About this blog
I started keeping notes so I wouldn't forget what I'd done. A pinch more acid here, ten fewer minutes there. Then the notes got longer than the recipes. Then I started explaining the why behind each step. Then someone told me I should put it somewhere people could read it.
This is that somewhere.
I'm not a chef. I've never worked in a professional kitchen. I work in an office and I cook dinner every night because it's the only part of my day where I'm in full control of the outcome. I find that useful.
The recipes here are ones I've cooked enough times to understand — not just to follow. I try to write them the way I wish recipes had been written for me when I was still learning: with the reasoning included, the failure modes named, and the irreducible steps distinguished from the optional ones.
If something doesn't work, it's because I got something wrong in the writing. Write to me and I'll fix it.
— Elena