Thoughts

I was thinking today as I was cooking about how much I love to cook. I always go into it with a set recipe in mind. Whether it's one I got offline, one I created myself, or one passed on from my mom. I always tell myself "okay Kathleen, follow the recipe and everything will be fine." Yet, I never do follow my recipe. Even as I am posting blog pages I find myself constantly making changes to previous posts as I constantly change my recipe. But this is  why I love cooking. You have so much freedom. Yeah you have some basic guidelines on how to make something without screwing it up, but there are so many ways to vary from that standard to make something unique to you. Add an extra dash of cumin powder, like something sweet? add a few more tablespoons of sugar, don't like onions? Skip 'em. I know this is going to sound cheesy, but cooking in a way is like having a color by numbers. You have your borders, yet what you do inside of them is entirely up to you. I love creating something new. I figure, if it's got my favorite ingredients in it...no matter what I make I know at least I will like it and I hope someone else will. So for those of you who are just starting to cook, or for those who have been cooking for years; I dare you to take your usual recipe and change at least 3 things in it...and I mean be brave. Don't just add one more drop of milk...switch up the sugar type, add an extra spice, make it sweet instead of spicy. Try something new, it's bound to be rewarding...and if its not...well then you can take it up with me!