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Posted on Tue, Jan 19, 2010 : 6:36 a.m.

Baker vs. cook - or throwing off the measuring straitjacket

By Corinna Borden

Borden - chopping chives

Chop, cube, dice, or mince green onions? Great! I just don't want to measure them.

Photo courtesy of Jennifer Stevenson

In my house we have learned we have different cooking styles. This different paradigm would often peak when I would be running errands and late to prepare for a party and would ask my husband to get things started.

For example, preparing risotto. I would call home, “Hey, would you start warming up the broth and cutting up some onions for the risotto?”

“Sure, how much broth?”

“Ummm, a big bowlful.”

“How many cups?”

“Never mind, I’ll be home soon.”

Over the years we have realized, as we laugh over these conversations, that we approach cooking from different spaces. For lack of a better term I am going to refer to this difference as the baker vs. the cook. (Jeanne Robertson would call this left brain vs right brain).

These are fluid paradigms and not black and white by any means (as in all life), but I know he and I have divergent approaches to cooking and for me that boils down to using measuring devices. I never use measuring devices when I am in the kitchen unless I am baking or following a written recipe (which happens rarely).

Does that mean sometimes I have to cook the oatmeal longer? Yes. Does it mean it is nearly impossible to perfectly replicate recipes that have been inspired by what is in the garden? Yes. Does it mean my friends get frustrated when they ask me for the recipe and I prevaricate and change the subject? Yes.

But for me, for some reason, I feel like I am wearing a straightjacket if I can’t use the extra handful of cucumber (leftover from chopping) for a soup recipe that calls for 1 cup. It is my realm of happy rebellion to the rules and regulations that pervade so much of life.

The kitchen is a restful oasis where I am queen of the castle and can do whatever I want. I treasure this hedonism (and yes, I am not yet worrying about the desires of children).

Surrounded by smells, flavors, and color I am feeding my senses and my desires for what my body wants. It is satisfying because my curiosity can be immediately sated. (What happens if I pour the olive brine into the cooking rice to go with tuna and yogurt? Let me find out! Delicious!)

It is highest form of self-indulgence and creativity and I love it.

Click here for my risotto “recipe.”

Drop me a line! Check out my website! Read my book! Post a comment and start the conversation rolling!

Comments

stopfoodignorance

Tue, Jan 19, 2010 : 3:09 p.m.

I think it just shows that cooking is a very personal experience. You have to use all of your senses to tell when and what is needed in order to make a dish come out correctly.Baking is exact because it is science, combine ingredients a, b, c and d, add water and poof here's the result. Cooking is so much different, the water content of your tomatoes could be higher so you need to let them go longer before adding an additional ingredient. This is something that comes from experience and attention to what your food is telling you.

cd_booth

Tue, Jan 19, 2010 : 9:07 a.m.

My girlfriend and I are the same way. She likes to follow exact recipes. I'm more open, always estimating measurements and adding more of something I like and less of something I don't like. I also believe it comes with cooking experience as she is actually more right brained than me.