Growing up, my mom didn't keep any junk food in the house so if I wanted something sweet I had to find a way to make it (or go to a friend's house)! I loved looking through my mom's recipe books and trying to find recipes that I could make. I baked a lot of home made bread from Betty Crocker's Big Red Book, and every holiday, my mom and I would make pies together from scratch. I didn't actually get interested in cooking main courses until I got married and realized that I had to actually put dinner on the table every night. Just as I was starting to get the hang of it, I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in May of 2007. This meant that I had to learn a whole new way of cooking - gluten free. I have accepted this as a new challenge and have fallen even more in love with cooking and baking. There is nothing like the feeling I get when I have success with creating a new recipe! My inspiration usually comes from a craving for something that I can't have because it is not gluten free. I immediately go back to my kitchen and learn how to make it myself! I also focus on creating recipes with all natural ingredients and avoiding artificial or added sugars.