I have always enjoyed cooking, but the interest never truly took hold until I became a single father and was tasked with feeding two kids on a daily basis. Both kids had a severe milk allergy, (the go to the emergency room or inject epinephrine type--not an intolerance), so control over ingredients was important. I also wanted to minimize if not eliminate the amount of pre-packaged food we were consuming to better control the intake of things like sugar and sodium and things I cannot pronounce.