I have always enjoyed cooking, since I was a girl. My Mom would allow my sister and I to make a mess in the kitchen. I grew up in the 70's and 80's and my Mom made eveything scratch includng Bar-b-que sauce. I never knew anything different. I appreciate inheriting the gift of cooking from watching my Mom, I share it with my own 6 y/o Daughter. I love to cook and I also have a six sense for tasty food. I love to bake breads without machines.... I dislike bread machines because there is an art to making bread by hand, that will make you feel proud. It's like sewing your dress vs. buying from the store. Scratch cakes and cookies are also favorites. I love to cook different dishes because I'll get bored if I don't. Since it's just my Daughter and I now, I'm still working on it. I have an orignal sweet potato pie recipe that I created myself. It was a hit and I get request for pie during the holidays from friends I refused to give recipe to. The one tragedy I'm still having is making pie crust from scratch...the flour & shortening crust. My Mom make it look easy to roll out but I never have luck with it. Mine look like ceramics rather than crust.