The commonsense of cooking

From where I am from, cooking is considered more than just a surviving skill. But I didn’t even know survival cooking. It all seemed so confusing. From measuring the ingredients to be added, to adjusting the flame of the stove, every thing just went over my head (No. I am not stupid even if it may appear so). I tried to avoid crossing the threshold of  kitchen as far as possible. I used to be the kind of person who opted to remain hungry rather than cook(obviously because I was fortunate enough to have a kind mother who cooked everything I liked and always made sure my hunger strike demands were addressed). Cooking was like the nightmare I wanted to wake up from, so badly. 

A quarter century of my life had passed and on one fine Thursday evening, when the moon had marked his presence on the sky I finally got a kitchen all to myself. Pages were turned and a new journey had begun. The one I had to lead on my own. But I had to begin from scratch. 

A bit of text book knowledge, hearsay and some old memories from when I stopped by the kitchen to just rant, while my mother cooked (one of the many things I am good at) where the only ingredients that I had. And I started with those and much to my surprise, it turned out good. Day by day, my confidence level kicked in and by the end of the first month, I felt like a pro (I know I have a lot more to learn but I was proud of myself and I have to pat my own back if no one does). 

From a girl who had zero knowledge about cooking; who seriously hated the idea of even entering the kitchen, I was doing pretty well. It even made me think if it’s in my blood. All this time I was unaware of this hidden skill inside me and now all of a sudden it has sprung out startling myself. So I decided to share the wisdom I acquired in my journey so far in order to reach out to those who think they are a disaster at cooking. Do not worry, if I can cook, well y’all definitely can. 

Cooking is not rocket science

Contrary to what I used to believe, cooking is not that hard. It isn’t like a mathematical problem you cannot solve nor a secret code that you cannot crack. It is just a blend of art and science you would naturally imbibe. Invest your time and effort in it and you will do just fine. In the process, you keep learning. There are no hard and fast rules; only common sense and judgment calls.

No one is born a great cook 

People may be born with golden, silver or steel spoon in their mouths but no one is born with spatulas and tongs in their hands. Cooking is a skill you acquire over time and improve with experience. Everyone cooks disaster at least once in their life time. That is nothing to be disheartened about. After all, a folder dedicated to recipes was not created in our brain when it was being formed. 

Opportunity is the mother

An important factor which contributes to this learning process is opportunity. Not everyone likes to be over enthusiastic and grab the opportunity to cook. But when there are no experienced cooks around when you get down to the battle field and the spices temper in the hot pan, that’s the smoking point when you realize that you have to fight this on your own. Your judgments and IQ will naturally come to your defense. 

You might never learn cooking unless you realize that your life is dependent on it. When there are no spoons to feed you and your grumbling belly becomes restless, you have no choice other than to cook and that’s when your baby steps begin.  

Patience is the key

Cooking requires a lot of patience. The quality of the food you make is directly proportional to the time and effort you invest in it. While some dishes take hours to perfect some have to go through a lot of processes which may appear tiresome, but finally you get a delicious output which would be worth your investments. 

Do what works for you 

You do not always need to blindly follow the recipes. You can be creative and take deviations here and there. What works for others may not always work for you. Everyone has a style of their own. Hence doing what has worked for you before, would always help you in your future cooking endeavors, but imitating others would not. 

Never be intimidated by the backseat cooks

Well, everyone is entitled to their opinion, but it is up to you if you need to consider it or not. Likewise, everyone has their own power of judgement, and yours you should certainly exercise when it comes down to cooking. If people are breathing down your neck, giving instructions and suggestions from behind and you blindly follow them, everything turns into a mechanical process. But cooking should be a conscious and natural process. We can’t get better at it if we can’t apply our own judgments.

 

Love is always the secret ingredient

It may appear so cliche but love indeed brings out the best in dishes. There is no point in looking for that one ingredient which makes a dish toothsome, because it can only be found within. When you cook something with love, the output never fails to seduce your taste buds. Just like in life, love can do wonders to your food.