RECIPE? WHAT’S A RECIPE?

My mom and dad were both great cooks. My dad could hold his own, but my mom did most of the cooking. I started helping when I was younger than I can even remember. I do, however, remember the first thing I cooked over an open flame: the fingers on my left hand when I was just tall enough to turn on the burner on the gas range – or, if you are from Texas, “the stove.”

No one I grew up watching cook – my mom, my dad, my Memaw, Mrs. Craddock (Memaw’s caretaker in her later years) – ever used a recipe unless it was to bake, and none of them baked very much. My mom collected cookbooks and used them for inspiration. A recipe was a suggestion, a starting point, and the result was always delicious.

Fast Forward

Fast forward to my adulthood. I consider myself a good cook; a natural cook. No disrespect to those who follow recipes to the letter, but I am my parents’ child when it comes to cooking. I am an instinctual cook; if it seems like a good idea to add or delete or adjust any ingredient, it probably is. For the most part, there are no strict measurements.

Out of Control

Lately, my eating has gotten out of control. I have been feeling, well, bloated, and my pants are getting tight in the waist. Time to shift back to healthier eating. For me, the kickstart to eating more healthfully with the bonus of losing weight fast, is diet cabbage soup, followed by cutting out (most of) the crackers, sugar, white rice, and other simple carbohydrates that have been so tasty. And so easy.

Time For a Reset

THE cabbage soup diet is famous and there are many versions. THE cabbage soup is usually followed by a strict plan …not quite my style, as you’ve probably guessed by now. I just make the soup, eat it exclusively the first day, and then follow my instincts about what my body tells me; usually eating only the soup till its gone, supplemented by veggies and lean meats. Okay, some bacon gets thrown in the mix for a reward at one meal – but hey, bacon would never be mistaken for a carb and bacon makes anything worthwhile. Once the vat of soup is gone, my body has corrected its carb cravings for usually several months.

Give It a Try

For anyone interested, here’s a jumping off point for the cabbage soup. Feel free to add carrots or green beans or any other vegetable that sounds interesting. Add herbs (I particularly like to serve it with fresh cilantro on top). Have it hot or at room temperature; you might even like it cold. Make the veggie pieces big or make them small. Put it in the blender. Use V8 instead of water. Make it dry or make it watery. In short: use your imagination. You get the idea …make it your own. Bon appetit.

4+ stalks of celery
green onions
head of cabbage
large can of chopped tomatoes
chicken broth
water

Do you prefer following recipes to the letter or do you enjoy experimenting and improvising in the kitchen? How do you decide when to put your own spin on a dish versus following a recipe?

Who doesn’t love cool kitchen stuff? I always aim straight for the kitchen store at any mall or outlet I visit.