Prepping is Everything

One of the biggest complaints I hear from friends about cooking or, rather, not wanting to cook, is the time is takes to actually cook.  But I think they really are talking about prepping.  Cooking is usually the easy part.  It is the chopping into tiny pieces and assembling part that is the hardest part.

I was in the middle of making Yakisoba noodles with pork for lunch today when I suddenly noticed all my nice, organized piles of chopped ingredients.  (Note how crazy I am with the garlic.)

It makes me look a little OCD:

I realized two things.

First, cooking is like making art.  You want all the colors and the flavors and the textures to balance and come out delicious and beautiful.  To be successful in either, you need to be detail oriented.

Second, I love the prep part of cooking.  I listen to the radio and zone out and focus on the task at hand.

Third, --ok, I didn't say there was a third, but there is.  I love yakisoba!