I think if cooking is viewed as a spontaneous, creative act with some fast techniques for the dish, then it is enjoyable. I don't really think too hard when I cook. It's like colouring book as a child: Oh let's try this. Taste. Then I might improve it this way.

But then again, that's how my mother cooked.

I enjoy cooking and baking; both hubby and I love to try new foods and are constantly experimenting with new recipes. We usually try a new recipe "as is" the first time, then if we think it's a winner, we'll tweak it to our own tastes. We tried a Thai Coconut Chicken Curry a few weeks ago and loved it so much that we've had it three times since, once with shrimp instead of chicken.

Ever since my poor twenties, I've enjoyed creating casseroles, using whatever's in the fridge and/or pantry. I used to work at a soup kitchen many years ago and once a week would create an enormous casserole for all the volunteers...they called me the casserole queen and were always eager to see what new concoction I could come up with. In the several years that I did that, there was only one casserole that didn't work out, and that was because I added what I thought were leftover mashed potatoes, but it was actually saurkraut and didn't mix well at all...but everyone was quite polite about it and it made for great joking long after! I still enjoy putting together a "mystery casserole" and hubby's so wonderful about eating anything and everything.

He does a lot of the cooking too. His specialties are homemade soups and sauces...often I'll do the stir-fry part and he'll do the sauce. We do eat well! And it makes it fun when both of us enjoy experimenting and will eat just about anything.

And our 16-year-old next-door neighbour LOVES it when I send over my baking experiments.

I enjoy cooking. It gives me satisfaction to be fairly good at something and to be able to cook tasty meals. Knowing what goes into a lot of meals also helps me make better choices for myself. For example, there's no need to buy taco seasonings: the right proportions of cumin, chili powder, and a little oregano do fine and eliminate all that salt.

I have discovered over the years that a lot of stuff that looks complicated is actually pretty simple once you get the hang of it. I keep a good supply of staples and spices around, plan my meals for the week, and shop accordingly. Sometimes I cook several dishes at once and put them in the fridge so dinner preparation is almost done -- especially useful if I need to study after work. My latest keepers: pot pie with sweet potatoes and Indian spices, slow-cooker pork in mole sauce, Asian-spiced pork with green beans and onions, and chicken enchilada casserole.

I find recipes all over the place and am willing to give a fair number of them a try. I have even done cabbage rolls recently -- they're not that hard! And -- I get good leftovers out of all.

Oh yeah, and I found a recipe for blackberry pie that is yummy -- not too sweet at all.

I have a grape vine in my greenhouse and my neighbour and her relations use the leaves to wrap minced meats and spices into small parcels..maybe like your cabbage dish.I love that they use my surplus leaves....I should look up a recipe to experiment with

Same sort of thing here, Mountain Ash...our backyard is full of mint, more than we could ever use. We have several neighbours from other parts of the world who use mint more than we do, so they all come over to our backyard and pick it when they need it. I'm so glad it doesn't go to waste. Many have come and taken some to replant in their gardens as well.

My friend comes for rhubarb just like you describe..How are you Eagle..?

As far as I am concerned, this is one of the biggest benefits of home cooking, Ellemm. The concept of knowing what goes into my food is huge. When dining out - which I love to do, by the way -- I'm starting to realize that it is WAY TOO EASY to eat way too much without knowing it... Not only are the servings too large, the plates too big, and the entire ambiance often designed to encourage us to overindulge, but beyond that, too often the menu items' ingredients are tricky.

We can think we are being healthy because we order a salad, for example, but the dressings and/or ingredients themselves can contain enough hidden fat, sugar and sodium to totally throw our weight management attempts out the window.

I think that's why the author who writes all those "Eat This Not That" articles for Men's Health finds people like the segment so much.

I just saw one of his segments on the Today Show this morning which featured Home Cooked Lower Calorie Versions of Our Favorite Grilled Foods.

In every example given, the home-cooked versions always saved at least 600 calories. Who doesn't want to do that?

Mountain Ash, Eagle Heart: in past homes I was lucky enough to have rhubarb growing in my back yard. Now no more. Same with mint, strawberries and raspberries.

I THINK there are still chives growing in my back yard these days, but I have to go buy the rest.

Those friends of yours who you are sharing with are lucky people!