I use recipes more as suggestive guidelines and usually substitute with what I have on hand, unless I’m baking. That’s more of a science, but even baking recipes have some wiggle room. If it requires a rubber spatula though, I will have almost all 8 of them dirty by the time I finish.
Watching Rachel Ray when I was young had a huge impact on how I cook. I pull out everything that I need beforehand, throw my scraps in an old yogurt container that I use for compostables, I even cut my onions like her.
Huh. I always thought it was my grandmother who taught me how to cook but now I realize it was really Rachel Ray. Lol