Your magic ingredient is...CINNAMON!
CINNAMON is warming, reassuring and simply yummy.
And so are your cooking talents!
Exotic and homely all at once, cinnamon's warm spiciness is a comforting favourite in baking and hot drinks. Yet it's far more versatile than that: Much loved in Middle Eastern and Asian cuisines, cinnamon adds spice and sweetness to sauces and curries, and a reassuring depth to stews and braises. Add a pinch of cinnamon to your kitchen attitude, and unleash the vibrant cook you always wanted to be!
You love cooking, you cook regularly and you have a stack of recipe books. You understand the joy and value of good food. But... life gets in the way. And over time, your love of cooking has morphed into more of a story of love-and-hate.
You love good food, but you hate not having time to cook properly. You love trying new things in restaurants, but you tend to default to the same handful of meals at home. You'd love to experiment more but rarely have time to try fancy recipes. You love new ingredients but you're not sure your family will like them.
In the age of celebrity chef culture, food porn, competition cooking, foodie reverence and oversupply of recipes we easily forget that preparing food to nourish ourselves and our loved ones is an innate human instinct. If we could only turn down all the noise, brush aside all those shoulds and have-tos, and simply focus on taste and nourishment, cooking naturally becomes a lot less stressful and a lot more fun!
It only takes a small but powerful shift in mindset, a bit of practice (and a good pinch of cinnamon!) to fall in love with cooking again!
It's time to reclaim your kitchen confidence!
where you're winning already
- You love and value good food.
- You know how to cook, and you already cook regularly.
- You are open to new ideas and taste experiences.
what might be tripping you up
- Feeling overwhelmed by all the conflicting food advice out there.
- Feeling stuck in a rut due to lack of confidence.
- Getting sidetracked by others' rules and recipes.
COMMON STUMBLING BLOCKS
- Relying on recipes more than your senses to guide your cooking.
- Prioritising looks over flavour.
- Approaching home cooking from the perspective of a celebrity chef.
Nigel Slater
EFFORTLESS COOKING IS ALL ABOUT CONFIDENCE, NOT RECIPES
Unleash the cook within... delight and nourish with ease.
start where you are
- You already know more about cooking than you think - put it to use!
- Jazz up & vary your favourite meals for a quick kitchen win.
- Try one tweak at a time.
- Cook with what you have.
- Use all your senses (including common sense!)
TRUST YOUR TASTE
- Pay attention to your food & pan in front of you - all you need to know is right there.
- Become receptive and observant.
- Notice what exactly you like or dislike about a food or dish (and why).
- Observe the many layers of flavour, and how they complement and contrast each other.
change your perspective
- Approach recipes as a toolbox rather than an instruction.
- Appreciate cooking is a journey not a destination.
- Boost your kitchen confidence, not your recipe file
- Be a cook, not a foodie.
Samin Nosrat
START HERE
THE 3 STEP TEMPLATE
Follow this simple 3 step formula to create any number of deliciously simple one pot meals with anything you have in your kitchen.
SPOT THE PATTERN
The vast majority of recipes follow the same handful of patterns. Learn to see them and unlock the endless possibilities of swaps & variations!
SPICY SECRETS
Everything you cook will taste so much better with some added herbs & spices! Get all the secrets to using spices intuitively.
Mark Hyman, MD
Have we met ?!
I'm Katerina!
I've tried on a lot of hats on over the years... from ethnomusicologist to radio producer to concert manager to shopkeeper (and a few stops in between).
Through all this time I've had one constant love for as long as I can remember: my love of cooking. My home has always been where my spice rack lives. If you have ever shared food at my kitchen table you would know that I like my food unfussy and delicious - I'm a proud home cook, not a chef. I have no culinary training or foodie aspirations yet few things get me more excited than talking, cooking and eating good food.
In countless fascinating conversations about food and cooking over the years, I discovered that despite the abundance (oversupply?) of recipes, ingredients and celebrity chef role models, many people feel stuck, uninspired and bored in the kitchen. What a shame... for sharing good food with our loved ones is one of the greatest joys of being human. This realisation sparked my passion for helping others to find ease and confidence in the kitchen without the need to rely on recipes and rules.
My intuitive approach is down to earth, common sense and perhaps a touch unconventional. I teach exactly the kind of cooking I do at home every day: no fuss, no stress, 100% delicious.
If that's what you are hoping to do too, you are in the right place!
MORE RESOURCES
THE WORKSHOP
Join me for a hands-on virtual workshop designed to take the pressure off meal times. Easy meals without recipes!
THE BOOK LIST
Browse my book shelf: the definitive book list for the aspiring intuitive cook!
THE FLAVOUR CHEAT SHEET
Cook. Taste. Think. What is missing? What needs a boost? What's off? The flavour cheat sheet makes adjustments easy!
WHAT'S NEXT?
We're just getting started: I’m not just going send you away with a bunch of tips, tell you to get cooking and then leave you hanging.
I’m here to help you become as confident, easy-going and imaginative in your kitchen as you wish to be.
Keep an eye on your inbox (do check your spam/promo folders too): I’ll be popping in with more recipe-busting ideas, tips and free resources to boost your confidence, feed your inspiration, and set free the chef within!
P.S. To keep the conversation going let's exchange emails. Maybe you've already shared yours, but if not, click below. I'll be in touch, and so can you! (I respond to every single email)
P.P.S. We will never pass on your information. Obviously. And you can unsubscribe anytime. Of course.