I am the mother of 2 and grandmother of 9, with one more on the way. I learned to cook at a very young age, and love experimenting with different foods and spices. Baking is almost an everyday occurance for me, mostly breads. I have a reputation for making winning preserves and pickles. Having my own garden helps. Canning and cooking are second nature to me. There are very few things I don't like to cook. Always experimenting, always searching for new and exciting foods to try. A gourmet at heart, I love to cook just about everything, from home made pasta and sauce to prime rib dinners to seafood. Fresh salads are a must with supper meals. Christmas wouldn't be the same without homemade cabbage rolls and perogies. Christmas Eve has always been traditional feast of seafood and salad. Easter again is traditional with baked ham and potato salad and a relish tray. Barbeques in the summer, all meals taken in the gazebo outside on the deck. Even breakfast cooked on the barbeque on Sunday mornings. I once cooked for a wedding of 125 people. I was 19 years old at the time and it was a task I took on with very little notice. It went off without a hitch, except for the servers that didn't show up. I have learned to cook several different ethnic foods and savor the flavours and tastes. I love to share my recipes and have learned many quick tips to help out in the kitchen. I remember the first pie I made as a teenager. The pie crust was so hard, it was like a tent over the cooked apples inside. When my father tried to cut it, the whole crust collapsed into the cake. It was edible but crunchy. My father never complained and this challenged me to find that perfect pie pastry and now all my pies are winners.