I started cooking when I was 8 years old after classes taken through the Campfire Girls. My mother had severe back problems so I did most of the cooking from the time I was 11 years old. I enjoy cooking and a variety of crafts, including beading, dream catchers and Repousse (metal embossing). We had a vacation house in Mexico in a fishing village as a kid, so I spent a lot of time in the kitchen of my friend's mother. I love seafood and authentic Mexican cuisine. I also love spicy Thai and Eastern cuisine. Making turkey tamales and baking at Christmas. Chile cheese dip, tamales, Green seafood enchiladas, seafood chowder, crab casserole, mole, chocolate cream pie, pumpkin bread, smoked turkey. My first lemon merangue pie had grated lemon peel (large grate), very bitter and chewey. I accidentally substituted vanilla with smoke sauce on a chocolate cake, and substituted chile powder with cinnamon on enchiladas.