Flavourites
For me, really exciting cooking - and breakthroughs in your home made meals that will elevate what you make next - comes from really tuning in to your flavour favourites. = flavourites.
Let’s explore!
Close your eyes.
Ask yourself: “What are my top five favourite flavours?” Try to really listen to your body and “taste” each one that comes to mind, instead of thinking too hard about what it might be. Think about fruit. What is your favourite fruit? Greens, vegetables. Which ones really get you excited - if you really imagine the taste of it? What do you get excited about if it appears in your salad at a restaurant, that you hadn’t even really thought about how much you liked? When you have a nice sauce - what are the flavours that stand out for you in it?
I take a moment to think about this from time to time. I find that it helps me when I’m feeling stuck and I feel uninspired to cook. I actually think your body can tell you lots of things you had forgot that you might want.
“But what if all I can think of is beer, chocolate and donuts, Liv?” Okay, that’s fine - we have those days - but I am going to guess at something: those are not necessarily your favourite flavours. They are cravings. A whole other thing (which we will talk about soon!). I think there are other things in nature that get your taste buds much more excited.
If you need some inspiration, one thing that can be great to do is go to your spice cupboard and open some of the spice jars. Smell them! What smells are you feeling excited about? What can you make today that celebrates those aromas?
If you really listen to your body and what it wants, I also think there is a great chance that you will be tuned in to things that will make you feel good. This is touching on what is called intuitive eating (a whole big topic which I will touch on from time to time!), but essentially it is about trusting your body to tell you what it needs - and that it will make good choices.
I will give you an example - when I take a moment to think about my flavourites, I am very rarely inspired to cook with meat. I often turn to meat when I can’t think of anything interesting to cook and just want to feel full. And a nice meat based meal (for those of us who eat that) can be lovely of course, but it’s often the spices, and the accompanying flavours, that make the meal great. So when I cook with my flavourites I often make a vegetarian or vegan meal. And my body usually feels great afterwards!
To get you started, I will share some of my flavourites. Yours might be entirely different, or you might recognise some:
Rocket. Honestly I could eat rocket all day, I never get tired of that fresh, peppery, gorgeous flavour that is so unlike anything else!
Asparagus. I love it. Crunchy, kind of root-y… It’s a hard one to describe, but if you love it too, you know what I mean.
Grapes. Grapes are sweet but in such a grown up way. I love grapes as a snack (they’re weirdly filling), as garnish in a savoury dish or as a topping on a dessert. Or - of course, in liquid form. Yes. I do love wine very very much.
Nuts. Honestly there is not a nut I don’t love. And toasted or roasted just brings out these incredible flavours and aromas that I adore! I use nuts in my cooking all the time.
Coffee. Quality coffee, freshly ground beans, nothing like it. The smell. The SMELL! Oh my. Not just as a drink, but also incorporated in desserts.
Apples. Apples - ideally off an apple tree in autumn (the best alternative is cooking apples) are maybe my favourite thing in the whole world. There isn’t a thing they can’t be used for: as a topping on your porridge or fluffy pancakes, baked in the oven with a nice piece of fish, or of course in a cake or pie. If you are not excited about apples, just try different varieties. All apples are not created equal - many of the store bought ones are way to floury and sweet.
Celery. Celery holds so much flavour for me, and I love the crunchy texture too. It adds so much aroma and flavour to a Sunday roast, or raw in a salad. Celery salt is great as seasoning in lots of dishes. I discovered this when studying the labels of lots of ready made spice mixes I loved where I couldn’t put my finger on what made them so tasty!
These are just a few examples. And looking at what I’ve listed here, it is very clear to me that I have started cooking with these ingredients more after recognising them as some of my flavourites. The combination possibilities are endless when you cook with your flaves!
What are some of your favourites, and how do you cook with them? Do you feel the difference between your flavourites and cravings? Share your thoughts in the comments or on Instagram and tag me @TheFromScratchBody and use the hashtag #TheFromScratchBody so I don’t miss it!
