Eating doesn’t have to be complicated; we just make it that way.

Theoretically speaking, we could all solely consume the same nutritionally balanced, pureed slop three meals a day and be perfectly fine, but that certainly wouldn’t be the kind of diet that most of us would choose. It is more common than not for people to take pleasure in their food, and this is seen in the things that they choose to consume and, hopefully, cook themselves as well.

The thing is that mealtime is more than a way to get our bodies the energy that it needs to survive. It can be a ritual, a way of connecting with other people, something that gives us a welcome treat after a long, hard day. All these things make it worth knowing your way around the kitchen, even if it can sometimes seem like a chore. Cooking is a mighty useful skill to have.

As with anything that we have to do regularly, it is easy to get stuck in a rut when it comes to cooking. It helps to have some inspiration, whether that comes from a fancy cookbook or a TikTok you suddenly remembered that you saved a few months ago. Wannabe chefs can also enjoy cooking memes, which understand that not every culinary experiment is going to be a success. Sometimes, even the tried and true recipes can let us down. So long as we can laugh about it and live to cook another day, that is the main thing.