I’m a huge proponent of making things up on the fly in the kitchen. There’s nothing better than searching through the fridge for random ingredients, throwing them all together, and voilà! Dinner is served.

Don’t get me wrong, I like following recipes too — it’s a great way to learn techniques and try new things. Sometimes, I’ll follow them exactly; other times, I’ll modify them to my liking.

But to me, other cooks’ recipes are more of a source of inspiration. I tend to look around at lots of recipes for ideas, then do it my own way. Experimentation is one of my favorite things about cooking (and homebrewing, for that matter).

For example, yesterday I was planning to make a fancy-shmancy roasted red pepper tart with prosciutto and goat cheese. The recipe was pretty involved and probably would have taken a lot of time and effort. It was Sunday, and I got lazy. So I turned it into a nice little pasta dish instead.

I took some of the roasted red peppers, puréed them with fresh thyme, salt and pepper, lemon zest, lemon juice, and a splash of milk to make a nice sauce. Then, I sautéed a couple Vidalia onions, threw in the rest of the roasted reds and the prosciutto, added the sauce, and simmered. Found some whole grain pasta in my cabinet and cooked that up.

I tossed all of this together, along with a ton of herbs from my Aerogarden (thyme, basil, purple basil, and parsley). Topped it off with a little crumbled goat cheese. Mmm…

It turned out really good. The sweetness of the caramelized Vidalias and the roasted red peppers went great with the tanginess of the goat cheese. The lemon and fresh herbs really brightened the whole thing up.

The tart probably would have been delicious, and I’m sure I’ll get around to making it eventually. But it’ll have to be on a day when I really feel like being meticulous. Most of the time, I just want to toss stuff in a pan without measuring.

Anyway, my point is… Play around in the kitchen. Be creative, because experimentation helps you to become a better cook. Plus, it’s just a good time.