I am a father of (soon to be) 3 children. My wife stays at home with this at this time, and I work and am in school, studying to be a physics professor, with a fall back option of an IT professional. We are a Church loving family, who has found that through all the fear and speed of the society around us, God and Jesus allows us a steady foundation to it all. Soups are so easy, yet so diverse, we truely love the wintertime, for we can go overboard on soups. Frying comes next (with fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans being a family favorite that gets cooked at least once a month). Next to this is sautee and grill items. Hoppin' John and BBQ are my family "traditions", though artichokes are also a family tradition. Breads are by far and away one of those things that you learn through error. I can safely say I feel veyr comfortable making bread now. I do not recommend bread making machines, as "hands on" tends to allow you to really get to know what bread is, and how it is made. When I was a child, I burnt a steak to death on the grill. The grill took some time to get used to, including chicken (over and underdone), and bbq (over chared). Making breads was also a tragedy originally, with bread that didn't rise, or rose too much, or was burnt. Bread was hard... but now, a true enjoyment.