July 20, 2010

Kitchen Adventures: How We Roll

I've eluded to this before.  I'll be very clear:  I have difficulty following recipes.

I love recipes. I even read them in my free time.  I scribble them on scratch paper (and then I misplace them). I contemplate them when I probably have better things to do.  But when I get down to the nitty-gritty of a weeknight meal, I don't want to use a cookbook; instead, I want a method etched in my memory file, so that when I'm digging through my refrigerator, it comes together for me: "Green onions, carrots... some leftover rice, eggs... oh, add frozen peas, a protein and soy sauce.  We'll have fried rice!"

Even in baking, I make all kinds of modifications in my quest to make it a little better than last time.  I am the kind of baker who likes to substitute other flours for some of the all-purpose flour in baking.  At one point I counted eleven different kinds of flours and grains in my freezer.  And I don't tend to have whole milk on hand, so I frequently use 1% or 2%... or cream or yogurt depending on the desired result and what I have available.

Feeling flexible and learning how different ingredients work makes cooking easier, but it makes sharing recipes a little difficult.  I hope you will bear with me and feel a similar freedom to pursue your own kitchen adventures.

(I know you were expecting "Rich Chocolate Cake II" yesterday and it's coming, I promise.  And yes, it was a hit at my friend's baby shower this weekend.  I'm just having some technical difficulties in getting my photos of the cake to the blog.  Thank you for your patience.)

4 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 20, 2010

    I loved how you wrote that piece. It was informative, funny and insightful. I pretty much cook the same way. My partner Louie is challenging to cook for because he is a bit picky.
    What do about picky eaters. Got any ideas? Toni

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  2. Thank you, Toni, for commenting. I think most people are picky eaters; it's just tricky when you are picky about different foods. What kinds of foods does he like? I'll be thinking.

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  3. I made notes on baking recipes for when we lived at a higher altitude and they are still penciled into the cookbook...

    - Dad

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  4. When I use a recipe that really worked, I make a note in the margin. If I make a change, I also note that. But, not all the time. I don't usually mess with recipes for baked goods, so thank you for giving me permission to do more of that. Your writing is very fun to read!

    Candi

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