I have three sons, ages 16, 14, and 12, who are very picky eaters (especially the middle one). Their favorite meal is a bowl of buttered pasta. I try to cook things that they might enjoy trying, but they're not always willing to try new things. My oldest is getting better. He actually eats real food much of the time now! In my spare time I teach second grade. I have introduced my students to cooking and/or new foods over the years. I love to try all sorts of new recipes, so I don't really have a favorite thing to cook. I enjoy using fresh ingredients from the garden and canning those ingredients to use year-round. I also enjoy baking treats for my second grade class. I'll try almost anything if I think my family will eat it. Of course, I've been known to try a recipe because I want to, whether they'll eat it or not. I love making the pumpkin pies and other desserts for Thanksgiving. I always like to try one new dessert for each holiday. Baking Christmas cookies is a tradition that goes back as long as I can remember. I've made some pretty cool cakes for my boys' birthdays. They include a firetruck, baseball, football, and Pokeball. I've also used shaped pans to decorate everything from Barney and Elmo, Power Ranger, Jeff Gordon's #24 racecar, football helmet, a dog and dog house, a monkey, a giant cupcake, and a penguin. Some recent cakes have been a pizza, chef's hat, and Topsy-Turvy (Mad Hatter Cake.) The last one didn't collapse - that was a real triumph! One of my best triumphs has been teaching my boys to cook. They'll never go hungry. The first time I cooked a turkey I relied on my thermometer to tell when it was done. It wasn't.