The river in our backyard, after a pre-Christmas snowfall.
Lately I’ve been thinking that cooking — or at least my style of cooking — is a perfect example on how to approach daily life.
I’ve never been overjoyed with failure (who is?), and I’ve been known to let setbacks derail me completely. One rejection letter from a potential publisher or future client is enough to make me freeze in my tracks.
Yet that attitude never enters my kitchen. As you know, most of my cooking is experimental. I dive in and try new things all the time, without fear. Culinary failures don’t derail me; I see them as educational opportunities. My ego survives intact.
My resolution, then, is to tackle other aspects of life the way I approach cooking: take risks based on knowledge, be open to adjustments as needed, and never stop learning, especially from mistakes.
My friend Brett over at Trout Caviar puts it this way: Charge ahead, fall down, get up, repeat. I love that. Happy new year to you all.
Rivertree kitchen 
That sounds like a great plan! I never really thought about it, but I could say the same thing about my approach to cooking and to life. Thanks for sharing and inspiring!
A lovely thought for the new year. Being a not very enthusiastic cook much of the time, I can say I’d like to use cooking to practice those good skills of being in the moment, joy, and experimentation. Also, DOING WHAT YOU WANT.