My Notes of Things I’ve Noticed While Cooking and Eating
I like my green beans wilted then crisped, not simply boiled or steamed.
White beans take longer to cook than darker beans.
You can make pesto out of any herb, not just basil.
Butternut squash goes well in homemade macaroni and cheese. (I was skeptical at first.)
I like my pumpkin bread sweet as can be.
Sweet potatoes get brown spots quickly when the skin is removed and the flesh exposed. I notice symbolism here but I haven’t quite understood a meaning yet.
Cooking from a recipe takes longer than cooking from my own brain. Since I'm cooking from someone else’s brain, I am having to learn how another does something and guess how long it will take to do something that I did not think up. What a wonderful and humble practice I’ve discovered it is to learn how someone else does something, like how Gulotta specifies to use a wooden spoon to stir the batter in a couple recipes. Though I would typically opt for a rubber spatula (and probably think is more effective), it is humbling to not understand why or possibly even think I have a better way, and yet still say “okay.”
Conversations taste sweeter when tired and poured over food.
Food tastes better on Saturdays.
Despite my doubts, I am in fact strong enough to shake a cast iron stockpot with the lid on in order to ensure my popcorn doesn't burn.
Brown butter is better made slowly. I used to wait to put the butter in the pan until the pan was fully hot, and then I would pop the butter in and watch it brown within milliseconds. This time, when I let the pan heat up with the butter in it, it actually helped create a frothy texture and a more even browning.
Pecans have a natural mapley smell I somehow hadn't noticed before.
I like to follow hot soup with ice cream.
Yellow onions make me cry more than purple or sweet.
Following recipes is expensive.
No matter how many times I try, I do not like goat cheese.