I have been cooking since I was 7yr. old. I was the second from the oldest in a family of 6 children. Everyone had to help out as things were tough at times. My first attempt at cooking was to break an egg into the stove burner. I improved after that and when I was old enough to take home ec. in H.S. I learned that I could make anything if I had a recipe. I have a vast collection of recipe books. I have all of the Taste OF Home books but my first and most favorite is the old edition of "The Good Housekeeping Cookbook" which I recieved as a wedding present back in 1974. It is in bad shape but I still use it. I would love to replace it with the same edition if anyone has one of that year. Soups and desserts. I love the smell of soup cooking on a cold winter day with bread baking. And I love making desserts, cheesecakes are one of my favorites. I am always looking for a new cheesecake to try. I have always done a lot of baking at Christmas time as treat, for my schoolbus and family. I now make the breads and my oldest daughter Lindsey now does the cookies. My youngest daughter Cortney, who is 16 makes a very mean pie crust and has since she was 12. Both will be great cooks some day. I make a Chocolate Mocha Cream Cake that everyone in my family just refers to as "the cake". I made it for my husband and son's birthdays, it is there favorite. I made this same cake on request for my son, Scot and my niece, Megan's graduation from collage and took them to the celebratory dinners. I could have sold them out side of the restaurant as we were waiting to get in. Just this past summer it was the wedding cake for my son's wedding. I made fish for my husband for a fri. night as he is Catholic and it is tradition for Lent. I thought I was topping the baked fish with paprika. When he started to eat it, he commented on how spicy it was. I had used cayenne pepper instead. He said the fish was good but to please not make it as hot next time.