I am a newly wed enjoying married life to a wonderful man. We have a cat named Molly who is probably the worlds most spoiled cat! I've been cooking since I was a little girl- always eager to help out mom in the kitchen. I also worked in a coffee shop and bakery while I was in high school. I like to thank that job for the skills and knowledge that I have today. As well as the desire and joy that I get from cooking and baking. When I'm not in the kitchen I work for a non profit in Minneapolis, MN assisting individuals with a mental illness find competitive work in the community. I also enjoy scrapbooking, sewing and jewelry making- pretty much anything crafty! You wouldn't be a true Minnesotan if you didn't make hotdish (or casserole for those non Mid-westerners) at least once a week! I love to make them and eat them. I also enjoy baking and making desserts. Discovering how to make chocolate chip cookies CHEWY! I've been making cookies since I was 12- so about 13 years- and they always turned out cakey. I've finally figured out how to get the perfect cookie. Reducing the baking soda to 1/2 a teaspoon and using a whole egg with one egg yolk made all the difference in the world! I wanted to make my, then fiance, a layered cake for his birthday. I was used a box cake mix which is a bad idea if you plan doing a layered cake. It was way, way too moist and fell apart as I was frosting it. It was very lopsided and looked like a 5 year old put it together! Needless to say, I'll be making my cakes from scratch from now on!