Thanks Jessica for continuing this I was hoping Tricia was well enough to post. I think of her often and wonder how she is doing maybe her DH will give us an update. We havent heard from Claire,apostca, either since she told us of her broken hip. If either Tricia or Claire is reading this I wanted you to know I was thinking of you and wishing you both a speedy recovery

Claudia

Yes, please go to your member page ('My Page') and enter your birth date if you wish to be remembered on your special day.
Every once in a while I click around looking for birthday dates for newest members and write them into my forum birthday book.

That way between Jessy and I we hope to be able to send you greetings on the right day. Thanks again. :-)

SharonCb

just had to say PHYLLIS - (waving) - how are you???? I've been wondering about you and my presence has been a bit spotty lately, but I haven't noticed you around for quite some time....things are well?????

I canNOT believe that little guy of yours is that big!!!!! holy moly!

Phyllis, nice to see you back posting.

Ann

I know there are many many more here who have not checked in....come on now....don't be shy!

Okay, I will join in. DH and I live in CT. I rarely post as we eat fairly plain, heart healthy meals but I have learned a lot on the CF. I enjoy reading the cook-a-long threads as well as what's for dinner. I am always warmed when I read about the friendships many of you have formed & the pictures and stories of a get together. Nice group of helpful people on the CF. Oh and I wandered into cooking from the kitchens. I did 2 in 5 yrs.

I am a stay-at-home mom of two young children. A one and four year old. That takes up most of my time, but with the remainder I like to cook and garden. I've been on the gardening forum for years, but didn't know about the cooking forum until recently. Mostly I enjoy making baked goods due to my terrible sweet tooth. I started a blog recently to share my best recipes that have been created over the years. I look forward to sharing my recipes along with trying some of yours. If you have time check out my recipes at the link below. I try to post new ones on a regular basis. I hope you enjoy them! There's also a link to my Pennsylvania gardening site if you have interest in both. Thanks for the welcome!
Kim

Kim, welcome to the cooking forum. I looked at your gardening blog, and I see we're from the same area in Pennsylvania. In fact, my husband grew up in the borough you live in.
You'll find lots of great ideas and support on this forum.

Phyllis, it's good to see you again. And surely David isn't that old? What happened to the time?

I just didn't have time until now to read all the posts...

I was a SAHM for most of my children's growing up lives..I started subbing in 3 different areas in our School district last Spring..and have been pretty busy since. My boys are in the 12th, 7th and 4th grades.(I too have 1 in each level of school) I'm hoping that my oldest gets it together and moves on with his life. It's been such a battle. At this point I've thrown up my hands and told him.."prove me wrong..please prove me wrong"....

My hubby and I have been married for 17 plus years. We live in my childhood home. He's a transplant from NC..the Corp brought him here.
My oldest son is a very gifted baseball player, and apparently CAD(computer aided drafting) student.~He's actually tutoring in this class too??? But the rest of his skills are still hiding in lazy!

My middle son is a bright goal orientated old soul.
My little one is a go with the flow..do it all now kinda guy..

I live on an Island inside Wa state..Have had EJ and Deanna(and her Mom) in my home..I've met with Sue(mt nester)..where has she been?

I started posting at the Recipe Exchange when my middle son was around 2??? With Ginger, LindaC, GlendaAL, Dee, LindaTN and a few others..then I moved over to the Kitchen Table and was there for quite a lot of years...Glenda was the first person I told outside of family that I was expecting my 3rd suprise..

I bake a lot..almost all the "flour" based items that my family eats I bake. I also started a few years back avoiding wheat for me..and it makes a difference in how I feel when I do or limit it greatly..

I would love to experiment more with food, flavors and ingredients..but the MENFOLK are wimps..and..it's just not worth the rolled eyes and huffs when I put something new down.

Terri...I didn't know that EJ had a mother!! LOL!
Nice to see you!

Greetings all. I am a retired teacher in Central Virginia. I hate to cook, which is exactly why I hang out here so much. I know that anything I try from this site is going to be a hit. And you have not let me down! I think my favorite has been the apple cake and gravy........no, maybe pecan pie muffins....or is it creme brulee french toast? Do you see a pattern here?? I don't post often, but do ask a question now and then. I so appreciate all the help I've gotten over the last couple of years.
Whistle

Not Jessica's mom, Deanna's mom...LOL
However, I did meet Jessica's husband, Dad and oldest son.

