I have my own apartment with a good amount of space to work in, so I took up cooking after watching my boyfriend whip up these incredibly tasting curries while visiting him in England. I am finishing up a college degree in biology and have a whole summer free to myself, so I've been cooking a lot! Although I like to bake delicious desserts, it is rather humbling to remind myself that my mom's 11 aunts and uncles (and her father) were all Type II diabetic, so I have cut that out and lost weight in the process (6 pounds in 5 days, only 25 or so to go!). I enjoy not spasming with diabetic shock anymore also. (I'm being tongue in cheek here) My dad has also been diagnosed with congestive heart failure as a complication of a congenital heart defect, so me and him have strongly had a bit of a wakeup call as to our health and quality of our life. We work together now to make food work for us, rather than harm our bodies. I am now more into cooking vegetables and fresh meats, stir fries, curries, and other wholesome food of known nutritional value and quality, rather than the empty calories of a cookie. I was always obsessed with my mother's cookies and brownies growing up. The only other person in the world to have her brownie recipe is my first grade teacher, and I haven't seen her in about 17 years or so. Ah well LOL My dad cooks some wicked Italian and I grew up strongly influenced by Italian foods and Mediterranean cuisine and "healthy portions," in the unhealthy sense! :) Everyone keeps coming back for more! And it's nice that my boyfriend can't mock my cooking anymore -- I'll show HIM next time I'm overseas. LOL I haven't had any yet, thankfully! I always manage to burn the pads of my fingers or chop a hand open or get spattering oil on my face at some point whenever I cook, though. LOL no pain no gain!