The Craft of Cooking

A signature style as divinely crafted as this sunset by God 

Beating the group tour hands down is a self-drive holiday through the Isle of Skye: I absolutely love the luxury of stopping when ever I want at where ever I’m inspired to linger to admire the splendidly multi-coloured sky cresting over majestic mountains, the ancient medieval castle architecture, the local artists creating their next master piece, the wonderfully diverse bird life, or the island’s heavenly divine cuisine – especially that served by Three Chimneys.

Now, in the same league as a holiday, where you go where the road takes you, is a dish you’ve whipped up without strictly toeing the line. You get the same luxuriated freedom to personalize a recipe in ways that will heighten the pleasure of casually dining on a week night with hubby and children in tow. It really boils down to individualizing it, even if it’s a well-loved one, to tantalize the family’s palates, with what’s conveniently available in your well-stocked pantry.

So if those who dine at your table aren’t really into the very, very spicy, cut down on the crushed cardamom seeds when you serve a succulently sweet peachy dessert that’s dressed in a yoghurt jazzed up with a repertoire of Indian spices. And you would automatically tone down the zing from the crushed ginger and red chillies you toss into the curry as well.

At the same time, you have the same splendid liberty to improvise on the preparation and cooking techniques. When time is of the essence, do away with the need to caramelize freshly picked fruit. Try recently canned peaches in sugary syrup instead: it makes a great short cut, which you garnish with the mildly spiced yoghurt. And you’ll refrain from adding into the curry the creamy coconut milk together with the fragrant chicken stock. Do that only after the heated stock has taken its time to cook the chicken well. Then the coconut juices blend smoothly into the curry, further aromatizing it.     

As such, the dishes you’ve crafted in your kitchen becomes your signature style, uniquely your own.