Five: Be curious.

Cooking for me often begins with a spark, with getting inspired by what I see and hear others do. No doubt it is a side effect of deficiencies: lacking memory for recipes and not being so highly ideaphoric to begin with. But a little enthusiasm has never failed me. It has been highly effective to set to work and to let ideas seep in anyway by way of a little improvization.

My first source for online recipes was a place such as Marmiton.org. A few years later, many of the links to food blogs that I now post in the sidebar followed suit. I'm very grateful to Ilva, Joanna, Oleandri, Kattepult, Tanna, Binnur, Mercotte, and many others. Their work has put me to plod in my own kitchen.

So surf and scan the airwaves out there. Cooking is hot, material is plentiful. Scribble down recipes. Be curious. Many sparks will be yours.

This pumpkin from my sister's neighbor was prepared with a stuffing that travelled 9 time zones all the way from Seattle (Tea and cookies). Out came my own combo of mushrooms, garlic-infused bread and winter cabbage.