This is a photo essay about the quiet moments before a bakery opens. It features Valerio's Tropical Bake Shop in Heartland Town Centre, Mississauga.

Hailed as the "Home of the Famous Hot Pan De Sal," Valerio's Tropical Bake Shop in Mississauga proves innovation isn't a bad thing.

The photos in this essay were captured from the perspective of a newly-migrated person experiencing Christmas alone for the first time. It features Toronto's The Distillery Winter Village, one of the world's most popular, busiest Christmas markets.

The short answer is: I don't cook as much as I used to and that's okay.

The four-day trip that keeps me smiling, my mouth watering, to this day.

Five things that made me my friends' favorite baker, even if a year ago my oven almost caught fire.

Food is edible therapy, and making it made me better in so many ways.

From one amateur to another, here are some easy baking tips I wish I learned sooner.