I am one of those people that loves everything about homemaking; I enjoy being in the kitchen and gardening. When not at work, I can be found puttering in my kitchen, "cooking, baking, and frying", as my spouse says!More often than not, I am constantly trying new recipes, adding and changing ingredients to see if I can make it better (sometimes it works out better than expected, sometimes I have to give my head a shake, but that's how you learn, right?). Anything that doesn't come from a bag, box or package. Seriously, I find it relaxing to come home and spend time making a meal from scratch. I especially love to make desserts as I am a walking sweet tooth. And thankfully, I have a husband who is my guinea pig and encourages me in all of my culinary experiments. My mother was a fantastic cook. She was self-taught as her mother was not a good cook. Having a French Canadian background, and married to a Belgian, a lot of my mother's repetoire included adding a shot of beer to carbonnade, or rye whisky to a pork roast before it went into the oven, and I have carried on that tradition. My mother never wrote down or shared her recipes before she passed away, and she was known for her tourtiere, which was served on Christmas Eve. I was able to make a similar version of it, served it to my father (who has a very discerning palate), and he said it tasted just like hers. Having everyone over for Thanksgiving, I made scalloped potates that turned out grey. Tasted good, but looked so unappealing. Learned to never make them in a large dutch oven, and certainly not in a slow oven with the ham... Having said that, I am never disappointed when things don't turn out as I always learn. That is what makes cooking so much fun; it is an ever-evolving process for me!