Epiphany

As epiphanies go, this one isn't terribly exciting. I'm not running naked down the street screaming "eureka!"or anything, (much to the relief of my neighbours, I'm sure) but it's only taken me 5 days of  Edmonds cooking to realise something that should have been obvious:

The reason I do ok at baking, but not so well at cooking, is that when I'm baking, I always use a recipe. Even when I'm messing about inventing my own muffin flavours, I still use a basic recipe as a guide. But when I cook, I very often just throw stuff into a pot or frypan and hope for the best.

When I cook with a recipe, it usually comes out quite well (This excepting standard Robyn behaviour like dropping eggs on the carpet or accidentally unplugging the crockpot). My make-it-up-as-I-go-along meals are usually full of promise in the cooking, but disappointing in the eating.

That's not to say there aren't meals that come out ok: everyone has their old standbys they could do in their sleep. It's when I get creative that it all turns to custard (No, not literally - even I would have trouble doing that). So I figure that I just don't have enough food knowledge to play it by ear. Yet.

Luckily I have a whole cookbook full of recipes ahead of me. With any luck, by the time I've finished, I'll have picked up a few tips and have a better idea of what I'm doing. And if not, at least I'll be in the habit of following a recipe!