I enjoy cooking. It gives me satisfaction to be fairly good at something and to be able to cook tasty meals. Knowing what goes into a lot of meals also helps me make better choices for myself. For example, there's no need to buy taco seasonings: the right proportions of cumin, chili powder, and a little oregano do fine and eliminate all that salt.

I have discovered over the years that a lot of stuff that looks complicated is actually pretty simple once you get the hang of it. I keep a good supply of staples and spices around, plan my meals for the week, and shop accordingly. Sometimes I cook several dishes at once and put them in the fridge so dinner preparation is almost done -- especially useful if I need to study after work. My latest keepers: pot pie with sweet potatoes and Indian spices, slow-cooker pork in mole sauce, Asian-spiced pork with green beans and onions, and chicken enchilada casserole.

I find recipes all over the place and am willing to give a fair number of them a try. I have even done cabbage rolls recently -- they're not that hard! And -- I get good leftovers out of all.

Oh yeah, and I found a recipe for blackberry pie that is yummy -- not too sweet at all.