recipe publishers need to chill out

Sometimes following a recipe feels like a tactical assignment on how to dodge pop-up ads.

I love some quality food photography.

I love cooking.

I love trying new recipes.

But you know what I don’t love?

Feeling like I can’t live up to the recipe—or anything in life—after scrolling through a recipe.

I don’t need pictures of how to stir a pot (literally or figuratively).

I don’t need pictures to remind me that your manicure was last week and mine was some time in 2016.

I’m here because I need food.

That’s why I clicked on a link to this recipe that now makes me question all of my life choices.

Cooking isn’t scary.

So stop making recipes so ridiculously lengthy, frightening and over-produced.

Do you know how much forgiveness is naturally built into the cooking process?

With the generous exception of baking powder and baking soda, it’s really, really tough to under-do or overdo an ingredient in a recipe.

What matters most in the kitchen?

That the chef knows how to extend love to themselves first.

After that, everything else falls in line.