Don’t just think of a meal as one meal, but as the potential for at least three meals over three days. All you need to do is change or add an ingredient, and you’ve got a completely different meal!

For example, this linguine could become a cream of mushroom dish with rice instead of pasta!

WHAT ARE YOU COOKING TOMORROW BASED ON TODAY’S DINNER?

You’ve just finished today’s recipe!!!

It was tasty. You enjoyed it.

Then comes the question…

“What am I going to cook tomorrow?”

And this is where I think many home cooks get stuck.

We open the fridge, decide there’s “nothing in”, find another recipe and go shopping for another completely different set of ingredients.

But what if tomorrow’s meal is already sitting in front of you?

Tonight I made Cream of Mushroom Linguine with mushrooms, garlic, onions and chillies.

It was my first attempt at a cream of mushroom in the WOK. I’ve had a few of these kinds of pastas in restaurants over the years, but never cooked one – although I have cooked tomato based pastas, etc…

For a first attempt, I gave it 3/5.

The flavours worked. But next time I’d use a little less sauce, thicken it more and perhaps increase the amount of linguine.

And before I’d even finished thinking about today’s meal, I’d already seen another one:

Mince + mushrooms + onions + peas + garlic + chillies + linguine + cream of mushroom sauce over the mince.

Today’s meal created tomorrow’s idea.

THAT’S THE SKILL I WANT TO TEACH YOU – WHICH IS PARTLY WHAT MY HEAR THE SIZZLE VIDEOS AND FORMATS IS ALL ABOUT.

Not simply:

“Follow my recipe.”

But:

“Look at what you’ve got. What else can it become?” How can today’s meal become tomorrow’s dinner?

Think of it almost as coaching for the home cook.

LESSON 1 — SEE

Open your fridge.

Don’t say:

“I’ve got nothing in.”

Look again.

Eggs aren’t just eggs.

They can be fried. Boiled. Scrambled. Turned into an omelette. Added to fried rice. Put into soup. Served over noodles.

LESSON 2 — COMBINE

Start seeing simple patterns:

Protein + vegetables + base + flavour.

Change one component and you’ve potentially changed the whole meal.

LESSON 3 — LEARN

Not every meal will be 5/5.

Mine wasn’t today.

But ask yourself:

What worked?
What didn’t?
What would I change? What ingredient could I add? What needs to be taken out?

A 3/5 meal can teach you how to make tomorrow’s 4/5.

LESSON 4 — CARRY IT FORWARD

Before buying another week’s worth of ingredients, look at what tonight’s dinner has left behind.

Mushrooms?

Tomorrow they could become an omelette.

Leftover rice?

Fry it with an egg and vegetables.

Half a cabbage?

Put it with noodles, tofu or meat.

One meal can lead naturally into another.

THE CHALLENGE

For seven days, don’t start by asking:

“What recipe shall I cook or hunt?”

Instead ask:

“What have I already got — and what can it become?”

The objective isn’t to make seven recipes, although you can of course look for recipes if you want.

It’s to reach the point where you start seeing your own.

Because a recipe can solve tonight’s dinner, but it won’t be tomorrow’s if you don’t look closer.

Learning to see combinations can solve tomorrow’s question.

COOK • COMBINE • CREATE

There’s food in your fridge. Can you see the meals and the patterns and combinations?

Once your brain taps into this phenomenon, the world of home cooking and cooking in general is an oyster…