I LOVE adventure, whether it is in athletic activities such as rock climbing, boating, hiking, etc., or in my food. When it comes to food, there is literally nothing that I won't try. My parents raised me to try different foods, to give everything a chance. Well, they apparently did a great job, because now, I'm the one introducing them to new foods. I think part of my culinary curiosity comes from living overseas, and trying the local foods of various countries. I'm inspired to replicate recipes from the variety of new restaurants I visit through work or with friends and family. For example, my wonderful husband took me to a Brazilian BBQ restaurant where I had the BEST black beans and tons of different meats. While all was good, I had to ask the chef for his recipe for the black beans. Armed with his "secret" suggestions, that weekend, a pot of beans was slowly cooking away, filling the house with the great fragrances of Brazilian seasonings. Yum! My Mom is a great cook, and taught my sister and I all of the basics of cooking and baking. To this day, I think our favorite family traditions revolve around the holidays. Christmas morning finds us nibbling on Mom's homemade cinnamon rolls, and the dinner always has her famous stuffing and side dishes of creamy mashed potatoes and butternut squash. Mass producing apple pies in the Fall is another family cooking tradition. Dad loves apple pie, and his wife and daughters are always happy to indulge him with pie or his other favorite, bread pudding. As you can see, healthy foods don't fall into the family cooking traditions. That's okay, as one doesn't always think of salad as comfort food, does one? Smoked turkey . . . which I'm preparing for this Thanksgiving. This is a joint effort between me and my husband. I usually handle the prep and brining, and he handles the smoking process. My breads are starting to develop a reputation amongst my neighbors . . . as are most of the cookies and sweets that I like to share. Oh, what baker hasn't seen her bread turn into a gloopy heap? I've had my share of tragedies, particularly since I have a rather finicky husband who doesn't share my adventure for food.