Recipes - Only a Suggestion

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There are two types of people in the world. Recipe followers and recipe disregard-ers. Not that they never read recipes they just read and disregard at will. 

In case you haven’t figured it out yet from my other writings, I fall firmly in the second category. I love recipe ideas and starting points for meals, but I am entirely likely to end up with something that only vaguely resembles the actual recipe I started with. 


Here are some rules for dis-regarding recipes:

1.     Cooking is an art, baking is a science. If you are baking, follow the recipe… mostly. You can tweak the flavorings a bit or look for a direct substitute for something you don’t have on hand. An example of this is when we use Craisins in place of raisins because we like them better in Russian Rocks or the sugar/water substitute in Pecan Pie. 

2.     When cooking, always be aware of your end game. Think where you are aiming with your flavor profiles. So, if you are doing a pumpkin soup that is flavored with cinnamon and nutmeg, you might want to avoid adding parmesan cheese. On the other hand, the same recipe flavored with garlic and turmeric would be a nicely compatible with Parmesan.

3.     If you delete a component, replace whatever it was bringing to the party. For instance, going vegetarian? Try replacing meat with mushrooms. They replace the savory flavor and the meaty texture. Allergic to nuts? Check out Thai peanut pasta. Try it with tahini and add a teaspoon of smoked paprika to round out the flavor. This replaces the nuttier peanut flavor with smokiness. Not the same but in the same flavor direction. 

4.     You will have recipe fails. Don’t worry, it happens to all of us. Sometimes I just throw away the leftovers and try something different next time. It takes practice to understand how flavors play together, so try different things. Taste frequently. Experiment with a small sample if you are worried. 

5.     If you aren’t sure what flavors go together read other recipes. Sometimes when I want to fix a particular dish I’ll read several recipes, mix and match, and see what they’re putting together and go from there. 

6.     Don’t forget sour/tart. Sometimes lemon juice makes a huge difference.

7.     Fat can round out bitterness. That’s why butter is sometimes nice in vegetable soup. Salt also helps, but don’t overdo it. 

8.     Have fun. If you don’t it will show in your food.


Recipes are just a starting place. Be creative and see every misstep as a learning experience. 

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