For me, candlelit is the only way to have a dinner. There are always candles at my table. And I like to have Luis Miguel playing in the background.

I think it's important to educate kids about food and let them help a little with the cooking and cleaning. That interaction is really important.

Those of us that were raised in Tijuana have so much access to San Diego. I was crossing the border every day when I was a kid, and that back and forth has a huge influence on the cuisine. So the U.S. is coming down to Tijuana, Tijuana is going to San Diego. There's this great blending, a great exchange.

In Tijuana, we have cuisine from every region of Mexico and cooks from all over cooking in all of the restaurants, so there is a huge influence from sources like the Yucatan, Oaxaca and Puebla.

Growing up in Mexico, I have many fond memories of not only celebrating posadas with my family, but also of the time spent together menu planning and prepping for decoration and entertaining activities. A lot of work goes into celebrating these traditions, but that doesn't mean they have to cost a lot too.

I'm passionate about holding on to my heritage and sharing it with family and friends, and cooking is a great way to do this.

Growing up in Mexico, I know what real Mexican food is - and isn't.

My life revolves around chipotles.

Cannot deal with cumin. We are not friends.

I cook healthy meals all the time. That's really important to me.

I kind of love the idea of teaching our kids that you don't have to follow the rules to be incredibly successful and live in harmony and have a wonderful life.

The more you make an effort, the more life gives you things to be grateful for.

We'll do frozen pizzas and then I'll get arugula from the garden and do a fresh salad over the top with shaved Parmesan. Or we'll buy a rotisserie chicken already made, and then we'll make tacos and a fresh salsa and we'll grill some vegetables to accompany it. We definitely try to make it a little bit homemade if it's not completely homemade.

I love to shop at the farmer's market or grab something from the garden and roast that.

We do two things almost every week - either grilled steaks marinated in herbs or roasted chicken. There's always a roasted vegetable, like Brussels sprouts or sweet potatoes or broccolini - whatever's in season.

The combination of charred poblanos and corn is a classic one in Mexico and once added to a rich, creamy dressing and soft potatoes, it makes for the perfect summer side.

I love warm salads with bacon and spinach. I love the varieties of the nicoise that show up on so many menus. I love steak salads for their lusciousness and how the meat juices seep into the dressing.

Usually when I have a salad it's pretty hearty, balanced and healthy and a full meal.

In Tijuana, because there's such a mix and match of people and regions and we're a newer city and everyone comes from some place else, I think we're just given permission to play with our food.

Tijuana is a baby compared to pre-Hispanic cities like Puebla or Oaxaca, the birthplace of mole.

I'm usually pretty good about knowing which of my social media posts will create more excitement, but every once in a while I'll post something and be totally surprised at the response.

Supermarket cherry tomatoes do serve a purpose, but the flavor is vastly different than those from your own garden. Same for broccoli and snap peas.

I had a lot of female role models around me as a kid, but my aunt Marcela Rodriguez was the strongest. When she was only 26, she opened Artes Culinarias Internacionales, one of the first culinary schools in Baja. She started with six students and built up to 800.

In Mexico, where I grew up, women rule the kitchen. They control everything that happens; they hold the power.