I Decided to Cook the Whole Cookbook

I’m learning a lot cooking my way through Eat Like a Legend by Dan Churchill.

There wasn’t some big, meaningful reason I chose this particular cookbook when I decided I wanted to “cook every recipe in a cookbook.” Honestly, it was the most recent cookbook I had purchased, and I thought it sounded like a fun goal.

But there were a few things I already liked about it.

The recipes are health-conscious, but not so health-conscious that they remove the pleasure—or the actual cooking—from food. There’s also a huge variety. There are vegetarian recipes with tofu and piles of vegetables. There’s a whole bird cooked over root vegetables. There’s salmon. Soon, there will even be lamb.

And there were ingredients I had either never cooked with or barely knew anything about. Saffron. 00 flour. Za’atar.

That sounded fun.

But I think the moment I decided to make this a real goal was when I flipped through the book and realized there were recipes I wasn’t particularly drawn to.

My first instinct was to skip them.

Then I thought, Maybe you’ll like it and you don’t even know yet.

Now we had a challenge.

A Different Phase of Life

Lately, I feel like I’m entering a different phase of my life.

One where I don’t want to rush through cooking dinner anymore.

One where I’m not afraid of the calories.

I’m burning plenty. I’m not mindlessly snacking outside of mealtime. And I feel more in control of so many of the things I used to let control me.

If you’ve read my book, you might remember a question I once asked myself when I was in a blah space:

What did you do for fun when you were 12 years old? Do more of that.

The last time I asked myself that question, the answer was easy: I loved to ride my bike. And I started riding again.

But this cookbook challenge has reminded me of another 12-year-old version of myself.

The girl who wanted to become a chef.

The girl who devoted herself to cooking in 4-H. The girl who loved learning how to make things and wasn't thinking about how many calories were in them.

Somewhere along the way, I kicked that girl to the curb.

I started dieting when I was 19, and food became something different.

Of course, I never stopped cooking. I’ve loved cooking throughout my adult life. I even created my own cookbook filled with healthy recipes.

But this feels different.

This book is opening up a space for learning again.

For trying things I wouldn’t normally try.

For buying an ingredient when I have no idea what I’m going to think of it.

For making a recipe even when I’m pretty sure I won’t like it.

For challenging myself—just a little.

And I think I missed that.

14 Recipes Down

We’re 14 recipes in.

Tonight, I’ll cross off two more. My weekly grocery list already includes the ingredients for another two after that. I’d probably be making faster progress if I would stop remaking my favorites.

But some of them are just too good not to make again.

And no, it hasn’t all been rainbows.

We’ve made a few recipes that we really didn’t care for. (Sorry, Dan.)

I’m also spending quite a bit more money on groceries. That was something I knew would happen when I committed to this goal. Buying unfamiliar ingredients, fresh herbs, different flours, good cuts of meat, and things I wouldn’t normally put in my cart adds up.

But I’m also learning.

We’re learning about different kinds of flour. I’m learning how different salts can change food and when to use them. I’m using way more fresh herbs. I’m trying ingredients I might have walked right past in the grocery store before.

And maybe most importantly, I’m taking my time in the kitchen again.

I’m not just trying to get dinner on the table.

I’m cooking.

There’s a difference.

I don't know exactly what recipe number 50—or 70, or the very last recipe in the book—will teach me. Maybe I’ll discover foods I thought I hated. Maybe I’ll learn techniques I use for the rest of my life. Maybe there will be a few more dinners we politely agree never to make again.

But I’m starting to think this challenge isn’t really about finishing a cookbook.

It’s about curiosity.

It’s about letting food be something I can enjoy instead of something I need to control.

And maybe it’s about making a little more room in my life for that 12-year-old girl who wanted to be a chef.

I think she’d be pretty excited about what’s for dinner tonight.