Growing up there wasn’t much in the way of gourmet cooking at our house. For a long time my mom’s go to recipe book was a cookbook for the microwave. Everything went in there, from pot-roast with dumplings to fresh vegetables. That said, we did have a few unusual meals, my step dad is an avid diver so abalone was always something we ate a lot. We also had a garden, so fresh vegetables were always around, although I was not much of a vegetable eater until my mid twenties. I think I lived on bread and cheese throughout high school. I can only thank Martha for the first change, I remember clearly the day my mom informed me to only buy real vanilla extract not imitation because Martha said so. Alright then, progress. After my first place on my own,  I didn’t exactly have skills nor a good palate. There was a lot of nights of Betty Crocker cooking, hey, a girl has to start somewhere, and pizza.

Then one day instead of watching MTV  I found a new love, Emeril Live. I became obsessed, even creating an Emeril’s Fridays with our friends, rotating weekly who cooked and where, we would pick something from his show and have a dinner party. It even went so far as a few trips to New Orleans to eat at his restaurants.

I think after reading blog after blog my desire grew  to make and try new things and I have found a surprising contentment making things in my kitchen. After a stressful day its very relaxing to bring out my mixer and create something sweet and gooey to share. I also love to create things from scratch and I have really tried to get away from making anything from a box. Fresh is always better and finding new ways to create those childhood favorites  more healthy but delicious is fun.

So, this blog was born. My goal is to share what I learn and show what I create. And along the way have some fun and eat great things. Cupcakes are my first love and have been for a long time. This year I have really dedicated myself to learning how to create fabulous cupcakes. They are the original reason for the blog, people keep asking for recipes and directions and a blog was suggested to me, so why not.

My focused has shifted a bit since I started this blog. Aside from the lack of blog posts! 🙂 I am now a single mom and I am far more interested in healthier eating. I still love to make cupcakes and cakes for people and I plan to share many more of them on here. But as for my primary diet, its far more fresh and healthy now. I have worked hard to lose weight and get fitter the past two years, so protein is important and lots and lots of exercise! I may even add an exercise and running page just for fun.