THIS WEEK'S TOPIC: COOKING QUESTION B:When you cook, do you follow recipes as strictly as the person whom you learned cooking from did, and why or why not? I don't follow recipes strictly as they're written. I see it as an opportunity to be creative and add a splash of my own personality to the dish. So I ad-lib when it comes to amounts or even types of herbs and/or spices in a certain dish. My mother and father are both very good cooks, but I don't cook anything like they do. They're idea of spice in a dish is salt and pepper and maybe seasoned salt if they're feeling wild and crazy. I grew up eating the same meals for dinner week in and week out. I now drive my son crazy by trying something new all of the time.