A brand new mother to a beautiful daughter, I live with my husband of 7 years in a house that we built ourselves from the bottom up (no builders, no contractors). Compared to building one’s own house, cooking’s a snap! I love making/serving sweet things. Ironically, my husband doesn't really enjoy sweet things so I bake for everyone else instead. Desserts aside, I absolutely adore summer foods: BBQ ribs, fresh sweet corn from the garden, a kickbutt pasta salad and (my personal fave) fried green tomatoes - -that would be a meal made in heaven. Strange that a girl who was born, raised and currently lives in Northern Michigan would have such a desire for southern cooking, but my mum is a southern to her core, so I grew up with such things as sweet tea (always a pitcher in the fridge), boiled peanuts, shrimp gumbo, fried okra/green tomatoes as staples. I'm probably the only woman my age within a 300 mile radius who knows the smell of a roux cooking. My dad, meanwhile is brazilian, and mum has also mastered the art of south american cooking. What a great heritage for a cook! Mastering a genre that my mum hasn't really ever focused on: gourmet desserts. Tiramisu, flan, creme brulee, it's MY bag. I have never been able to master this recipe that I have for coconut chocolate chip meringue cookies. I've tried again and again, and I can never make the meringue RISE to the occasion.