Inquiry Cookbook

It is hard to believe that my inquiry process has come to an end. It has been an incredibly valuable experience, and I am very pleased with the recipes and diversity I am walking away with. I tried cooking different foods in ways I would otherwise have never thought of. It was why I did not look at alternative proteins more seriously for so long. I did not believe I could do much with foods like eggplant, which I have proved incredibly wrong through the Mediterranean grilled steaks I made and the Italian eggplant dish I tried as my final recipe. I am so fortunate that there was not a dish that was not delicious or did not meet my expectations for flavor, and it opened my eyes to how easy it is to incorporate different cultures and cravings into each week. As a major foodie, having interesting food that I am excited about is a fairly big factor in my week.

Alas, here is my final cookbook! I wanted to leave this process with a cookbook of the best and most realistic meals for me to take into the future, which I exactly did. However, I had not anticipated to like each meal as much as I did. While I would not perceive this to be a downfall, I did have to step back and look at each meal with a critical eye as far as their realism in time, meal prep, and price. I had most of each meal already at home, keeping my costs low throughout this process. However, if living on my own, this would look very different. I had to consider what ingredients I would have to purchase as they are what I have grown up with in the pantry and fridge, and what would be fairly inexpensive. Some decisions were hard as I enjoyed them, like the Teriyaki Tofu, but I would not often have these ingredients on hand as they are not what I grew up with and would be stocking my pantry with. Therefore, its practicality may not be as realistic in addition to how exclusive certain ingredients are to certain stores. I am not great at hunting down ingredients all across town, which is a habit I do not see changing. I am pleased that what I put together still had a bit of each culture and alternative proteins that I believe will contribute to my overall health, especially in controlling how they are prepared. I have also realized that just because a meal looks healthy, how they are prepared in oils and other ingredients can hinder its nutritional value. Therefore, I am best just preparing these meals myself as I commit more to my health.

When deciding what recipes to include, I looked at prep and cooked time alongside them as a meal prep, and I feel like, in turn, these are related. While I found the stew took longer to make, I could prep ingredients the day or night before, and it was so good in the following days that it made it completely worth it.

I have learned more about different flavors and how they combine with other ingredients, especially how I never considered what may go into these dishes. Specifically, I would have never expected allspice or cinnamon to be in a stew, but the flavor profile is so vast and tasteful that it makes sense. This process has made me a lot more thoughtful overall about what goes into my food and what I am eating, and I cannot say enough how valuable this has been. I am already planning to make the Yasai Itame Stir Fry this week, and I am thrilled to be able to make it at home.