I never was really interested in cooking at all until I got my own place. My mom is an awesome cook, so I learned from her indirectly- she would try to teach us kids, but we were never that receptive to it. Now that I'm on my own, I realize how much her talent had an impact on me; I now want to create delicious meals and a warm, welcoming household just as she always did. I love baking, but it is not what I should be eating! I try to bake on holidays when I can share it. I love "throw together" things using what I have on hand, but I also enjoy following a good recipe with quality ingredients. Holidays at home with home cooked food were always great, as well as simple meals eaten together- what a great way to stay close as a family! I feel proud that I sort of jumped into cooking without much knowledge besides what I saw my mom do. The food network has helped in recent months. I also am proud that I can sort of tell what a recipe needs. I feel like that's the sign of moving past the beginner cooking stage. My mom always did that: she'd try to teach us how to cook something and say, "then you put in a pinch of this and a little of that, and a can of this if it needs it, and if it's too dry do this..." and I just couldn't follow that as a beginner/non-cook. Now, it's how I cook too! I have yet to find a good brownie pan that does not burn! Even this silicone one I have burns- maybe it's not the pan... A year later (Oct. 2006), I've discovered that my oven was 25 degrees hotter than the dial- good thing I got an oven thermometer. Now, brownies come out not burnt (thanks in part to my Pampered Chef stoneware)!