LOL! Johanna, you sound just like my mom. She gets a recipe from a friend, and ends up twisting it until it is a completely different dish!!! It usually turns out even better, but my gosh.....its like she HAS to add her own stuff to her recipes. She HAS to! What's even MORE funny is she will make HER version of the recipe, and invite the friend she got the recipe from for lunch or dinner. The friend then asks HER for the recipe of the delicious meal, and my mom ends up telling her, "Uh...I got the recipe from YOU!" LOL!

I usually follow recipes completely when it comes to baking cookies/cakes/etc. When I'm making something else though, I sometimes add my own things to it. If I'm using my mom's recipes, I'll follow it in everything because my mom cooks REALLY good and I have to copy her , but when its some other recipe, I do tend to change it a bit.

The other day, I made a pie...and the recipe said to use crushed pretzels for the crust. My mom said, "Pretzels are too salty...you need to use graham cracker crumbs instead." I used graham cracker crumbs and it turned out real nice. I'm still wondering how it would taste with pretzel crumbs though.

I also like hot foods...hot and spicy, so when making a typical American dish that tends to LACK spices, I add stuff to it....to make it a 'little' Eastern-ized...hot and spicy. LOL! Its just too plain without a little spicy stuff.