Food is a thing. I like food. Maybe a bit too much but hey, everyone has their weaknesses. Mine are food, bullets, and of course, the native bird of South America, the Potoo. However, Food trumps these rather firmly in my life. I absolutely love cooking, the smells filling the house, and feeding others my food. I can't imagine other people don't have the same sort of joys. I suppose it's a human experience.
I might not be the best one to pass on cooking knowledge, but I'll give you a few of my favorite ingredients.
Nullifiers:
Things like brown sugar which lessens the acid in tomatoes, potatoes for reducing salt, and cocoa powder can bring down the spiciness of a dish. These things are excellent to keep on hand to fix mistakes or to "fix" a recipes problems. I use brown sugar regularly to reduce the tomato acid in spaghetti so I don't lay awake at night contemplating my misfortune. I am personally still looking for something to make cheese easier on me. I should add cheese to the list of weaknesses.
Pasta:
I have an unnatural love of pasta. Spaghetti, rigatoni, bowtie, rotini, lasagna, you name it, I love it. Most dishes could use more pasta in them. Chili, baked potatoes, scrambled eggs, just all of it needs more pasta! I should really add pasta to the list of weaknesses as well.
Time:
Above all, time is my favorite ingredient. No, I'm not totally illiterate (just mostly), I do mean time and not thyme. I've found for dishes like spaghetti sauce, chili, and most stand-alone meats, time, whether under direct heat or passively resting, or thawing, is something that can really add depth to a dish that isn't obtainable through physical ingredients. So add it where you can, in thawing your meat over the day, simmering longer, leave the fowl in the brine longer, and cook a little slower.
I think I'll go add time to the list of weaknesses as well.
Song of the day: Pink Floyd - Shine on you Crazy Diamond
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