I began baking for my working parents and my older brothers and all their friends during basketball season at age 12! I then studied police sciences which led me to architecture, and that led to the building trade 10 yrs ago... lol... i am now a custom home builder/Architect/developer...by day and a writer by night, and a chef on the weekends! so i wear many hats... I love making soft pretzels, any kinds of desserts, and coping the famous dishes at resturants, I can dulplicate most recipes by one or two tries! lol... soups and breads are fav too. My mother is from the German "Amish". I love baking the ole` recipes in her mother's recipe boxes. The smells of remaking them bring me back to my roots! I have been trying new things on my family of four for yrs now! From canning to bread making!I have almost four cookbooks out and a recipe calendar! When i was 8 in girlscouts,,,we had a cake contest, I came in last w my fast baked and iced angle food cake while the others had MOMMY help (pro-looking)!lol... lets just say that started something in my heart to be the most honest and loving cook i could ever be!