 Love it or hate it No matter your approach to it there is a constancy to the work of cooking. Even the simplest tasks require some degree of preparation, assembly, and cleanup. If you hate it the work is odious, if you love it can literally and figuratively feed you. Either way, most of us […]  Better than what? I would like to be better. But it’s not that easy. An old friend often responds to my snarky Twitter posts with that very tag; #Be Better. I suppose he means to be kinder, but he is a kind of snarky person himself, so maybe he means be even better at being […]
Hoping and dreading Last week I got the email with the best worst news I’ve been awaiting. Or was it the worst best news? The university where I work(ed) is reopening for the fall semester, and I will return to work in August. Yeah! Oh. What do you want first? The good news or the […]
 I’m not a fan I hear there are people who love that new car smell so much they buy air freshener that mimics it. I’m not a fan. Nevertheless, back in the time before, I was planning to buy a new car. It’s been quite a while since I dared to consider such a purchase, […]
 You may not know it but there is probably a superhero in your pantry right now. I personally have about eight cans. And yes, they were bought before COVID 19 sent us all scrambling to fill our larders and shelter at home. I am no tuna hoarder! In truth, some of the cans were […] |
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Asha - This is such an interesting question to explore; talent or skill. Focusing on cooking/food is particularly relevant at the moment too. That was a nice way to bring the reader with you. You make some particularly good points about balance and understanding ingredients. Like writing, I find that breaking the “rules” in cooking works best when you understand what the rules are and why they’re there. The breaking of rules then becomes a deliberate act for a particular, chosen effect. On a side note, my kids and I recently bought and tried Mountain Dew flavoured Doritos. Whoever came up with that combination could stand to read this essay.
nrlowell@comcast.net - Asha, As always, thank you for your feedback. I was already deep into finishing this piece when I read your “Who Knew?” and had a bit of a chuckle. Funny how ideas often have unrecognized outside forces pushing them forward. Today I read another piece elsewhere that echoed that same sentiment of practicing something improves performance, who knew?. All the best!
Rajib Sarkar - Really nice heading “Practice doesn’t make perfect”. Perfection makes a goal of success. Cooking is an art, when you mix that art with balanced nutrition then it’s a wonderful result.
Venice - As a person who enjoys cooking, I agree that skill does make an impact. I started off with a little bit of talent (courtesy few genes from my grandmother) but was just an okay cook. A friend of mine has pure talent as well as skill. Like you mentioned in ‘The theory of lousy cooking’, about balance and complement, he is one of the few people I know who creates signature dishes where the ingredient proportions always hits the jackpot. I took notes of every minute skill that went into his preparations, and attempted copying them, and there has been a significant improvement in my cooking. I still have to govern the knack of balance 🙂
It was extremely enjoyable to read your post – the paragraph structure makes it seem like I’m reading new chapters. I also admire the brevity of your content – you state your point, illustrate them, and move on. Most of all, I love that you brought up this poignant topic – especially since this pandemic has seen more of us in the kitchen.
nrlowell@comcast.net - Thank so much for your feedback, I’m glad this piece resonated with you.
As someone who has cooked as an amateur, a professional, and then again as a home cook, I find I never stop learning, experimenting, failing, and succeeding.