My basic philosophy about cooking and baking is food as a creative outlet. When I can't be creative, I favor simple uncomplicated foods. True luxury for me is buying the highest quality ingredients available, even if it means choosing from a narrower range of foods. I love collecting cookbooks though I won't go so far to say that I am a 'junkie.' I love baking: bread, rolls, muffins. Cookies: I don't like fussy so they tend to be drop or bar cookies. I favor good simple, uncomplicated foods that allow improvisation as well. For years I scorned most convenience foods in favor of ones made from scratch. I still lean that way but I do appreciate the value of time saved