancestry. My mother did everything in the kitchen, cooking, baking, creating. I have lots of food memories. My favorite recipe of hers is a ham and potato casserole. She used to let me help her and from about 9 yrs old I was making it on my own. For a long time I was so slow at it the potatoes would always get really brown but she never tried to rush me. She always said it was fine and I was doing great.(Good thing the rest of the family only saw the finished product) We also had home made pizza night which we loved as kids and that tradition still stands in my house. My Chicken Tetrazzini can't be beat!! Veal Parm is another winner for me. I've had many. There's nothing worse than throwing away a whole meal and making a sandwich.