I have developed past that now, but sometimes cooking gets stressful.

One reason is because I feel overwhelmed when it comes time to choose a new recipe to try. There are just so many options out there.

Because nothing is perfect, I systematically modify recipes with certain ingredients and that be either a success or a flop. Though the flops are less frequent now than they used to be. When I got married we took turns cooking. My husband has never admitted as much, but I think he agreed to cook because he wasn't so impressed with my skills. But I guess we'll never know since he is happy to just eat now.

On top of that I've eliminated all dairy products from my diet. I am not lactose intolerant, though the change has had a dramatic positive effect on my waste line and overall health. Still I needed to replace them, I use "soy cream" and the various milks. To replace butter I only needed to pick out a good margarine that didn't have added milk products.

These changes also required me to adapt to the different ingredients and there were some mishaps, but only small ones. One thing that I noticed was that the amounts were drastically different when you remove dairy from your kitchen.

By going a different direction I was able to reinvigorate my interest in cooking. When I was growing up it was meat, potatoes and a hardy helping of fat either in the form of cheese or heavy creams.

All of my brothers still love their heavy meals but my sister and I have both switched up to a healthier diet. My husband was already further along than I was – one of the reasons he was willing to take a hand in the cooking department.

It was all about finding a balance and understanding what goes into making the task both enjoyable and rewarding.

When I was growing up it was a chore. When I was married it was hit or miss and I often felt like I just didn't know what I was doing, which made the whole thing stressful. Once we grew together and I found that balance things got enjoyable. Cooking for a child further strengthened my love of cooking

Our daughter was a pleasure to cook for, my son was a bit of a picky eater and it required further balance that I found with a little work.

I may share some of our favorites but every family is special in their tastes and you certainly have your favorite dishes.

More to come!

It is easy to prepare you only need: three cheeses, wine, bread and you're done. The only trick is not to drop your piece of bread which is a fondue faux pas so be careful!

It is easy to make and I have learned a few tricks along the way which I will be sharing with you in just a moment. While you can make a good fondue with just about any cheese there is something that can bes said about a well selected blend that makes the whole experience more enjoyable.

But first the tips.

Rub the garlic on the inside of the pan so that the cheese does not stick afterwards. I learned this the hard way in the beginning and once I tried the garlic trick things got so much better. It is amazing how much this simple step does to improve the fondue.

Cut your cheeses into large cubes. When I first started it seemed like a good idea to make everything as fine as possible. So I grated my cheese. It was a chore but while being under the impression that it was better one that I was pleased to handle. Later I learned that it was better to place large pieces of cheese in the pot and slow cook them over low heat so that they had a better chance to melt together.

Stir, when the cheese begins to melt add the white wine, 1 teaspoon of nutmeg and continue to mix this allows the spice to really bring the flavor out and mix with the cheese.

Remove the fondue from the heat when your cheeses have completely melted and the texture is well mixed.

As for cheese there are a number of different styles of fondue to choose from. Here, thanks to wikipedia, are the most common types of mixtures based on the region.

Swiss

• Vaudoise: Gruyère.
• Fribourgeoise: Vacherin fribourgeois à fondue, wherein potatoes are often dipped instead of bread. This is the only cheese fondue that does not use wine. The cheese is melted in a few tablespoons of water over low heat.
• Moitié-moitié (or half and half), also called Fondue Suisse: Gruyère and Fribourg vacherin.
• Neuchâteloise: Gruyère and Emmental.
• Innerschweiz: Gruyère, Emmental, and Sbrinz.
• Genevoise: Gruyère (preferably of several stages of maturity) with a little Emmentaler and Valais cheese. Sometimes chopped sautéed morels are added.
• Interlaken: Gruyère, Appenzeller, Emmental.
• Appenzeller: Appenzeller cheese with cream added.
• Tomato: Gruyère, Emmental, crushed tomatoes, and wine.
• Spicy: Gruyère, red and green peppers, with chili.
• Mushroom: Gruyère, Fribourg vacherin, and mushrooms.

French

• Savoyarde: Comté, Beaufort and one or two other local cheese like Reblochon, Abondance, or French equivalent of Gruyère.
• Jurassienne: Mature or mild Comté.
• Auvergnate: Saint-Nectaire, Cantal and Fourme d'Ambert

Italian alpine

• Valdôtaine (French: Fondue à la valdôtaine or Italian: Fonduta alla valdostana): Fontina, milk, eggs, and truffles, typical of the Aosta Valley;
• Fonduta piemontese in Piedmont.

Enjoy!