I am a married and 29 years old.An ex lab biologist turned stay at home mom to a 3 yr old and 18 month old boys .. I began cooking regularly 4 yrs ago and like it. I also love art and as my hobbies I like to create jewelry , dance and photography. I have found that my chemistry and science background really helps me to undersand that cooking is like a huge biology project and chemistry experiment followed by a physics exercise with an artful ending. I just love it and enjoy experimenting. I like to prepare wholesome food for my children. I love the fact that children need lot's of calories so you can actually make their food flavorful and filling. Their food has to have eye appeal and a good nose. Preparing their food helps me to focus on attractive presentation and wholesomeness. Not to mention that the best feeling in the world comes when a super picky 3 year old loves the Spinach lasagna that you made for him. I have learned that the food that gets the best reviews from friends and family is that which is Sweet, salty, sour, bitter, creamy and spicy all at the same time. Like an herb BBQ chix salad with fruit, cheese and creamy lime dressing. I try to experiment with all those flavors as much as I can. During the holidays I like being Untraditional. It comes from my mom. She is the kind of cook that will make Ribs and cheesecake for Thanksgiving.. Or Salvadorean tamales for Christmas. As for myself, as a mother to young children I look forward to creating our own traditions. Like Building a gingerbread house for Christmas every year and therefore cementing the smell of gingerbread to family, closeness and food. Just lately... I can go to a restaurant and figure it out how to make a dish just by tasting it. It makes me feel so good to be able to re-create an entree in a better, healthier more original way. I suppose that is what experience allows you to do. I love taking a "gourmet" (fatty) meal and converting it in to a body wise Treat. I Got a tiramisu recipe from this website and after a few adjustments I've made it my own. It's one of the most requested recipes in my book. But the best triumphs come when the people I love take the meals I make and love them. When I was 18, I tried making tamales by myself for the first time in a steamer. I was cooking for my then boyfriend. I tried to do it from memory as I had seen my great grandmother, grandmother and Mom do. I knew the ingredients by heart but not the measurements. First mistake was that I did it all by myself and it takes a very long time to prepare all the ingredients. Well not only did I get the proportions wrong I also under estimated and under seasoned everything for fear of making it too salty or too spicy. It took me hours to assemble the tamales and When I placed the corn husks in to the steamer I didn't have enough of them to fill out the pot so they kept falling and tipping over.( Making tamales is a big batch situation). Too much work to just make a few. What a mess, they came out dry and bland. I learned that Having the right proportions and help is invaluable for a big time meal like this one.