I am a married mother of four, grandmother of five. I am an artist and stay at home mom. My mother is an excellent cook and I learned so much from her. She loves to cook for others and to try new dishes. Now that two of my children are grown and on their own, I am finding it hard (and kinda sad)to downsize my cooking. I love to bake and make any food from scratch. I am fascinated by the different forms from all over the world and from history of making, preserving, and cooking foods. I like to garden, make yogurt, pickle, can, and dry foods. Holiday dinners are a BIG tradition in my family. We will use any holiday excuse to cook a big menu. My adult kids always call me for their favorite recipes from growing up. That makes me smile. Learning to make pickles, bisquits and gravy, perfect prime rib roast, cheescake with no cracks, homemade bread. My first Thanksgiving meal for the whole family when I was 20. Burnt cookies, lumpy gravy. When I tried to tweak baked goods they sometimes got tossed out. Undercooked rice casseroles.