I'm Susan and now live in the Sierra Foothills of the Sacramento, CA area. I can't remember how long I've been part of this forum. Like others, I started with the gardening forums. During some remodeling of this house, I drifted over to the Kitchens, Appliances, and Bathrooms forums. But now I'm mainly here, the Recipe Exchange, or the Caregivers forum (although I like to take a peek at the Harvest forum from time to time too).

I grew up in Los Angeles, spent about ten years in the Bay Area (San Jose), and finally moved to the Sacramento area about 20 years ago. My husband and I just celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary. He is a retired computer engineer, and I'm a retired teacher. Our son is married and has two adorable little girls, and our daughter is engaged to be married next year.

My dad was born on the Greek island of Kalymnos and my mother's parents were from a small Greek village. My dad was very particular about the food he ate. It had to be Greek! He didn't think any other ethnic group cooked as well as the Greeks (although he'd give a little acknowledgment to Italians). I grew up eating mainly Greek food as a result. All the salads & vegetables were dressed with lemon & olive oil (I discovered butter when I was an adult). We very rarely had mashed potatoes; they were either cooked with the stewing liquid or roasted with lemon & oil. My grandmother made her own filo for baklava and spanakopita.

My mom was a great cook and always curious about other cuisines. She loved to read cooking magazines and clip out recipes even though she couldn't try them on my dad. Sadly, she's suffering from Alzheimer's, but she lives in a wonderful memory care facility nearby.

A few years ago my husband was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and has been on a low sodium diet. Its been a challenge delivering tasty food without the aid of salt. I gather a lot of good ideas from this forum and then adapt them to my needs. I really enjoy having a place where I can ask stupid questions and get polite answers back. I also enjoy being able to contribute from time to time too.

Hi, my name is Heidi and I've been living for the last 20 years in my husband's home town of Bluffton, SC on the beautiful May River in a house that I designed and built for our family of four children. Those children are grown adults now and two of them have given us two grandchildren to help fill these empty-nesting rooms again.

I grew up in the Adirondack Mountains of NY, in the Olympic village of Lake Placid, and still own property in that lovely area that we travel to each year and I still miss - even after living in the South most of my adult life. Health problems forced me to retire early a few years ago from my profession as an architectural draftsman and home designer, so I keep myself busy now with sewing, painting, upholstering and domestic crafts when I'm not traveling to visit my grandchildren.

Cooking has been a passion all my life, and I love learning about new recipes and the regional interpretations of old recipes. My mother, who died when I was only in my early 20's, was a marvelous gourmet cook. She'd be happy to know I inherited her love for creating in the kitchen. I'm diabetic, and my pancreas burned out several years ago, so I have a restrictive diet in some regards, and I don't bake as much as I'd like to as a result of this, nor can I tolerate many processed foods. Both my husband and I have broad palates though, and we love preparing authentic regional or international recipes.

I've been a lurker here for some time, and also hang out at Building a Home, Antiques, the gardening forums, Kitchens, Sewing and Home Decorating. My DH grows exotic orchids in his spare time, and is a pilot for a national airline due to retire in a few years.

Hi, I surface here now and then when I have more time to cook. I work a lot and DH travels a lot for work. There are just the two of us so there are lots of times when I don't spend much time cooking or pondering cooking. I also try to eat a healthy diet so I don't bake because I love that kind of stuff and would eat it all if it was around. I always take a week off at Thanksgiving and usually have Thanksgiving at my house. So I pop in here a bit at this time of year. I also come here sometimes in the summer. We have a weekend lake place (I'm in MN) and have lots of guests so sometimes I check in here for ideas for things to make. I keep it pretty simple in the summer though - want to be out doing things on the lake, not in the kitchen cooking.

I've received great advice and answers to questions here - very helpful! Just wish I had more time for cooking as I do love it - maybe when I retire!

I never know what to say about myself...that's why I'm late to this party!

Hi, my name is Karen. After traveling around quite a bit I've come to the conclusion that we live in one of the most beautiful places on earth. South Louisiana has so much to offer in the way of good eats, beautiful country and wonderful people. We live on the river (riverrat1) and count ourselves lucky to have a piece of paradise. I've eaten almost anything you can think of and alligator is not one of my favorite foods but crawfish has a particular soft place in my heart.

