I'm of latin decent and love spicy, but not too spicy - gotta be able to taste the food; therefore, I try not to let hubby cook...He spices the "heck" out of everything! :-) I am a fitness instructor and love working out. Also love to kayak & take our puppies for walks in the park. I also love the challenge of converting an "evil" recipe to a healthier one. Love to cook Mexican/latin food and making it healthier. Love to cook Italian, Mediterranean & Middle Eastern recipes. Love to bake anything lemony - lemon bars! Enjoy making Tamales from scratch for Christmas or New Years. I don't buy prepared Masa...I mix my own - love the challenge. The first batch of tamales that I made were really good! I didn't think I could do it well since it's such a long and arduous process. But, I discovered that with some advance planning, it's a much more manageable process. Oh so many! Most recently, I attempted to make "Eileen's Spicy Gingerbread Men" which was a disaster! I followed the recipe, but, those gingerbread cutouts kept melting & sticking to everything regardless of using wax paper & flour to counteract sticking. I had tried this recipe previously with the same results, but had forgotten. I didn't give up - I tried another recipe & voila! Success!