I'I'm all about eating on a budget, so I'm thrilled when I can find healthy, cheap, and satisfying recipes. However, I'm learning more and more that cheap food doesn't necessarily mean quality food, so I'm trying buy a lot more fresh produce (esp. at the summer farmer's markets!), and to eat seasonally. My challenge to myself each week is to pick up an unfamiliar fruit or vegetable and make something awesome with it. I love to bake, especially dessert/sweet type dishes, but I don't do them as often as I used to. Lately I've been more into learning about cooking beyond the "meat and potatoes" diet I grew up with as a kid (though I'm certainly still a fan!) - I'm really excited about Asian, Latin, and various other flavors. I love making Wassail and TONS of cookies with my family around Christmas time. I also loved that my mom let me help her in the kitchen as a kid. I make really good grilled portobello mushrooms, and one of my favorite recent dishes was the "Best ever party appetizer" recipe on this site. I also made a really good pork shoulder roast recently, which was a cut I had never tried before. One of my biggest baking disasters happened when I was probably about 10 years old, and it still haunts me! I somehow put waaaay too much butter into chocolate chip cookie dough (like, over a stick too much). It melted and then burned onto my mother's best cookie sheets.