I have both a BA and an MA in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Tennessee Knoxville (my MA thesis is publicly available online). I research Arab and Turkish Muslim populations in the Southeast US. Desserts and breads are my baking passions! My family has a very rich cooking tradition, stemming from my maternal grandmother, who had many unique, original gourmet recipes of her own invention which we all eagerly awaited especially on holidays and our bdays such as the "Black Midnight Cake" and the "Mocha Apricot Supreme Torte." <3 I make a mean apple pie, chocolate cream pie (with homemade whipped cream, of course) and sausage balls and always receive rave reviews when I bring either (or both) to social events. I didn't very much like a zucchini and rasperry/lemon bread that I tried to make in 2010 but my significant other, Ryan, loved it.