I am a holistic energy healer with a background in allergy-friendly cooking and nutrition. While I remain a shameless dessert-fiend, most of the recipes I use are re-worked to be both light and free of wheat and most cow-dairy. I also redesign recipes to be suitable to the dietary needs of my clients, whether the client is looking to achieve a healthier weight or needs to begin modifying his/her diet due to allergies and/or sensitivities. Cakes, hands-down. I am also an artist, so I love that I get to turn my food into something pretty! Anything that includes pumpkin also has my fixed and immediate attention, from savory dishes to desserts. This past year, I encountered a recipe for a pumpkin-chipotle risotto and fell head-over-heals in love. Ooooh, and then there were those pumpkin enchiladas and pumpkin waffles and pumpkin angel food cake . . . Gumbo on Christmas Eve and home-made pizza on Christmas Day; Shrimp on New Year's; Honey-Raisin-Seed bread with eggs and fruit on Ostara; Pumpkin-pumpkin-pumpkin in the fall; my mother's chocolate frozen crepes with chocolate mousse and her to-die-for chocolate chip cookies; the annual "What kind of cheesecake do you want this year, dear?" conversation the week before my husband's birthday. A good friend has an autistic son who is allergic to gluten, dairy, corn, soy, eggs and rice. Because of the rice allergy, he can't have any of the standard gluten-free pancake mixes out there, and he really misses pancakes. After a lot of experimentation, I finally came up with a pancake recipe that not only meets his needs, but tastes great, too. I couldn't believe it when my husband (the guinea pig) not only cleaned his plate, but told me to save the leftovers for later munching. In a similar vein, I managed to make a light version of my husband's absolute favorite meal--biscuits and gravy. It's hearty and filling while still being wheat- and dairy-free, and has half the fat and caloric impact of the standard recipe. Plus, it actually tastes great!!! Gluten-free bread. I've no idea why, but my formerly flawless gluten-free flour mix suddenly stopped working, producing something more like bricks than bread. It tasted great, but it sliced like play-dough! My husband will also not let me forget the time I decided to try an Atikins recipe for cabbage lasagna (using cabbage leaves in place of the noodles). While this was ten years ago, the dish was so horrendous that he still reminds me of this one now and again. And I've been forbidden to use cabbage again. EVER. ; )