Just a guy who likes to cook! Since I am by myself, I can try lots of new things without having to worry about whether they are edible or not (which is nice!). I started cooking in grade school, mostly helping my mom with stuff, but hey, that's how you learn! High school years lent themselves to trying new and inventive things with stuff around the house such as ramen noodles, leftovers and what have you. From there, I guess the rest is history...tasty history at that! I live in Arlington, VA and enjoy things such as camping, hiking, gardening, fishing, boating, rollerblading, martial arts, sword and knife collecting, and of course cooking! If you're in the area stop on in and say hi, and have a bite to eat! Ah...I love stir-fry, it's so versatile! It's not just for Asian cooking either! Try a stir-fry pasta sometime, or a salad, you'll be amazed! I also love to bake, mainly cookies and muffiny-type objects. I basically like to cook two types of things...fast and easy dishes (like pasta, stir-fry, etc.) and slow cooking meals that don't need a lot of attention (soup, stew, etc.). Since I live by myself, it's not always worth the running around and such that can be a staple of some meals. I just want to relax and eat, and those two types of cooking are the best for that, definitely. Um...I'd have to say Beef Stroganoff, Spaghetti Carbonara, chilli, steaks on the grill, chicken with biscuits, lasagna, and many more! Our family cooking rotated around 20 or so dishes with, every now and then, a little something new sprinkled in. The nice thing was that they were all good, so no matter what we were having, it was sure to be tasty! If I had to pick just one favorite meal out of them all, well, I would have to say that the chicken and waffles my mom makes are my favorite. It's close, a few others are right up there, but yeah, that'd be the one. Ahh...hm. I'd have to say the time I made a "true" black forest cake from scratch...that was quite the adventure. Also, my beef and veggie soup. You cannot beat that on a cold day! Probably the best though was preparing a whole Spanish meal as a project for Spanish class in high school. It was quite the task, and I was able to do it with minimal help from my parents, which really made me feel good. I even made flan from scratch and was able to caramelize the sugar (my mom couldn't!). Though, with all my triumphs, my mom could kick my cooking posterior anytime, any place. No questions asked, hahaha. Well...perhaps the blue rice would be considered as such, but that was more of an experiment than a tragedy (the rice tasted fine!). Tragedy-wise, probably the time I burned my rice and veggies dish when I had company over...ugh. Burning food when you have company is about the worst thing that can happen. Other than those, there have been little disasters here and there, usually when I'm cooking for myself, which is nice because only I have to eat it then, ha!