I have 3 children that make our hearts happy each day. My oldest daughter (30 years) is married to a great guy and they have one 3 year old daughter that makes my heart sing everyday. Her name is Maggie and is a big part of our life. This daughter is the only one of our children that lives in Louisiana. She is also going to make me a Bubbe again sometime in June. They don't want to find out what the sex of the baby is this go around but I just know it's another girl! YAY! My middle child (and acts that way) is 24 and lives in Denver, Colorado attending school, working part time and having the time of her life. She is her mother's child made over lol! My son is 21 years old and is currently serving our country in Iraq. This is something he wanted to do since 911 happened. I'm very proud of him and can't wait for him to finish this tour and come home. He is a Specialist in his field and just received an award for something he did. I don't have the particulars yet. lol! Communication is not one of his strong points!

I love to cook and come here almost daily for inspiration. I've been coming here for a really long time. Spike was running the place and I had to pay for a membership to post here. Worth every penny! I have so many memories from this place. We should get together and write a book! I'm sure it would be a best seller. Remember Roger!

My Grandmother and Mother were not the best of cooks. They were both career women and thought that food was not that important. Food was something to sustain you. HA! I didn't know what a good hamburger was until I cooked one for myself at about the age of 10. My neighbor, was my best friend, and would invite me to eat at her house a few times a week. They were 'well to do' and I experienced some pretty good eating at her home. That's when I became interested in food. I would get to her home early and help the chef that prepared their meals nightly. We didn't eat hamburgers either! I thank Molly everyday for turning me onto food.

So I've been cooking a long time for myself, family and friends. I've learned from people, cookbooks, TV, this forum and almost anyone that would tolerate me in their kitchen. Ive been to many of the forum get togethers and learned so much from Canny Camp and Paney Camp. Ive met a whole lot of our members and have so many memories that will be with me forever. Cathy (mustangs) was the first CF member that I slept with. LOL! I was hooked from that day forward.

About 5 years ago I had to change the way I cook and eat and I thought that my coming here would change somehow. Well, I still visit almost everyday and I have become a more conscience cook with the help of many of our members. We eat a healthier diet now and I've learned to adapt and change the recipes I find here. We still indulge ourselves on special occasions but everyday is special so I have to watch it!

Im so glad that I found this forum and the special people that are involved in making this place a special place in my heart. Thank you for indulging me ;-)

I forgot to write about the most important person in my life. My DH. He is one of the smartest people I've ever met (he got me :-) and he eats anything I cook and never complains about anything. I'm so lucky! Now I can go about my day.

Hello, CF :-)

It's been so fun and interesting to read about all of you, and I've been meaning to respond but it's been busy. Thanksgiving and all...! And a happy Thanksgiving to all of you who celebrate this day, and your loved ones. :)

I'm cj, and have been a lurker (and occasional poster)
here for several years. I'm a caregiver to my sweet mama and we share a home. I have two daughters, ages 33 and 24, and in the past two years have not only been blessed with two wonderful sons-in-laws, but a now 8 month old grandson as well, and another one on the way!

It was through this cooking forum that I got up the nerve (why did I make that so hard, lol) to bake my own bread for the first time. It was good and made such good toast, but I hope to learn more and not be so intimidated as I was. LOL

I see that there is a forum member close to me. Partst, I'm just over Walker's Pass and down the hill from you! I LOVE Kernville, and it's my 'go to' place to visit - I just love browsing the antique shops and sitting down by the river. I would think to live there would be like vacationing year 'round! :)

It's been a pleasure to meet you all and hope to post more often than lurk :) but oy, my mom keeps me busy and I don't have much time.

Again, Happy Thanksgiving to all, and as you sit around the table, remember to give thanks for all the blessings in your lives.

~cj

Hi everybody & welcome to the CF to all the newcomers & lurkers!

I started over on the gardening side about 5 years ago. I stumbled across the CF a year, or two, later.

I live in Mystic, CT with my DH. Our three kids (1 DS & 2 DDs) are grown, married, and have Blessed us with four grandchildren.

I was born & raised in CA except for a few years in Nevada. Then, lived in CO for a decade. I've been in New England for over 20 years.

I had a very nasty back injury in July '09 immediately followed by a small stroke. After being hospitalized for a while my DH has been taking care of me including the cooking. He's been a great sport about the cooking & his CCC's are now as good as mine!

I love playing piano, gardening, cooking, drawing, painting, boating, & am always wading through a Teaching Company class or two. With any luck my physical therapy will have me back doing those things by spring!

My DH lost his job in an attempt to get some time off from his job in banking to care for me. We decided to throw in the towel, concentrate on getting our act back together after commuting back/forth from NY to Mystic for six years, & retire. He's still decompressing from his job; but it's obvious we're going to love being retired!

