“I just wish I knew how to make this”
“If only I could do that”
“I wouldn’t even know how to begin”
I hear this a lot. Friends and family share that they don’t feel super comfortable cooking if they don’t have a recipe right in front of them. It’s what makes cooking stressful to them, rather than enjoyable and therapeutic. When I started in the kitchen, I relied heavily on a recipe. It was comfort zone for me and I would not be casual about stepping outside the lines of the recipe in front of me.
Then, my dad asked me to help him in the kitchen. I asked questions that I would have answers to from a recipe. They were, “how much of *insert ingredient*?” or “exactly how long should this cook?”. I had panic in my eye when my dad said to me “how much of *insert ingredient* do you think it needs?”
WHAT?! HOW MUCH DOES IT NEED?!!?!? Shouldn’t you know that, sir?
He reminded me that there isn’t a recipe for every single dish and the best part of cooking it is making it our own. So, taste the dish and see what it needs. Sure enough, I taste tested and rattled off a few things I would add. My dad advised me to add small and continue as it needs, as you can always add more but can’t ever take back.
As I spent more time in the kitchen, I would try to deviate from a recipe slightly. I would add garlic because I knew it would go well with the other ingredients or I would omit certain seasonings if I found them to be too heavy or not tasty to me. We cook for our hungry tummies. Not all of us have the same taste buds, and that’s really cool. It means that you can take something that someone enjoys and alter it to be perfect for you.
This was a huge learning lesson in my life. Sure, I may use a recipe for a new dish. But just grabbing ingredients that I know that I like and putting them together usually makes a meal I’d like. Take the risk in the kitchen, as most delicious things probably came from a hunch. The worst thing is that you will have to try again.
As we continue through the food feels part of my blog, we will cover defining your taste buds and finding direction in the kitchen.
