The Instinctive Cook

A few months ago I had been following recipes for everything I cooked.  I would follow every recipe to the letter.

I had begun to notice that this would not always yield desired results, based on taste and the anticipation that the brain placed on the meal.

It must have been two or three months back that I decided to start messing with recipes.**  I changed an ingredient based on what I had on-hand, or changed altogether based on my own tastes.  A recipe may have called for fresh thyme but what if all I had was dry? Another may have asked for me to caramelize an onion but what if I wanted to quickly fry it instead?  I used what I wanted, when I wanted.  Lather, rinse, and repeat.

After a few months of trusting my instincts and improvising when I could, I began to notice that one starts to develop a muscle-memory of sorts. I have made the same chicken soup recipe for three years now, and have more or less committed it to memory. From that basic recipe I learned so much that I feel confident in fabricating other soups and broths.  Memory becomes instinct becomes memory and so on.

Despite a few months of tweaking and changing recipes, I still occasionally find myself bogged down in the everyday cooking and lost energy for the learning side of things, the "where," "why," and "when" cooking takes place.  And yet, I am a better cook now than when I started, something that is measurable in all of this.

What is the goal, then?  To be a good cook?  To be able to recall, from memory, a dish or meal on command?

I know I began this blog not to be a good cook, but a better one.  I also wanted to strive to not only make but to learn.  Therein lies the conflict: is the learning in the doing or the doing in the learning?  Pun would be completely intended if I said this were a Chicken/Egg controversy. 

Perhaps the answer is both. You learn as you do, and then do as you learn.  One's mistakes begets one's successes, and further on.  It's both chicken and egg, scrambled into a delicious omelet.

Another humbling, another lesson learned, as it were.  Off to go and try and make (heck, even learn!) red beans and rice from memory. (Beats crosswords, right?)



**I get frightened, however, and won't mess with a recipe if it's for something for people other than J and I, as I worry my tweaks will make the dish come out terrible.  This is fine, but I have a separate goal in mind when cooking for others: to please the crowd and not my particular taste.

Zen and the Art of Refridgerator Maintence

Happy New Year!

I have been up these past few nights wondering what to write on the blog.  I'm not one for "resolutions" this time of year, as I don't usually remember them past the end of my nose.  Also, I'm none too good at finishing what I start. 

Food Truck of the Month: December

December isn't over yet, folks, and I'm here before the New Year to tell you about my December food truck pick.

Rice Box Truck, "Chinese Take-Out on the Go."

IE delays my blog

I have not posted in nearly a month.

Truth be told, I have not cooked in nearly a month.  Parties, family in town, and a lot of work has led to me not cooking as much.  

Also, I frequently write a post while at work (on my breaks, mind you), and then edit and add pictures later.  I hope I didn't blow anyone's mind with a peek behind the curtain or anything just now, but that's how I was running the blog for the most part.

That is, until I updated to the newest version of blogger, and the version of IE at my workplace doesn't support it.

So instead of pulling up my apron-strings and taking the the blame for not updating frequently, I shall blame something that "could've happened to anyone."


Sigh. If only there were sarcasm font.  Truth is, one does what one pleases, and for some reason, writing about the food I had managed to cook did not please me the last month--call that "taking the blame" if you will, but I'm not quite certain blame need be cast, as this is a blog about food I cook. 

Excuses and exposition aside, I have managed to eek out a a few new developments in the past month, like me discovering Rawfully Organic produce, a co-op here in Houston that has amazing and local produce for relatively (and I haven't done that math) cheap. The name says it all, as there is organic and locally-produced fruits and veggies that are placed in "shares" seasonally.  I have thoroughly enjoyed them the two times I've managed to pick up a box, and seeing as how I rent and can't grow veggies in the backyard without an angry landlord or two, it's the closest I'll come to true seasonal cooking.

I am now the proud owner of not one but two new cookbooks, which I look forward to using in the near future. The first, The Silver Spoon, is a tome about cooking Italian.  It's not just recipes, however, there is a complete glossary in the beginning that was written for people just like, seeking to expand their cooking vocabulary and skill.  The other, Farm to Table Cookbook, is a guide and recipe book about eating locally, something I have recently gotten into.  Both were early Christmas presents of my dear friends and excellent foodies/chefs, R and C.  I love friends that know me so well.

I am constantly finding food and life lessons all around me.  I was listening to an edition of The Engines of our Ingenuity, and Dr. Leinhart was discussing the concept of Ignorance.  He stated at one point that, despite his many degrees and vast knowledge, sometimes tackling a problem with an attitude of arrogance will get you nowhere.  It was when he approached a problem with a humble heart and a readiness to learn, that he not only solved the problem much faster but also found his mind expanded beyond his own belief.  All this to say, I realized that this approach may be the best fit for myself when it comes to food and cooking.  I have noticed that when I am ready to learn and "forget what I know" about a given food-related topic, I learn more about it that I ever thought possible.  A closed mind gathers no knowledge, or however the saying goes.

More soon!

Housecleaning: Co-ops, Thanksgiving wrap-up, etc.

It's been about a week since I posted so I thought I'd start this round of posts off with some housecleaning on a bunch of topics.