cooking is about having fun

i love cooking, when i say cooking, i am going to include everything from baking to frying. (i know, they all have their own categorical words but i want to get my point across on a general scale)

the best part of course, is when people enjoy your food!

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the thing about cooking though, is that most people seem to think that a recipe is required in most instances, in order to make anything taste delicious at least. but, having gotten the hang of cooking, i say otherwise. honestly, you just need a good estimate and idea of what you are doing in order to make food taste great. when it comes to recipes, ratios make more sense than exact calculations on what you need.

for example, if you love pancakes, and you look up a recipe, you will notice that many of them follow the same pattern of ingredients. the ratio might be mostly 1:1:1 on dry and wet ingredients, (though, for pancakes i'd say its slightly more dry than wet to make good pancakes...slightly)

now, you might consider ratios a recipe, but i think you have more leeway in ratios over specific contents in a recipe, and you can scale them up better, too. you don't have to struggle, scour the aisles for all ingredients in a recipe, and stress and take hours cooking something /special/ because a recipe said it needs /this specific/ ingredient in it. (unless its a pastry, or a specially made dessert... i don't think you need to)

but cooking and or baking mean more than just ratios too. it means adding your special touch to the food you are making as well. this concept extends to more than just pancakes, of course! 🍲-(-‿- )

you can try to look at flavors as colors while you cook, at least that's what i do. i know, it sounds bogus but it actually works, and i think it makes being in the kitchen more fun when you try new combinations. for example, red and brown spices tend to be heartier (think paprika, cumin, turmeric etc.) and can be added when your dish is missing a little depth...

even spices we usually only see in desserts in meat dishes and vegetables can be added and still taste delicious. for example cinnamon. there are parts of the world that use cinnamon with their meats and i will say a little dash definitely adds a special hit to any meal. usually you can't taste the specific spices separately unless you add a large amount, plus, they add a special flavor note that you usually don't see in food nowadays. there is something so artistic and creative about cooking that its exciting to even talk about it. its like the drawing of the kitchen, your canvas is the pot/pan/wok that you use. (ᵔ◡ᵔ) -- -aneri