“Cooking” means different things to different people.  
 
To my girlfriend, Teri (who measures her cream before placing it into her coffee each morning and is pictured, here, enjoying something I made one day), recipes are comforting guidelines to be followed to the letter.  Teri reads recipes as valuable documents, carefully crafted maps upon which the traveler  shall comfortably drive.  This is why Teri loves baking.  Measuring.  Sifting.  Following procedure and order brings rhythm and relaxation into Teri’s time in the kitchen.  Predictable outcomes.  Ahhh…

To me, recipes are more like, uh, “suggestions.”  Recipes are lists of possible ingredients in recommended quantities with an endless array of outcomes.  Recipes are rough sketches that need not be followed if the artist is not in the mood.  Having to follow a recipe to the letter causes my breathing to become labored.  This is why I avoid baking whenever possible.  Measuring.  Sifting.  Being forced to follow procedure and order brings panic into Michelle’s kitchen time.  Predictable outcomes.  AHHH!!!!

I would like to state that Teri and I have found ways to coexist–even co-create–happily in the kitchen together.  Give us our six combined kids, a good bottle ‘a wine and stand back.  I would also like to mention that Teri has, thanks to my influence, developed a looser grip on her measuring implements and even occasionally whips things up now with a “pinch of this” and a “spot of that.”  It could be the wine though too.  No.  It’s my influence.
 
Not surprisingly, Teri makes the best milk chocolate chip cookies in the universe (with an equal number of chips in each one.)  Generally someone who likes to share, Teri has locked this recipe in the vault.  If you want to try a chocolate chip delight, check out Teri’s new business venture Red Door Sweets. Even if you’re not in the mood for a cookie, this stylish webpage is worth a quick visit just to brighten your day!