Cooking by Instinct, Made Simple
Step-by-step recipes, tips, lessons learned, and a culinary glossary (the Kitchenary) that
makes cooking less intimidating and more fun.
New Recipes
Recent Articles
New to cooking? Lettuce decode the vocabulary!
Your go‑to guide for cooking terms, tools, and techniques - explained in plain English. No jargon, no stress, just tasty wins.
Émincé
French term meaning to slice food very, very thinly. Not related to the term "mince." Creating even, flat strips for quick cooking in stir-fries and sautés. Unlike julienne (matchsticks) or brunoise (dice), émincé slices are wider and flatter, optimizing surface area for rapid, uniform cooking. Typical ingredients include onions, mushrooms, and tender meats. The cut enhances flavor absorption and texture consistency.
Zest
To scrape or cut the outer colored part of citrus fruit peel, often used to add a burst of flavor.
Yeast Bread
Yeast breads are leavened baked goods that rely on the fermentation activity of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) to create their characteristic light, airy texture and complex flavors. These breads are fundamentally distinguished from unleavened breads or chemically leavened breads by their use of living yeast organisms that consume sugars in the dough and produce carbon dioxide gas and ethanol as byproducts. The carbon dioxide becomes trapped in the gluten network of the dough, causing it to rise and develop the open, porous crumb structure that defines quality yeast bread. Beyond leavening, yeast also contributes significantly to flavor development, gluten strengthening, and the overall texture of the finished bread through the complex biochemical processes of fermentation.
Xanthan Gum
A complex carbohydrate that is used as a food additive to:
Thicken (sauces, soups, salad dressings, gravies).
Stabilize emulsions to prevent separation in ice creams, beverages, and salad dressings.
Enhance texture.
Gluten-free baking by mimicing the elasticity and stickiness of gluten which helps doughs and batters stick together and rise.
Beginner Recipes
Our recipes are detailed and beginner‑friendly, with mise en place built right into the directions. For an easy starting point, try these Level 1 and 2 recipes - straightforward, approachable, and designed to help you get cooking with confidence.
This website is still under construction... what would you like to see?
I know that the foodie landscape is incredibly saturated with websites, videos, pins, photos, and endless content streams. But here's what I believe: every voice that adds genuine value deserves to be heard. Rather than letting the noise deter me from this journey, I've channeled that awareness into developing something truly useful for fellow food enthusiasts like yourself.
Through conversations with passionate home cooks, busy or unmotivated potential home cooks, and food lovers from all walks of life, I've gathered valuable insights about what makes a cooking site and social media presence truly exceptional. Now I want to hear directly from you – because your perspective is what will shape this platform into the resource our community actually needs. If you're willing to invest 5 to 10 minutes sharing your thoughts through the survey below, you'll be helping create something better for all of us.
As a thank you for your time and insights, I'll send you an exclusive bonus recipe that you won't find anywhere else on the site – just provide your email address at the end of the survey!
_edited.jpg)