They say confession is good for the soul, and I need unburden my soul on this.
I have lust in my heart, for cooking. I read and collect cookbooks, but seldom follow recipes. I am a better cook, then baker, because I don't do well at following directions. As a child I colored outside the lines and insisted that it was possible for there to be purple kittens. For me cooking is about a concept, technique and method - it is not a chemistry formula to be followed. When I say I read cook books, I really do read them, exploring the way that ingredients are put together. The great cook books include narrative describing method and technique. I love exploring ingredients and seeing how minor changes in ingredients makes subtle changes in the finished dish. There is a downside to this. I can't always duplicate my successes - anyone can duplicate a failure. Until I started trying to describe recipes for this blog, I never really thought about what I put in. I buy what looks good in the market, and add to it from what I have on hand that needs to be used (the shallots in the soup below is a good example.)
as I said to fearsome beard this morning:
ReplyDelete"recipes are like knitting patterns: only suggestions. you have the basics, then modify. I NEVER use a recipe or a knitting design as written, I ALWAYS add my own touches!"
that is what makes it YOURS!
OK, I know where you are coming from with cooking vs. baking. That said, I am in the Martha Stewart camp when she famously dissed Rachel Ray's similar claim that she couldn't bake as "nonsense" (or was it "ridiculous"?). I'm not really great at either one, tho, so who am I to point a floury finger? ~~ NB
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