I'm an avian field biologist who does short-term contract work, so I move around a lot. To my non-bird-work-related friends I'm that girl that's into birds but amongst my work friends I stand out for my cooking. Sometimes my field crew lives in a field camp, sleeping in tents, and cooking all our dinners communally over a propane camping stove. However, I like the jobs best where we have a full kitchen as that greatly expands my cooking possibilities. It is easy to make friends by baking cookies and cinnamon buns to share with my coworkers. Plus I love to foster a sense of community by helping to organize communal sushi dinners and pizza nights. I really like to eat but I love to cook with others in mind. Most of all I love to bake sweet things-- generally cookies, squares, tarts, and pies. I also love to use a lot of fresh vegetables whenever possible, so I'm a big fan of stir-fries, salads, and pasta dishes. Working in the southwestern US I learned to cook Mexican-influenced meals with ingredients such as black beans, cilantro, and avocado. I love trying new recipes, especially through Allrecipes and by signing out lots of cookbooks from the library wherever I am. I learned to bake by helping my mum-- one of my earliest memories is helping make chocolate chip cookies and being not strong enough to stir the dough on my own! For the past 2 years I've been baking my own bread whenever possible. I am trying to cook more natural foods with less processed ingredients, so I am learning to read labels more and make my own from scratch (sauces, salad dressings, etc) as much as possible. I often find my cooking abilities limited, either through lack of equipment (most field kitchens don't come equipped with springform pans or food processors!) or by a tight budget.