[DugwayDuke]

I wouldn't be so hard on recipe books, they have their place. My Mom's philosophy was her son's would not have to get married in order to get a home cooked meal. Consequently, she started teaching us cooking skills as soon as we could see over the edge of the stove.

Mom was a "dib" and "dab" cooker who never measured anything. She cooked by sense of smell and recipes were just suggestions to her. I find recipe books useful for ideas, but feel perfectly free to modify as I go.

[AnAmericanMother]

My mom can't cook, has never been able to cook. Her mother was a good (in the old fashioned plain German style) but very fussy cook who never allowed her into the kitchen. She married my dad, who is an outstanding cook, so she never learned. My dad was the youngest in a household full of girls (his dad died when he was only 10) and his sisters taught him to cook, plus he had that natural gift that just comes by grace or not at all. So why should my mom learn when she had a master chef already in the house? Fortunately, my sister and I learned at the shoulder of the master.

My basic rule for cooking in a household full of very busy people is to keep the ingredients very fresh and the very best quality available, the recipes simple, and add a few little touches of herbs or garnish to give it a little pizazz. As long as we're talking about salmon . . .

Atomic Fireball Salmon Marinade

1/2 cup good quality neutral oil (peanut is good)
plenty of minced garlic (2-3 cloves minimum, to taste)
4 TBS soy
4 TBS balsamic vinegar. If it's the real stuff, go easy
3-4 green onions, including the tops, trimmed & chopped
3 tsp brown sugar or molasses
1-2 tsp powdered ginger
2-3 tsp crushed Italian red pepper flakes
a pinch of cayenne or dash of pepper sauce if you REALLY like it hot
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp salt

Beat all together with a wire whisk, pour over the salmon in a GLASS dish, cover tightly with plastic wrap (NOT foil), and leave refrigerated overnight or at least 4 hours. Take it out, let it warm up a little, and throw it on the grill. Serve with a simple green salad and garlic bread (or make some bruschetti - sliced Italian bread grilled and then rubbed with a clove of garlic and drizzled with olive oil - on the edge of the grill while you're cooking the salmon).

[Yeti]

I find recipe books useful for ideas, but feel perfectly free to modify as I go.

I agree. Some of my best stuff is derived from recipes I get from the internet and books.

[infowarrior]

Your training, and philosophies in the kitchen match my own. My mother taught me thus, even at an early age, much like you. Mrs infowarrior is a fine cook, but limited largely in the dishes of her native country, Peru. Almost all other cooking styles are done by yours truly...

the infowarrior