I am married and have five children. I think that one of my weaknesses is that I worry too much about what other people think of my cooking, so I'm afraid to invite people over for dinner often. That's something I need to work on. I have learned over time that it's my job to make sure my family has nutritious meals and mealtimes that nourish the soul. Cooking is not my favorite thing to do sometimes, but I feel a passion about trying new things, and I love the good feeling I get when I serve a meal that I've carefully planned and and worked to create. I think that my favorite things about cooking is the way that it shows love to other people and how food and mealtimes can create and strengthen bonds with others. I LOVE baking! That's something I'll never grumble about! Cookies, from-scratch cakes, homemade bread, quick bread, brownies, pudding (the cake-like kind that's served with a sauce), fruit cobblers and crisps, homemade spaghetti sauce, lasagna, stir-fry, chow mein, casseroles (I love to throw things together), tacos (though frying taco shells is not my favorite task, I love the smiles this meal gets!), things that use lots of garden veggies When I was growing up, we had spaghetti every Friday. Often, my dad would cook the sauce. It was so yummy! Sometimes my parents would set up a big old blanket in the living room so we could eat without making too much of a mess while we watched a movie or two on a rented VCR. We loved that! My Dad also would make something called Birchermüesli for breakfast occasionally that he learned to make in Switzerland. I want to learn to make it, too. I also loved the smell of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies as I would come in the door from school on a cool fall day. My mom always seemed to be taking them out of the oven around the time we arrived. I also loved to help her make them at other times--and she always made sure we got at least one spoonful of dough to taste. She also let us lick the beaters anytime she whipped up a treat in the mixer. It's unfortunate we have to worry so much about food poisoning these days! As my kids get older, I look forward to establishing more traditions at o