My mom is a fabulous cook. Her secret? "Don't cook until you absolutely have to. Try to flatter the men into doing it first. If that doesn't work, pick three ingredients that have a lot of flavor, and then go." anything with pasta, bread, all desserts, stir fries, breakfast foods mantoo (Afghan dumplings), qabili (rice, chicken, carrot & raisins, cooked in a giant pot), homemade aush (noodle and meatball soup), cheesecake (my brother's specialty), hummus (my dad's masterpiece), cookies (my staple since grade school) every time something doesn't burn or dry out! The time I forgot to add flour to gourmet dark chocolate cherry cupcakes (the kind with kirsch and super-expensive chocolate). I cried a little, inside.