everyone has one - it is their compass and their main reason for their enjoyment of cooking. it might not be their only interest, as anyone can have many interests, but it will be the thing that keeps them coming back and trying new things; it might even open avenues for entirely new ways of looking at things.

Without a doubt, for me it is what I call "Ur-Recipes"... those recipes that go back to the origin of the dish, of the food, of the peoples that made them.

I'll try anything once. My interests are broad and varied. I'll go through streaks of different types of foods. Many are old family recipes that I like and leave alone or I tweak them to my taste. sometimes I find myself in the position of trying to re-create a recipe due to the difference in ingrediants from 100 years or better ago or more than likely my Grandmother omitted an ingrediant to keep the recipe "secret" or some such thing. If it's good I'll go for it and it can be either a traditional dish or or more of a modern fusion of different tastes.  

Meathunter, I certainly need to get to know you better. I would love to learn how to prepare game for the table and have even the pickiest of children dig in and scream in delight.

Aaron

@ Tas,

I'm of the same mind as Historic Foodie. I'm all over the map. I want to try what someone ate, when they ate it, and want to know why they ate it.

I cook so we can enjoy our food AND no less important, that we enjoy as healthy of food as possible.

What does that mean, healthy?

I keep the fiber in the food, the fresher the food the better (the gardens), the balance is many vegetables, fruit, spices/herbs, less meat, fish, poultry, and less white starches and sugars, oils-olive oil, canola oil, butter. Most of our dishes are savory, only a few sweet things.
On any one day, I'll make 3 times the vegetables (including potatoes--a white starch)  than I will the proteins.

Even if I come across a lovely recipe for something, that says, peel or strain or run through a mill--I'll generally leave the fiber in the dish, pureeing if need be in the food processor, the stick mixer or the blender, for one purpose only, to make sure we have healthy whole foods in our diets. (for our health)

Today for instance, I cooked 6 quarts of red cabbage for a sweet sour cabbage side dish, 1 and 1/2 lbs of pork and 1 and 1/2 lbs of baked tofu for making hot sour soup. 1 lb of beef round steak with 1 lb mushrooms and an elephant garlic clove, acorn squash with butter and brown sugar. We picked a few quarts of lettuce today for salads--w/other veggies, cheese, olives, pickles, croutons and homemade dressings.

Tomorrow I'll make the hot sour soup with celery, mushrooms, garlic, broccoli stems, pea pods, and seasonings. After canning some sauerkraut and the sweet sour red cabbage I have potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, and green beans to steam for a side dish we enjoy with a dill type ranch dressing.

Next, I'll use the duck eggs we have for some pound cake with fruit included and one night we might scramble some chicken eggs. It might be a few days before I cook protein again.

I try to keep the kitchen full of food ready to eat and lunches for those working all day.

It's a balance. In addition to the above dishes, we'll have buttermilk fruit smoothies (whole fruits), breads, cheese--all these in less quantities than the main meals.

Luca,

Cooking is my passion, so it's hard to explain rationally.

gonefishin wrote: what is your "culinary point-of-view?"    I suppose I would describe my culinary point of view, I believe, as a meanderer.  I follow a wandering path or course with no seeming direction.  It may appear that I am all over the place, but each place has led me in the next direction.   gosh I love food!

That sounds about right.