I'm the type that can cook when given a recipe, but I don't quite have the "gift" of just being able to throw things together and make a good meal. I bake much better (and have an easier time) than I can cook. I'm trying my best to learn more and improve so I'm throwing myself into it even more. I grew up around so many Southern women who cook fabulously without even trying, it seems, and I really want to be like them. I love baking! Oatmeal or chocolate chip cookies are my favorite to cook, but I really enjoy making eclairs as well. I also really love making my "cinnamon crispies." I guess my very favorite cooking tradition is right around Christmas time, we make a family recipe called "Russian Tea." I have no clue why its named that, but that doesn't stop the entire family from loving it! Christmas is not quite the same unless there's a hot pot of Russian Tea on the stove and a cup of it in the hand. Ahhh! I consider anything I can get made, on the table and taste good a triumph. My "cinnamon crispies" are probably my biggest triumph. Although very easy to make, I came up with this one on my own (although I'm sure its a knock-off) so I'm very proud of it. Plus my sweetie absolutely loves them and calls them "Grandma's crispies," even though I'm still in my 20's. I also consider each time I make eclairs a triumph. I have more cooking tragedies than triumphs. I guess the worst one is when I caught the garlic bread on fire in the oven. I didn't think that could actually happen in an electric oven.