I like to think of my self as a pretty good cook. At one time I was told that if cooking where an art then pasta and chicken was my medium. I've enjoyed cooking primarily pasta dishes in many creative forms for the last ten years. I'd say my kitchen has had quite the love affair with tommatos, garlic and all shapes of pasta! And then I recently took a food allergy test and learned that I'm allergic to almost all forms of grain followed closely by tommatos and garlic. Without a doubt this has been the largest tragedy of my simple existence! Suddenly I've found myself learning to cook all over again. So far the transition is going well and I'm glad to reintroduce myself to new and exciting dishes I had not previously bothered with having been set in my pasta loving ways. I've also been trying healthier recipies now that I'm getting a little older and thinking of the family I might have one day. My favorite dish is spaghetti! However now that pasta, tommatos and garlic are forbidden I'm begining a love affair with fish! So far I haven't met one that doesn't turn out good. I grew up in my grandmothers kitchen and am possibly the only member of my ya-ya esq group of cousins and siblings that can cook "just like Grandma." However the joy of cooking a great meal is best when prepared en ensemble! Cooking with friends and family, as a group effort, is the greatest cooking tradition in my home. I don't often bake. I really don't have a sweet tooth for baked goods...and everyone knows it. Everyone else in my family excels in this department so there is no immediate need for me to try. So if I venture into the realm baked goods its usually an adventure and some how ends up a comdey at my expense! So my largest triumph has been baking a cake from scratch and getting it out of the pan! I know this seems like small potatos but something goes wrong everytime the flour bag comes out! My other most notable triumph has been disguising tofu, which my husband says he loathes, into meals my husband enjoys without letting him recognize it! So far so good. Barbequeing chicken has been the bane of my existence for two summers! Wether it be kabob or leg, wing, or breast if it comes from my grill it will be chewy, burnt, or some other form of yuck! But I haven't given up.