I use color as my chief guide. But I always squeeze an avocado - you want the fruit to feel close to the skin. If you can feel a separation, the avocado is past its prime. The avocado should have a little give, but not much.

Meyer lemons are a splurge, but they're so wonderful. You could make a Meyer lemon curd or a jam. You could make a salad with slices of Meyer lemon. You could make a Meyer lemon tart and top the tart with candied slices of the lemons. You could use the lemons in a salsa to go over grilled fish or in a ceviche.

The food world is more crowded these days, but I think that there are more opportunities.

Do the work you are most proud of

Sometimes I think there are devils at work in the kitchen - recipes that are always perfect sometimes come out less than perfect and I can't figure out why.

You can use melted butter instead of oil, but your cake may be a little denser.

Real French people don't bake! At least they don't bake anything complicated, finicky, tricky or unreliable.

I often say that eggs and sugar should be beaten until they thicken and pale and sometimes, when there are lots of yolks, that's lemon colored.

There are so many reasons to cook and bake. Yes, good food is certainly one of them, but so is the sense of satisfaction you get when you make something with your own hands, when you know that you can take care of yourself and feed yourself well and when you know that you can take care of and feed others.

Cooking and baking are pleasures and I want everyone to be able to experience and share them.