I am a former legal assistant and owned a handmade appliqué business prior to developing some medical conditions that now prevent that. I still enjoy one of my all time loves, though -- cooking! I've been cooking since I was very young, helping my mother, picking up her techniques and developing my own over the years. I am a research hound and when I want to learn something about a particular cooking technique, I will read every tidbit available online -- yay for the internet! I love to create my own recipes and rarely measure or write down things. I'm definitely an "eyeballer" and cook by what "feels right". However, I do love to find a good recipe (like the zillions of wonderful ones here!), many times adding my own touches. Cooking, for me, is a creative outlet...but most of all, I love preparing dishes that my family enjoys. I know a lot of you know what I mean -- it's truly a gift you can give to those you love. Not too much makes me happier! :) Oh dear...there are so many! I love to bake homemade bread, desserts, comfort meals. I tend to lean towards fairly involved recipes. If only there were a way for everything to clean itself up afterwards! :) Truly, my favorite things to cook are my family's favorites -- whatever any of them especially like is what I love to make. Every Christmas (and sometimes Easter too), I make tart sized homemade chocolate pies that my son and niece LOVE. Since I make them so rarely, it's a real treat and they always look forward to those little pies. Like most other families, we gather for our holiday meals and tend to stick to traditional meats, veggies and desserts for those occasions. Sometimes I think, "Oh, no...not ____ again." But if it weren't served, I'd probably be asking, "Hey, where the hay is the ____?!?" :) Learning to make homemade bread. I was always afraid to try any yeast-based breads, but a few years ago, I decided to give it a go. So glad I did! It's NOT as difficult as you might imagine (give it a try!). Two favorites from this site are Fabulous French Loaves and Sweet Dinner Rolls. I also love Greek cuisine and am kinda proud of having learned (on my own...no internet back then) how to make gyros and tzatziki sauce, as well as spanakopita. Going back to the theme of my cooking, though, my triumphs are the dishes my family loves most! Well, should I even tell this? It's so embarrassing! Soon after moving into my home, I had to replace the stove. Made waffles one morning for my son and put them in the oven to stay warm. Just before time to serve, I cranked it to broil to crisp the waffles a little and moved them up one rack. Just in the time it took me to pour juice and get back to the stove, the waffles had caught fire! My oven was on fire! We had to call the fire department. By the time they got there, the fire had gone out. They opened the oven door and pulled out a tray of hard, black, crumbly half-dollar size waffles. Yum, yum! Put a little syrup on it, no one will notice! ;-) They had to use one of those big fans to air the house out and were laughing the whole time. I was so embarrassed, but in hindsight, I guess it was kind of funny!