Whew! I've been away from this site for far too long! I miss all of my Big Oven friends. I hope that everyone had a great holiday season. As for me, mine was insane. At the beginning of Fall 2009, the proposal schedule at my office became unreal! It seems there was no end to the deadlines we had to meet. In the midst of it all, I was a two week vacation scheduled in Greece and Turkey.

I thought it was going to be a relaxing time away but that was a whirlwind schedule of city after city. I saw some awesome sites and cities, but most importantly I tasted some great food. The best was on a waterfront in Dikili the day before my birthday. In the company of many friends, we enjoyed the freshest, tastiest seafood feast you can imagine right there on the pier. There were more dishes than I can name, but everything was delicious. To top it all off, a group of our Turkish tour guides sang "Happy Birthday" to me in their native tongue. I will never forget that moment. Life was really good in that moment.

When I returned to the States, the pace did not slow down one bit at the office. Nevertheless, I had to find a way to calm my nerves during the holidays. So I cooked--succulent roasts, hearty soups, and sinful desserts that could rival some great restaurants, if I do say so myself. I have allowed myself to find freedom and consolation in my kitchen.

The exercise of reinventing the tons of holiday leftovers into new and even more exciting dishes, vacuum sealing, zip locking, packing, and freezer stocking has been cathartic. I've become a woman obsessed, delivering my little care packages to neighbors and family. It's what I'm driven to do until I can figure out a way to break free of a job that no longer fulfills me. Despite the passing of the 2009 holiday season, the urgency of office deadlines has yet to really ease. Until I find my way of escape, I'll cook.

Whew... it felt good to get that off my mind.

There's not too much in the way of food that I am not interested in discovering. I enjoy all types of cuisines as long as they're not too extreme. I'm sure I couldn't hang for long with Anthony Bourdain or Andrew Zimmerman. Otherwise, I'm a fairly adventurous foodie.

I really don't like to see food go to waste. So I always have taken it as a challenge to reinvent leftovers, within reason of course.

Although I personally prefer savory foods to sweets, I am well known in my circles of family, friends, and catering customers for my desserts, especially the decorated cakes.