I have been cooking for as long as I can remember. As kids my brother and I would compete. Now I compete with my kids. Works out well for me because I get help....I was raised a southern cook. We cooked whatever we could grow. I love to try new things but I also enjoy simple recipes for busy days.But I must say family favorites are still our southern fare. Of course fried chicken. My kids still want chicken and dumplings as much as possible. I love spicy food so I prefer any Mexican food. I also enjoy anything I can find that include things for my garden. I grow a salsa garden every year. You can add fresh salsa to everything. You will always find jars and jars of pickled peppers in my house. From mild(for my husband)to very hot. I enjoy Asian food but not very good at cooking it. But I will keep trying. I am also not very good at baking. I guess because I don't care for sugar. I am in the process of teaching my son that chore. My son enjoys cooking as much as I do maybe more, he has decided to be a chef instead of going to med school. Do what you love..... Everyone gets to pick their birthday dinner, including family outside of the house. We also make cookies and candy for Christmas. I try to make sausage and gravy every week-end unless my kids have company and they are a little finicky. And every summer we all can our veges. When as a teenager I learned how to make dumplings better than my mom. As an adult, the first time I figured out how to add things to a cake mix and make it special. Birthdays are the perfect time to show the ones you love how much you appreciate them. Hard to do with a store bought cake. As I said before Asian food is a nightmare for me. My first attempt at beef with broccoli I used all fresh ingredients. Having never used ginger... Well as you can guess that was all you could taste. I have just gotten where I can stand the taste 17 years later...lol That is one of the reasons why I love this site. You get opinions of cooks just like you. I still tend to over cook every time I attempt Asian food.