I like to cook because it's a process that gets me in the flow, I forget about all the problems and I'm really involved in the process.
Cooking is a relaxing and therapeutic activity, so if you feel down just give it a shot.
Cooking tasty simple dishes makes me feel very good when I finish, of course eating what I cooked helps a lot because most of the time the result is delicious(at least that's what I like to think :) ). Cooking a nice meal also makes me feel like I've accomplished something good that day, it's like making your bed in the morning stuff.
I don't do it every day, maybe 2 times a week and I don't do complicated recipes, I try to stay in the area of pasta (which I like the most), steaks, salads and sandwiches.
Learning to cook can be an amazing skill, you learn new things every time and you can enjoy it a lot.
While I was cooking I was thinking if there is a connection between cooking and business, and for sure is. A lot of skills needed in cooking you use in business, so why not train them by cooking.
Most of the time I just look in the fridge and see what can I cook with the ingredients I have. You need to combine different ingredients in different ways to make food and when you are hungry, ideas of what to eat come really fast.
One ingredient can make the difference between a great dish or something you will throw away. Adding different spices in the right amount to make it taste better.
You need quality ingredients to make good food. Of course, like in business, the ingredients don't guarantee the success of the dish but they sure help.
You need a bit of preparation before starting to cook, and it helps a lot to be organized, you don't want to use a lot of dishes it will make cleaning up harder. You must add the ingredients in a certain way and also at a certain time.
Presentation of the dish is super important, everyone I know that loves food says that if it looks good it tastes even better. Sometimes it may look good but the taste is not so great, sometimes it happens. Always try to make your food look good, this extra little step really does the trick.
Cooking can be a great way to do things together with your loved one, so it helps collaboration and strengthen relationships. Me and my girlfriend cook for friends once a month, we invite over some people and socialize around a good meal and some nice wine.
I learned a few basic recipes, test them and added my own contribution some times, I experimented. Today for example I added some pine buds to some basic recipe with bacon, garlic, tomatoes.
These are the tricks I use to make sure my pasta dish is good every time.
And that's about it, now you can go cook an amazing dish that makes you feel amazing and impresses your loved ones.
This article first appeared here.