This is such a common problem!  How many times did I get an exciting looking recipe and go to make it: Hmm, it says these vegetables, but I have these ones (that I always use) right here, so I will substitute them. They say these spices, but hmm, I will add in my favourite ones, it says this sort of vinegar, but I don't like vinegar, I will leave it out. It clearly says this technique, but it is a bit long and fussy, I will just cook them like I normally do...

Oh dear. It tastes like everything I normally make!!!!        

I have learnt to be very stern with myself and EITHER make my usual quick thing, OR make the exciting new recipe, and if I try the exciting new recipe MAKE IT EXACTLY AS THEY SAY!!!!!!!

The result is as you would expect! I now have a much wider range of wonderful dishes and the saminess is gone. But such discipline it takes!!!!!!  

Yes, the temptation to cook freestyle does tend to lead to things which taste similar. I'm trying to get more into cooking from recipes, at least every week or so, to broaden my horizons. And I try not to substitute when I'm doing that.

However, I have a rule about oil and vinegar. if I bought a new bottle of fancy oil or fancy vinegar for every recipe, I'd be bankrupt and buried in bottles! So I keep one fancy oil (suitable for dressings) and one fancy vinegar at any one time, and I substitute that, unless it's a crazy substitution - say, I have sesame oil and the recipe calls for olive oil, or I have balsamic vinegar and the recipe calls for cider vinegar. Then I might go and buy some specifically.

It is infuriating, though, when a recipe calls for a tiny amount of some condiment or a really obscure spice. I have a huge range of spices in the house, including things like cassia bark and amchur powder, but even so, sometimes I'm defeated by recipes!

I  can relate to that  , but have managed to push myself into not falling for that trap  all that often anymore.

I love garlic and can get pretty wild with microplane , grating in massive amounts  into a lot of dishes . I have started to take a step back and decide if I  want a garlic bomb dish or one that has a  good flavouring of garlic but lets other things come through.  I will  often slice cloves of garlic now , and then slowly fry off in the oil  first to flavour it. I then will pull the slices out and go on from there, getting a definite but refined garlic flavour.

As for following recipes to the letter, It very very rarely happens.

If it is something I am not sure of,or have never cooked before.  I will look up 4 or 5 different recipesones online and break them apart to see what makes sense to me ingredient and technique wise. I think  tom kha gai (thai chicken,galangal,coconut soup) was the last dish I remember doing that for.

JoyYamDaisy wrote:

This is such a common problem!  How many times did I get an exciting looking recipe and go to make it: Hmm, it says these vegetables, but I have these ones (that I always use) right here, so I will substitute them. They say these spices, but hmm, I will add in my favourite ones, it says this sort of vinegar, but I don't like vinegar, I will leave it out. It clearly says this technique, but it is a bit long and fussy, I will just cook them like I normally do...

Oh dear. It tastes like everything I normally make!!!!        

I have learnt to be very stern with myself and EITHER make my usual quick thing, OR make the exciting new recipe, and if I try the exciting new recipe MAKE IT EXACTLY AS THEY SAY!!!!!!!

The result is as you would expect! I now have a much wider range of wonderful dishes and the saminess is gone. But such discipline it takes!!!!!!  

Supreme self discipline. You're a kitchen cyborg.