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Monday, February 15, 2010
Dependent on RecipesWhen it's time to make dinner I usually start by taking
a look in the refrigerator to see what produce I have available. Unless I already have a particular recipe in mind,
I either look through my recipe file to find a recipe that includes the produce I possess, or search the index of a few cookbooks,
again looking for specific ingredients. Once I find a recipe that contains the produce I have, I then look at the
rest of the ingredient list to see if I have those items available. If I do, and the recipe appeals to
me, I get to chopping and cooking. If I don't have all of the ingredients, I either don't make it, substitute
something else, or leave out the particular item - as long as it's not vital to the recipe.
Sometimes
I get brave and use a recipe for inspiration and make it my own. Something I've been doing more often as I get better
at trusting myself. But, rarely do I not depend on a recipe to get me started.
So, I've decided,
that my goal for this year is to start trusting myself more in the kitchen. I mean, what's the worst thing that
can happen? The recipe can suck, right? Hey, that's a good way to learn what works and what doesn't.
But what if I come up with a winner? How rewarding is that?
I've actually been creating a file
of recipes that I have created...OK, some were inspired by others. But if you ever really study cookbooks, you'll
see that many of the recipes are just different versions of the same recipe. Someone else taking liberties with
ingredients or techniques and tweaking them a little or a lot to make them their own.
One of these
days I hope to compile all of my original recipes into a cookbook. Don't worry, I'll only include the winners.
Guess I better get busy cooking.
12:31 pm est
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