Recipes. To follow or not to follow, that is the question.
But is it really?
Many of my clients start off telling me that they are terrible cooks, that it’s a miracle they haven’t burned down the kitchen yet, that they simply can’t be bothered. Upon further examination it turns out that these statements often mask either a fear of failure or a general disinterest in fulfilling what many people see as a dull but necessary chore.
As we are all told in kindergarten, we each possess special gifts, inpidual strengths that are ours alone. This is true in the kitchen as well. For example, I get enthusiastic and overexcited; my husband, on the other hand, tends to err on the side of caution. You should see how those attitudes are reflected in our driving styles!
When I was a child, I loved playing dress up and pretending to be someone else for a little while. I loved physical games like hide-and-seek or tag. Riddles and puzzles never tempted me. My little brother excelled at games that tested his knowledge and challenged his intellect.
When we made dinner together a few Christmases ago, I had to laugh at how different our approaches to cooking are. I get dirty, I prefer to use my hands as often as possible, I throw a bunch of stuff in a pan and hope for the best. My brother is meticulous about everything from the placement of ingredients to the temperature of the oven to the timings of each phase in his preparation. In the end, we both enjoyed ourselves and the meal was fabulous.
Because who doesn’t like to play?
If you don’t like to cook, dread the possible outcomes or are bored, why not try to figure out how to transform kitchen duties into the kind of game that best suits you?
Are you motivated by a ticking clock and besting your previous records? Or do you prefer to work with textures? Do colours inspire you? Or are you the kind of person who likes to plot and strategize?
What kind of player are you?
As children, some of us liked charades, while others preferred to solve murder mysteries or figure out how to best take over the world one country at a time. The same is true in the kitchen: to follow a recipe or not to follow a recipe may be the question but, in my opinion, the true answer lies in finding out what makes spending time preparing food fun (other than eating it, of course).
So go ahead, play with your food! It might offer some insights into the kind of cook you are, even if you’ve never thought of yourself as one.
And if you want some help exploring new foods, ideas and recipes, consider getting in touch! Let me help you spice up your culinary home life in time for the holidays. To set up a consultation or find out more, email me at Gabriela@thepickyfoodie.com
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