Some Things I’ve Made Recently

I’ve retested so many of my Cambodian recipes this year while finalizing my cookbook manuscript. There were a few I didn’t feel completely confident about, so I wanted to double, triple, and quadruple-check them one last time.

At some point, though, I had to let go and trust myself. Recipes don’t have to be perfect. Everyone has different tastes, and people will naturally tweak and adjust a recipe to make it their own. Perfect is subjective, and my own tastes have changed over the years. So have my mother’s, which makes me especially glad I worked on this cookbook when I did.

As a soon-to-be self-published cookbook author, am I allowed to admit that I’m a little tired of cooking? 😂

I really do love cooking, but it’s a lot of work when you’re doing everything yourself. In my kitchen, there’s no dishwasher and barely any counter space. Every recipe has to be measured, documented, photographed, and tested, and then there’s all the mess to clean up. And all of this work is just for one person. Me.

I freeze a lot of leftovers, which is actually one of my favorite parts. There’s something pretty nice about pulling a homemade meal out of the freezer on a day when I don’t feel like cooking. These days, I keep things simple most of the time. I can’t make elaborate meals every day, but when everything comes together and I make something really good, it makes it all worth it.

So here’s a little collection of things I’ve retested this year, along with a few things I’ve made that aren’t part of the cookbook at all. They’re not always the prettiest because, this time around, I was cooking for the recipe, not for the aesthetic. Maybe these photos will inspire you to make something new in your own kitchen.

I’m curious: Do you recognize any of these dishes?

And does anyone know what I want for dinner tonight?