I was raised in California but my mother was from the midwest and my father was from Greece. I have a good mix of midwest cooking meets mediterranean. I love to bake. I love to find new cookie and bread recipes and tweak them to fit my families tastes. I guess you can say I am the Cookie Lady. I make cookies every Christmas and each year add a new recipe. My sister does not bake very often. So, when I come over for Christmas they prefer my cookies over presents any day. Which makes me feel good. The first time I ever made cookies I was 9 years old. I was making chocolate chip cookies and I forgot to add baking soda. The cookies spead all over the pan. It lookied like a thin layer of cookies when they came out. Never did that again. Now when I cook, I put eveything on the counter and as I use them I put them away. That way if there is something left on the counter I know I missed putting it in the recipe.