Ex-net junkie, who's learned to limit her net time to things that enhance real life. There isn't much that doesn't fall under this category. My cooking mostly centers around meals for my LISO (Live-in significant other) and the occasional intimate dinner party. I love experimenting with sauces and creating my own recipes. One of my favorite games is concocting something delicious for dinner on the day before grocery day. You know what I mean - making magic with the dregs of your pantry and freezer. Some of my most praised recipes have developed this way. I also love to meal plan. Themed meals if you will. Like most virgo/libra cusps, I'm a perfectionist and an artist - I believe in organized chaos in both furniture and food. Unfortunately, there are few family cooking traditions that I still follow. But, other than giant potluck gatherings during holidays, there weren’t that many to begin with anyway. If making the best of what you have is considered a tradition, then I follow it like no other. I'm most known for my stuffing (a variation of the Awesome Apple, Sausage and Cranberry stuffing via Allrecipes fame), my cookies – which are always chewy and moist (due to learning that meticulousness is sometimes a positive quality) and the best damn chili you’ve ever tasted…if you can take the heat. In my equipment-challenged kitchen one day, I decided to make a homey stew out of a whole chicken, in a stock pot that was just too shallow. After leaving the chicken to boil while I did some laundry, a black circle the size of the top of a soda can, burned on the bottom of the bird and smelled up my kitchen like something had crawled into my oven and died. I should have thrown it out, but no…I was determined to save the chicken! So, resourceful little me - cuts off the burn, lights a candle and hopes for the best. I finished the stew, and served it to my unsuspecting boyfriend, who, after spooning a steamy bite into his watering mouth…let it fall right back into the bowl. The acrid taste of the burn had permeated the entire chicken, and ruined the dish. I balked, “It can’t be that bad!” then took a bite myself. It was quite literally the worst thing I have ever put into my mouth. Kitchen lesson #247: No $7 bird is worth months of good cooking faith lost.