I slowly got into cooking as a way to eat healthier. I like foods from around the world, and appreciate freshly combined ingredients. Sometimes I get a few laughs for getting excited about flavors and their aromas; for example fresh cilantro, ginger or lemongrass; and especially garlic sizzling in butter! Tasty! stirfry, sausage and peppers, couscous with chicken and vegetables, and lots of things in the slow cooker! My mother made a lot of great soups and stews when I was growing up; primarily because they were easy and inexpensive. The best things she makes that I need to learn are stuffing made with leftover bread, and brown gravy made with the juice of the Thanksgiving turkey. It's always the best part of Thanksgiving leftovers! Lemon Pepper Parmesan Mashed Potatoes, Baked Butternut Squash Crisp I made sweet potatoes without the marshmallows one year for Thansgiving based on some loosely given directions ("just do this, this and this...") and they were terrible. I'm a little better at experimenting in the kitchen than I used to be.