
To do this, I needed to learn an entire process--finding a recipe was only the beginning. How to plan for multiple meals, how to shop, what to stock at all times, what tools work best. An Ivy League education and a full career in marketing and advertising left me woefully underqualified.
I learned enough to make a dinky self-published, cookbook of my old favorites (print run 25, see above). Since then, recipes have drifted away, been rejected with authority, and many more have been added. I'm blessed to be around a host of talented people who really and truly know how to cook and a very tolerant family who will try darn-near anything. As well, my near-pathological obsession with 641.5 library books (cookbooks) and Google.
Here's what I learned along the way.
1. You know what tastes good. Be confident that you can cook well. Which brings me to
2. A recipe is really a “guideline.” I typically can’t leave well enough alone when trying out new things. So consider all these recipes as “guidelines” and adjust them to your personal taste as well.
It still genuinely surprises me when I'm asked for a recipe. Feeding My Ohana is my way to share my absolute love of eating, with the reassurance that you won't have to go through crazy cooking hoops to make it.