Cooking Fear? Part 4

Yesterday’s post talked about relaxing our expectations. That can be hard to do on a jam-packed schedule. One thing that can help: Limiting our exposure to things that fan the flames of panic. Seeing a whole pile of recipes clipped from the newspaper, for example, . . .

Cooking Fear? Part 3

How can we avoid the pitfalls of perfectionism, complexity and audience intolerance at cooking time? Relaxing expectations is a good first step.

Cooking Fear? Part 2

There’s good evidence that the food world is spiraling into the stratosphere of perfectionism and complexity: Consider the sheer amount of cooking information we’re exposed to: dozens of food shows and entire food networks, hundreds of internet sites devoted to cooking and recipes, . . .

Cooking Fear? Blame It on the Olympics

Do you have any cooking fears that are keeping you from the pleasures and riches of the kitchen? While lack of knowledge and food costs are some obvious culprits that fuel our cooking fears, this article explores whether the Olympics have given rise to some more fundamental attitudes that are unnerving us in the kitchen.

Herb and Spice Resources—A Beginning List

A couple of resources that might prove helpful for an herb and spice adventure. They feature recipes that are indexed by spice, making it easy to find new ways to use those herbs and spices on your experimentation list.

Using Herbs and Spices: Continue the Adventure

Go ahead and get hooked on using herbs and spices. In tough economic times, it’s an amazingly cheap thrill–especially using herbs from a kitchen or outdoor garden. And once you begin seeing common herb patterns, you can begin exercising your own creativity.

Getting Adventurous Using Herbs and Spices—Part 2

If you’re ready to start using herbs and spices more adventurously, or just at all, here are
Seven More Rules of the Road for a Successful Spice Adventure

Getting Adventurous Using Herbs and Spices

Ready to start using herbs and spices more adventurously, or just at all? Here are Six Tricks and Tips for a Successful Spice Adventure

Using Herbs and Spices–Outside the Comfort Zone

If you want to begin using more and/or more interesting herbs and spices, the most important step is taking the plunge. Don’t get persuaded to hunker down in your comfort zone by a possibility of un-success that’s really pretty small and hardly disastrous.

Money-Wise Investing Tips for Your Kitchen Pantry–Take 2

Of all the dozens and dozens of pantry staples in the grocery store, how do you know which to buy that won’t just sit on the shelves unused? Mary offers a “Canvasses and Accents” approach to help.