My career was also in banking (commercial/construction lender specializing in work-outs) & I've spent a lot of time hanging around the real estate forums.

I love bread baking & have served as judge at county fairs & taught classes. I'm also a Master Gardener through our Cooperative Extension where I volunteered on the State's Hot Line answering questions from all around the state on home gardening, livestock, wildlife, food preservation, & home finances.

My other significant volunteering has been in Women's Crisis positions. I've spent thousands of hours answering crisis line calls, serving as a rape advocate, and teaching classes in my State's Women's Prison on domestic violence to the inmates. Eighty percent of the female prison population in the State I volunteered were victims of domestic violence. My class was required for early parole. As a result, I've testified at many parole hearings.

The CF is a great place. Lots of friendship, companionship, genuine compassion, and of course, lots of great food!

I'm still not posting much but hope to gradually become more active again as my injuries improve.

Glad to meet all the newcomers...and a great big shout-out, "Hi!" (waving both hands, from waist-level only still) to all my CF friends especially the dozens who've sent me emails wishing me a speedy recovery that I've been unable to respond to...I'm SLOWLY getting a response to all of you. Thanks again for the support! You just can't imagine how helpful your encouragement has been!

/tricia

Oh, tricia, responses are not necessary. Just concentrate on getting well and regaining your strength. It's good to see you posting.

jude

Eee gadd! How did I miss this one. Sorry I'm so late with the introductions!
And a big welcome to the newbies! So glad to see so many new people here.
My name is NancyLouise, Nan for short. I have been here on the GW for 10 years or so. Came in through the Rose forum but hardly ever visit there now.
I live in so. Maine near the beach and we love it here. About a mile from the coast, shorter as the crow flies.
I live in a 100+ year old farm house with my husband Wayne and 2 daughters. One a junior in college and the other a senior in high school, 1 collie and 2 gerbals. Our dear, dear old kitty, Bisquit passed away just about a year ago today. I love gardening, going to the movies, dinning out, and listening to all kinds of music. I work in a cooking store part time and do the cooking demos on the weekends. Both Wayne and I are very much involved in our town politics and volunteering in the schools. We have had a few health set backs recently in our family...Wayne was diagnosed with testicular cancer in September. He has had surgery and is currently undergoing radiation treatments. He is doing very well. The cancer has not spread and he is cancer free. The treatments have made him just a little tired but that is all, no bad side effects. My younger daughter has had to start Remicade infussions the last couple of months for her arthritis. Her last one is next week. She also is responding very well to the treatments and has no side effects. So we are very blessed in that regard. Not much has changed in their daily lives. I try and keep things as normal as we can and don't make a big deal about it. Just, this is something you have to do to get well so lets' just do it.
I love to bake! I like doing it so much we are on the call list for our elementary school and historical society to bake what they need for special occasions. Wayne sells his breads and biscotti to our local coffee shop. Baking and cooking are fun for us. Which just amazes me cause growing up I wasn't interested in doing anything that required being near an oven or stove at all! Playing sports and boys, those were my interests! lol The worst dish I have ever made was when Wayne and I were first married. It was a recipe for "fish and peach" casserole. Yeah, it tasted as bad as it sounds. Don't ask me why I made it. My tastes were different 28 years ago. lol
Again welcome to all the new people and speedy recovery to you tricia. NancyLouise

Bump for more folks and Netla who is back from INDIA.
Great to hear from you again Tricia, hope you know we all miss you and are rooting for you to improve more and more each day. You're here in spirit!

Hi, DH and I live in a retirement community in Lancaster County, PA. We were born and raised here and we love it. I also love to cook. Lots of PA Dutch specialties that I learned from my mother. We like to eat healthy meals and I have access to fresh foods from our farmer's market (here since the 1700's.) I make most meals from scratch.

I cook for bake sales, holiday dinners, church activities and for DH and me.

I used to post on the Garden Party, but don't much anymore. I love to garden and we have a cottage about 25 min. away on the Susquehanna River where I have a big garden and also have a small one here at home.

I don't post a lot on this forum, but whenever I have a cooking question, this is where I ask it. LindaC is always there with an answer for me. Hi, Linda!

Hi, Claire de Luna here. The real Luna is my 7 year old sweet golden retriever, who is still with us after being diagnosed with aggressive cancer. She had her spleen removed because of two tumors, and the vet told us she would probably only survive three months, four at most. Here we are almost seven months later, and she still seems healthy and happy. (Thank you CF for your prayers and good thoughts!) I love that time of day when she comes galloping in and picks up a ball to volley across the room. Dog smiles are pretty sweet.

