Like many women who love to cook and bake, I've been taught, guided, and inspired by the women who have come before me, namely my mother and grandmother. Of all their lessons, what really sticks with me, each and every time I step into the kitchen, are two major things that I apparently learned by assimilation as they were never stated. The first is that you need to have confidence in what you’re doing. If you're constantly second guessing, you'll be too nervous to really let go and allow your taste buds take over, and that lack of confidence will show in the dish. And the second? Make it with love. Everything tastes better when you put your passion, your emotions, your love into whatever you’re making, and this transcends food. No matter what you’re doing, if you do it with enthusiasm, it'll come out better. I am so thankful for the lessons I learned in the kitchen from my mother and grandmother as they have most certainly made me the cook and baker I am today--not the best, not the worst, but definitely someone with a sense of confidence, adventure, and joy in my favorite room of the house.