My name is Brenda and I am a native Oregonian. I spent a lot of time in the kitchen with my grandma and began learning to cook, bake and can foods when I was eight. I loved it and continued to learn from her as well as books. I eventually learned to decorate cakes and went on to work as a professional decorator. I also entered our state fair many times and have won several blue ribbons for my work. I truly love being in the kitchen. I am a fresh veggie freak and I try to incorporate them into whatever I cook. I especially love to stir-fry shrimp with asparagus or green beans and lots of asian flavors! I think my favorite meal to cook is Thanksgiving dinner. It's an easy enough meal to prepare, everyone loves turkey dinner and it also lets you show off your baking skills! Some of my best memories were with my Dad learning to bake cakes! When my daughter was younger we spent many hours in the kitchen baking and decorating cakes and cookies! Now I have a granddaughter and I can hardly wait til she's old enough to join me in the kitchen! I think that anytime someone asks you for the recipe of something you've made that is a triumph! I was so excited about baking my first cake with my dad!! After carefully mixing all the ingredients we put the cake in the oven and set the timer. I was so impatient that I couldn't wait so I peeked in the oven... several times. The end result was a collapsed, gooey wafer. I was so disappointed all I could do was cry!!!