I'm married to an Egyptian and living in Spain with our toddler son. We lived for 5 years in Cyprus before that. There are a lot of ingredients that are unavailable or very expensive here, so I've had to branch out on recipe ideas. Of course I am not complaining about the abundance of OTHER ingredients which are available here and unavailable at home in the US... When my husband-to-be and I first got together, he was slightly sad to hear that I didn't know how to cook (except baked goods) and didn't have any interest in learning. He was already quite an experienced cook. It took me a couple years, but now I'm the main cook/ shopper/ menu planner for a 20 person camp, three months each year on a daily basis. I've come a long way, thanks in big part to allrecipes.com. My husband is pleased that I put so much effort into learning and I actually enjoy it now. We joke that he is addicted to internet soccer and I am addicted to internet recipes. Cakes, cookies, breads, Indian, stir-fry, pasta... I wish I could say I'm good at making Mexican food since I love it so much, but it always turns out tasting Americanized. BBQ outside on the deck for Christmas in the warm Arizona weather, Monster Pancake for every birthday since my childhood, quesadillas for afternoon snacks, cinnamon raisin swirl bread (my dad's specialty), mac-and-cheese from the box (actually preferred by us kids over my mom's homemade-- not her fault because I like it now. Just silly kids), cranberry muffins, BBQed shish-kebabs assembled by all 6 of us... I am not a gourmet cook and never will be, but I appreciate any food that tastes good, especially if a lot of effort went into it, as with most ethnic food. I have been especially pleased (after lots of practice) with my versions of beef tagine with prunes and almonds, chicken biryani, and doro wat stew. I especially like to make them with the local ethnic bread, which takes extra effort and practice but is sooo worth it. A Moroccan, Indian, and Ethiopian tasting those dishes might say it is not exactly like their mother's (for sure lacking some chili!), but isn't that how it goes even inside the US?! = ) Honestly, I am terrible at any doughnut or candy recipe, with almost no exception.