I picked CdL as a screen name because at the time I was researching Kitchens, I seemed to have my best ideas by the light of the moon, which was of course, always the middle of the night. (Menopause anyone?) Here I am six years later sitting under a fan, and looking forward to the day I can put on a sweater. The high today is in the low 20's and I have yet to get my winter clothes out of storage.

I've been coming to Garden Web since 2001, starting at the Garden Party; researching Laundry and Kitchens (Kitchens for 18 months and way too long), and then to the CF...from that time we had to ''subscribe'' to be here. It's nice to have a sense of community with people I've never actually met. My goal for 2010 is to bring about a change and meet more of you face to face!

I may have introduced myself before but will be glad to again.

My husband and I are both retired and live on a farm in southwest Missouri near Springfield. We still have a beef herd so not retired from farming.

We had a dairy for 15 years and sold out in 2004.

I love rural life, gardening, reading and cooking. We have chickens, I have a milk cow, and we butcher our own beef. So even though I cook pretty country and simple, I think we eat well!

I enjoy this forum and have had some good advice from the great cooks who visit here.

I recently began a blog about living in the country....may not keep it up. I am such a newbie that it isn't coming easily to me. Time will tell.

I began because I couldn't find a local blog about gardening in our particular area for some strange reason and thought others might find it useful. I need to restructure it into sections but am not sure how to do that....sorry I am digressing.

Forgot to say we have two grown children, a son and a daughter and 4 grands.

Guess I ought to at least say 'hello' here.
But I don't care to post much personal information on the 'net.

I am Rusty (in more ways than one).
And no, I am not, nor have I ever been, a redhead.

I've lurked for some time, and have only fairly recently began to try to post a little now & then.
I'm almost afraid to, though, especially after some of the recent things that have been going on.

Everyday cooking is kind of a chore for me, but I love to bake.

I don't use many actual recipes, so it's kind of hard for me to contribute much here.
Most of my cooking, and quite a bit of my baking, is done by gosh and by golly. So it's a bit hard to write out recipes.

I collect cookbooks, and find those put out by groups and/or organizations to be the ones I enjoy most.

I really do enjoy reading the posts here, and often wish I had more to contribute.

Rusty

Hello I wandered over from garden forums. Glad to see there are other gardeners here.

I enjoy cooking especially if I'm trying a new recipe. My family is rather picky and it's frustrating trying to find something everyone likes but I try. We have four kids and live on a 10 acre lot in southwest Missouri. Our oldest daughter got married last year. She and her also picky new hubby come over often for meals.

I don't have a tradional vegetable garden but have been sticking fruits and veggies around my yard in my flower beds. I want to grow more of our own food and have been reading about raised beds, square foot gardening, and potagers. Just discovered Gardenweb has a Potager forum and have been reading posts there. I haven't done any cooking yet today. lol Hello everyone : )

christie, welcome to the Cooking Forum.

I also like to see gardeners and people who grow their own food here, it's just even more fun!

I'm the picky eater in the family, LOL, the rest of my family will eat nearly anything...

Annie

Hi,
I'm Ria, I've posted here before but it was a while ago. I have been having fun catching up with the cooking threads, and getting a lot of good recipes. I love the cooking shows on PBS, I have lots of America's Test Kitchen cookbooks. My favorite is baking cookies and treats but I like to cook good simple food too. We recently moved to WI from MI, we were in TN for a few years also. Our kids are getting older and are not home as much, so my husband and I have been having fun trying out new restaurants just the two of us. We love seafood and authentic Italian, last night we made a great little find.
There are certain recipes I feel I have perfected, and some I don't think I ever will, lol, for instance macaroni and cheese. I'm always on the lookout for a new recipe and will be trying the 'Patti Labelle' recipe someone posted.
I used to post on the laundry and cleaning threads quite a bit, met a few friends over there. Now I get on the cooking thread to see what the good cooks are cooking!!

Hello,my hubby and I live s central pennslvania,I was looking for some new recipes found this.I go for kidney dialysis 3xs a week so that changed the the food I can have,on top of that Im getting lapband surgery to lose 50lbs for kidney transplant.anywaysI love to cook and I like to try things some people wouldnt try.
My 3 grown children 2 boys 1 girl are on thier own,we have 4 grandkids 2 boys 2 girls,
we bought a 1700 farmhouse,we brought in a log cabin really old too,we put a kitchen garden beside it,fenced it in ,its 8 raised beds,love to garden,I have lots hobbys,love crafts but till I get a kidney transplant and get my life back again I cant do anything much.

