I have always loved eating. And because I love eating, I started to love baking. When I moved out of residence in my second year of university, I learned to love cooking. Now that we’ve arrived to month 7 of quarantine, I have gotten the chance to truly love cooking.
What does this mean?!
It means that I realized cooking and baking are not simply about making delicious food once, enjoying it, and then not touching the recipe again. My definition of cooking has evolved from a ‘one and done’ deal to a process of reiteration and improvement. I’m learning to assess my final result, brainstorm fixes, and actually re-make the recipe with my adjustments – similarly to how someone would edit an essay or put on an outfit and change the top. I’m not going to lie, it’s been a little expensive, a little stressful, and very time-consuming, but also incredibly fun and rewarding!
I’m also living at my parent’s home which means there are a total of six people (my parents, my sister, and my grandparents) and our new puppy. Cooking a dinner for 6 – as someone who has been cooking for one (herself) for her formative cooking years – is a whole new ballpark that I never expected. Not only are quantities larger and unpredictable since appetites range so much, but there’s also a more specific expectation for schedule. When I cook for myself, I don’t care how long it takes because I’m really only following my own timing. When I cook for the 5 other people in my house, I need to deliver the food at the dinner table by 6:30PM, but not earlier than 6PM. This 30 minute window might seem big, but trust me, it’s not.
Prime Example: My Roast Chicken. I didn’t even take a picture the first time because I was so stressed out! The chicken – despite being 1lb lighter than the one used in the recipe – was extremely raw when I took it out in the recipe’s allotted time, and needed an extra 1.5hrs to cook. Our dinner was delayed by an hour and a half… Had we not been in quarantine, I would have just given up on roasting chicken, but now I’m determined to make the perfect roast chicken dinner and I’m trying it again!
Two Biggest Takeaways:
- Iteration is key to improvement and innovation: I already knew this about things related to work, tech, school, and other things such as sports. It’s interesting to see just how applicable this little life lesson is – it’s even useful in cooking.
- Expectations are good to set, but don’t be afraid to fail: Again, this is something I was aware of. Yet, putting this into practice while cooking has been really helpful in grounding me.
TLDR: Cook and bake more. It’ll help you.
Rachel Liu 