Well, I come from a long line of good cooks (including the men). 2 years ago we remodeled our house and turned our old living room into a Spanish-style formal dining room. Having no dining space before, this forced me to learn to cook sit-down dinners. At the intermediate level of cooking you discover the importance of SPICES! Right now all of Emeril's line (fish, essence & southwest) have me enthralled and I use them on everything. I plan to find a way to re-make them with low/no sodium and just stick them back in their original containers. Some of my pantry staples are: chicken & beef stock (someday I'll make my own from scratch), a whole shelf of spices, cream of chicken & mushroom soup, multiple cans of every single Rotel product there is, and several different types of rices. Both my husband’s and my family heritage is quite the United Nations: Swedish, Danish, Persian and Texan. We both grew up with non-traditional foods and that is what makes our family special. We have decided to give up fast-food, coffee and soda to be our healthy best. I am now quite the affeciado of both Green & Herbal teas and continue to search for the perfect dessert recipe. We were brought up to love a long (euro-style) dinner where a meal lasts a looooong time with many courses and lots of wine and laughter. My husband is an avid fisherman so there is always Lobster, halibut and bass in our fridge. Allrecipes is helping me discover delicious ways to prepare feasts with these as the centerpiece. I love, Love, LOVE dishes and tableware and have quite the collection of different "styles". My favorite is the SF Chinatown set my dad & step mom purchased when we were together on our one and only family vacation (sigh). I have added a sake set to it and am always looking to collect other items that match the international themes in my cupboards. I am the worst baker in the world.