@Are-Oh-Be-Why-In
Growing up, we rarely ate sit-down meals at home (we led busy, active lifestyles, plus my mom wasn't too interested in cooking), and I've lived in small towns and suburban areas for most of my life, so I was not really exposed to many food options. (I had never even heard of alfredo sauce - one of life's greatest treasures - until I was in high school, and I was completely weirded about by the thick, whitness of it [but fell in love with the taste, of course].) Anywho, as such, I was never much of an eater, nor did I think much about cooking until I stayed with my grandparents over one college summer. Although I only helped out once or twice in the kitchen, I lovingly ate them all (haha) and remember a profound feeling of "WOW! You can do all this in your own home??" For some reason...I guess because I wasn't exposed to much of it...I assumed really good food could only come from restaurants (and even then, I would only eat a select few items on a menu). I've taught myself to cook through websites like this and AllRecipes.com. I value the opinions / experiences of the other cooks tremendously. The most exciting part about cooking, to me, is knowing what flavor I'm hoping for, and actually being able to achieve it. That's taken me years of practice, because I basically had to learn through trial and error. I was always amazed when I read recipe reviews that would say "Something was missing so I added XXXXX, and it was perfect." ...I can do that now (for the most part). I guess I'm rambling, but my main point is that the more I cook, the more I fall in love with it. I'm continuously amazed at what amazing things I can make...and I'm getting better and better every day. My boyfriend has started joining me in the kitchen (which he hated at first, but is now jumping on the band wagon too), and we have so much fun. We cook every single night.