— Maria Miller

You know, cook, whatever your, whatever you plan to eat, and, um, whatever is gonna be good for you, uh, will be good for your family and friends as well. And, um, uh, you know, the, the important thing is to, is to handle the food properly. And this is where, you know, the Rouxbe approach focuses on cooking methods, uh, and the supporting techniques, uh, in preparing food. And, uh, if we can understand how to, to roast and grill and saute, and steam, and simmer, and, and do these other things that are very basic to food handling, then we can move to that, um, that next level of, uh, of flavor development, where we start to add herbs and spices and, and other things, other ingredients, um, to really, um, make that food appealing to our palette or to the palette of, uh, our audience that we're cooking for. Okay? And, uh, this, uh, can take some time. If, if we're new to the kitchen or, or new to cooking in this way, uh, it takes practice just as anything else would take practice, whether you want to be the best basketball player in town or a great pianist. Um, all of this takes practice, okay? And, um, you know, food is a very complex, um, and, and big world, uh, to work with. But, um, you know, given some diligence and some engagement, uh, with the process, uh, you'll make, uh, leaps and bounds in your knowledge base and your skill development, you know, as the weeks go by, okay? But, um, to, to come back around and, and to address your question, um, again, uh, you know, there's no reason why you can't learn, uh, to, uh, produce delicious food that's plant-based that people can enjoy. And there's no reason why family and your, your visitors, um, you know, can't enjoy plant-based foods. Um, you know, for those that, that resist it, you know, you have some options. Maybe you choose to wean them, um, you know, off of meat, uh, and toward an all plant menu. Um, or perhaps you, uh, offer, um, one item with some meat in it while the other five on the table are plant-based. Um, you know, but a big part of it is psychological, okay? For those that, uh, uh, are or ha you know, have been eating meat and now transitioning to, to plant-based foods, um, you know, whether it's, uh, understanding where proteins come from and how the body makes them, uh, or whether it's flavor development, okay? A lot of it is mental, uh, because there are people every day around the world that live on a plant-based diet and, and do it happily, including feeding their, their, uh, family and friends.