I was raised by my single father. On his birthday one year, I was ten or eleven, I got up and made a birthday cake for him from scratch-frosting and all- I haven't stopped yet. So here I am almost twenty years later and I am a self proclaimed kitchen nerd!!! People are always surprised to find out just how much I do in the kitchen. I love to try new things all of the time and it gets the family into different things too. My "exploring" helped me start my own small catering business which I, unfortunately had to stop when relocated by the military. It's amazing the difference in foods available by region. I continue to cook and have modified many of my recipes.I like to know what I am eating or feeding my family and friends, and the best way to know this is to make our meals at home. I love to make anything and everything from scratch. I made a lasagne recently with noodles, sausage , cheese and the sauce (of course), that I had made all by myself, it was yummy!!! I also love to make bread the old fashioned way all by hand, it's a plus if it takes two to three days for the sponge to be fully ready. Time consuming, yes, but WELL worth it. I still use a mortar and pestle, the way my Mom showed me when I was just a child. My Mom still has the mortar she taught me with! My son requesting spinach souffle when he wasn't even two was pretty awesome More than I can even recall