Back to Basics

I like to cook, but I'm one of those annoying people that makes up stuff and doesn't measure anything. I just throw in whatever smells good and hope that it turns out good (it usually does!).

The problem comes when I get homesick for the food I grew up with -- Bengali/Indian dishes. While I have many cookbooks at my disposal and can always bug my mom or mother-in-law for their recipes, it's just not the same. Plus I want the satisfaction of coming up with just the right combination to make a yummy dish.

I also feel like I skipped over the basics that everyone learns. And I'm not a good baker -- probably goes back to my tendency to eyeball stuff. That just doesn't fly when you're dealing with stuff like flour, sugar, and eggs.

So I've decided that I'm going to go back and learn everything that I deem "basic." Right now, since I'm in an Bengali/Indian food kick, this means I'm trying to perfect certain dishes that I either grew up with or that I think I should know. I'm going to either try out various recipes from cookbooks until I find THE one, try recreating recipes from my mom and MIL, or just experiment on my own. And along the way I'll try to figure out shortcuts that work for me.

Plus this way I don't feel so bad for buying so many cookbooks. It's research, right? :D