I'm a copywriter in Dallas who likes to cook, read, sing, garden, and of course, write. I love soups and stews during the fall and winter months. They're so versatile and soul-warming. I also love curry and spicy stirfry dishes. And beans and rice - Mexican, Cuban, Cajun and Indian. Salads and homemade dressings. And...cheesecake! I had to give up some cooking traditions (like pot roast) when I turned vegetarian, but my family has a special potato salad "recipe" passed on through several generations that I still love to make. It's amazing how many people think that vegetarians walk around hungry and malnourished. I had a roommate in college who was going to eat two of my bean enchiladas as a "snack" before her "real" low-carb meat dinner. She couldn't finish the second enchilada, and never did get around to that low-carb meal she'd planned on. Several years later, she's now a vegetarian, too - and I'm still making those enchiladas! Here's a good one: I got a bad grade in math my senior year of high school and was trying to make jalapeño poppers for my dad as a peace offering for when he got home. Unfortunately, I started a big grease fire that I then dumped water on... Did I mention that our house was on the market? Fortunately, my dad was so relieved that the house didn't burn down that he barely raged at all about my bad grade. Every cloud [of smoke] has a silver lining, I guess!