The Joy of Cooking

Cooking is so fulfilling and creative. My head fills with images of beautifully presented meals when I read recipes. Recipes are guidelines and are not meant to be taken as gospel. They often require tweaking to make them a bit more personal. I love taking old classics and spicing them up with new twists. Joy comes to me from people who are pleasantly surprised by a new taste in a dish that they thought they knew intimately. A man who has only ever known his mother's lasagna might have doors of possibilities opened for him when he suddenly realizes that there is so much more to lasagna than long, wide noodles, ricotta & mozzerella, and "red sauce". A girl who has the same fried egg with toast every morning for breakfast might become inspired in ways she did not know possible when she is shown the wonderful things you can do with eggs and toast if you use a little imagination. A dish that does not turn out quite right is a learning experience and will make the next dish you create a little bit more delicious.

The only ugly side of cooking: clean up.