re: Are you a natural when it comes to cooking??

Cooking is sort of like the subject math in school. You need to be taught everything about it, but math comes much easier for some people and some people just can't understand it. No one is going to be able to use the Pythagorean Theorem unless they're taught about it and understand how it works.

I've always had an interest in cooking. From early on, when my Mom would begin anything in the kitchen, I would pull up a chair to stand on so that I could see and watch everything with great intent, and she was a stay at home Mom (now I'm showing my age) so I saw many cooking lessons while my Brother and Dad opted for television. Watching my Mom cook was far more fascinating than television, even at an early age. She admittedly isn't that good or very creative, but I learned from everything.

I know Martini remembers Shakey's Pizza. There was a glass window where you could watch the pizzas being made and that was awesome for me as a kid, and I still find myself wanting to sit at the counter in restaurants and watch cooking unfold. It's an undying love to observe and learn.

Then there was Cub scouts where the Moms and Cubs would make a dish for the meetings. That was always fun for me because I was required to have a hand in it, otherwise I was not allowed to cook in the kitchen as a child.