Hey jonsgirl welcome! I still have some Lestoil left from you, do you have any Canadian Tide? Guess what I brought back from England with me last summer. Two boxes of Persil. I know you can appreciate that!

Christie and bulldinkie, welcome too!

Hi Jessy!

You still have that Lestoil I sent you!?? LOL, how is that possible? I don't have any Canadian Tide left, I used it all up, loved it! I'm so jealous of the Persil! My daughter is a nanny for a couple, they recently went on a trip to England and they brought me back a bottle of Persil Black, it smells really good. I hope you are doing good, I hardly ever post on the laundry forum anymore, I always knew we were a hardcore bunch but I got tired of it after a while. I miss Candace (Lifesabeach), have not heard from her in a while, I still keep in touch with Bobby though. I have been lurking over here for a few months, reading all the cooking threads. I think we were living in TN when you sent me the Tide, since then we moved back to Michigan, and last year moved to Wisconsin. I hope your family is well, good to 'see' you again! :)

Hi everyone!

FYI Jessy, I was at Snyder Diamond yesterday and they were selling Persil, a number of types including black. I don't know much about it, but it's obviously hard to find here in the states.

There's an upscale appliance store in Sarasota that sells Persil so I don't have to order online anymore. I did get a Persil poster framed and hung in my laundry room. As a bonus, the colors are perfect for the LR.

Whoa, this isn't the laundry forum! Welcome to the Cooking Forum.

Welcome to all the new faces!

So I have to ask... what is the big deal with Persil? It seems the Meile dealer that is not far from me carries it, is it worth a special trip? Not that it is that far out of the way, it is almost across the street from Wegmans so I do have an excuse to go LOL!

Enlighten me please!

A

And what's in Canadian Tide?
What was the stuff from Mexico that you laundry mavens like?

Welcome to all new posters. Lurkers, we know you're there. Come join the party!

Ariel is the Mexican detergent that is highly regarded on the LF, although it's very hard to find for FLs. Regular shouldn't be used for FL because it makes too much suds.

Persil is the German detergent that is very popular but unlike Ariel, it's pricey. But it cleans very well without fading, smells great, has optical brighteners, and rinses out well. Plus Persil had cool posters!

I'm not familiar with the differences in Canadian and US Tide.

I used to read up on detergents in other countries and Canada sells (or sold) Tide Lemon. My husband was there for a couple weeks helping open a new food distribution center and I pestered him to bring me home whatever "Canadian" laundry stuff he could find, well I don't think he looked beyond the corner gas station and told me 'they didn't sell it!' lol I think I was griping about it on the laundry forum and Jessy offered to look for me on her trip. Honestly it kind of smelled like lemon Pledge, but it was different and I was so tickled to have it.

That is a cool poster, Cathy!

Jessica does get around--she was the one who provided me with Ariel for front loaders. I can get Ariel locally, but not for FL.

Hi everyone!
I live in downtown Atlanta with my husband and two daughters (6 and 9). Both girls love to cook, and my husband will eat anything. We've somehow become urban hippies, with a garden and six hens in our little city lot. We also have a dog, cat, sand boa and tarantula. Our 110-year-old house is in a constant state of repair/remodel. My part-time job (writer for the CDC) hasn't been very part-time lately, and with the girls school stuff and travel I haven't had much time to cook for the last few months.

I don't post often because every time I have a question, a quick search of this forum answers it. And many of my "go-to" recipes came from here in the first place. I've learned so, so much from you all.

Guess I'll introduce myself over here, though many of you already 'know' me or will recognize my screen name since I'm pretty vocal on many other forums!

I'm Susan and I live in Houston, TX with my wonderful husband Jason and younger son John (14, with high functioning autism and apraxia). Older son is off at college. I have my own little company designing software for the hospitality industry, and Jason is a professional remodeler who is 'semi-retired' now and working on our house -- a complete rebuild. I first found GW through the Kitchen forum when we re-did our kitchen about five years ago, and I've become progressively more addicted aver since.

My zodiac sign is Gemini, and I'm a Gemini in the kitchen as well. Some days, I just want something quick and easy (but still fresh and from scratch please!); other times I love to putter and spend hours making homemade soups and inventing dishes of one sort or another. Recipes? Not so much... They're good for inspiration, but when I'm in the mood to cook, don't tell me what to do!

The toughest part of cooking for me? Figuring out what to cook! What a PITA... I need to come over here for inspiration more often.