My grandmother was an incredible cook and baker. Everyone in the family used to beg for her recipes. Sadly, she never considered herself talented in the kitchen; in fact, she believed the opposite.
I wasn’t aware of how much she struggled with kitchen confidence until I was much older. I once asked her if she considered herself a good cook, and she blanched at the thought, literally covering her face with her hands.
“Oh! No! I’m not a very good cook at all. I can never remember recipes, and I can’t just throw things in a pot and have them taste good. I have to follow a written recipe every time. That’s not what good cooks do.”
At the time, I remember thinking, “Wait — I can never remember recipes, either. I have to have them written down. Does that make me a lousy cook, too?”
The answer is NO! Not being able to remember recipes does not make you a bad cook!
Brain space is scarce these days. Life is busy and I inherited my grandmother’s bad recipe memory. So what? Holding on to written recipes not only frees up space in my brain for, you know, LIFE… it also keeps me on task because I have a checklist of what to do when making a dish.
I wish I could go back and let my grandmother know that her difficulty remembering recipes most certainly did not make her a lousy cook. Every single person in my family adored her cooking, and honestly, that’s all that matters.
My inability to remember recipes is one of the reasons I created my colorful cooking charts and cheat sheets. They make it SO much easier to cook, because all I have to do is glance at the chart. I know exactly how to make a handful of simple recipes that are healthy and taste amazing, and I don’t have to stop and think about what I’m doing.
Easy is awesome!
So, don’t forget: if you have a tough time remembering recipes, you’re in good company. My grandma was an amazing lady! And even though I’ve been through culinary school for BOTH savory and pastry, and worked in restaurants, remembering recipes is just not a top priority. I have more important things to do with my brain space, and it’s ok if you do, too. :)
