I grew up on a dairy farm where I watched my mother and grandmother prepare meals using seasonal fruits and vegetables, as well as farm raised meat and fish from the river running through our front yard. My family is Danish, making specialty desserts and pastries a common addition to meals. This is also where I learned the magic ingredient . . . love. After marrying, I learned to prepare fast, easy and economical meals for my husband and two children. I decided to enroll in college during this period which meant that money was tight and time at a premium. My children have always bragged that they never ate a store-bought cookie or birthday cake. I love baking and over the years have developed a client base of friends, neighbors and acquaintances that regularly ask me to cater special events. I also frequently take homemade baked treats to the local schools, firehouse and community volunteers. They all love to see me coming! I love to bake breads, pies, cakes,and cookies. I also enjoy preparing fancy specialty desserts. My husband and I are retired and enjoy our "big meal" at noon. I love making all of his favorite old fashion comfort foods, which are usually reheated as left-overs at night or the following day. We enjoy entertaining friends and neighbors and plan special menus for dinner parties and other get-togethers. We have many requests for deep-fried turkey and slow cooked brisket. Birthdays and special occasions are always cause for special requests from my family. Specialty cakes and comfort foods are favorites. Christmas Day always means grazing on a multitude of wonderful smorgasbord dishes. I welcome all new neighbors to our community with my famous ice cream bread. I have developed and perfected a chocolate eclair cake that I make in any requested shape: heart shaped for Valentines or wedding showers, Christmas trees and wresths for holiday gatherings, Easter basket with eggs, numbers and letters, and many more. Graduates frequently request the cake in the graduation year numerals. It tastes wonderful and is so impressive! I'm a very active person and my family jokes about my "multi-tasking". Cooking tragedies occur at times when I'm preoccupied and miss the timer, allowing dishes to scorch. I've even had eggs explode when all of the water in the pan boiled away!