Do you ever buy a premade mix from the discount shelves and use it for something other than what it is for? If so let me know what you have done. Currently I have Matza mix as it goes 90% off after each holiday. We do not like matza, but I use it to make a rue, to bread fish, in meat balls and even in breads. I'm currently creating something with falafel mix. Not sure what yet, currently looks like it escaped from the grandkid's playdoh. I'm noticing that a lot of people don't understand how to substitute ingredients and it would be interesting to have a meal plan that explained the substitutions.

OK. I have not started on the classes yet and I will. BUT I have a question: How many were taught to cook by watching? Does that make it more difficult to write them out? My grandmother Josie (1917-2010) taught me by showing me, but she also told stories/tea during it that set the cooking times and sometimes had a substitution to the recipes in it. So last week I was making this dish for a friend and I told her the following as I prepared it. Would writing it like this in a cookbook then followed by the formal recipe work for people? or does this need to be removed? My Grandmother Josie her Grandmother Camellia made Zucchini & Prosciutto roll ups and would add minced dates & sultanas in them. So as we would make them my Grandmother would take the cleaver and demonstrate how her Grandmother would pulverize them into tiny flakes while saying the Hail Mary prayer then sprinkle them in with a baby spoon like a queen offering favors. My grandmother would then say that her mother, Providencia, hated the dates, and loved the sultanas, but since sultanas made Salvadore (her husband) act sinfully she would roll Frantoio olives in sugar (and my grandmother would demonstrate this) chop them with a cleaver & pulverize them with a masher muttering "Avrei dovuto dare ascolto al tuo avvertimento." three times before adding them in. My Grandmother Josie said that American stomachs are stupid & don't deserve sultanas, dates or Frantoio, so she adds enough capers to fill the bottom of a tea cup and smash each one with a fork so all the liquid comes out while saying the name of that boss that makes you uncomfortable. Then you scrape it into the bottom of the pan to be buried by the sauce and the roll ups. Finally you bake it in the oven for as long as it takes to swig wine from the bottle while chanting the "Our Father" prayer in Latin, then cleaning up the kitchen and setting the plates. Roughly 35 minutes. Camellia's had a somewhat sweet/sour taste. Providencia's was fruity & bitter.

Most people in food writing right now won’t say it out loud, but they feel stuck. Not because there aren’t opportunities. Not because the market is impossible. But because they’re hesitating. Watching. Waiting. Overthinking. Meanwhile, others are still moving. still securing deals. still building. The difference isn’t luck it's decision. A made-up mind moves. An action-taker finds a way, regardless of the market. “Action makes more fortunes than caution.” So Are you genuinely moving forward or just preparing to move? What’s one action you know you should be taking right now, but haven’t? Say it plainly

Welcome to our lovely community @Michael Teferi! Food writing can indeed inspire readers towards a strong sense of belonging (I love that!). And you love sushi and hibachi? Yes please!