The kitchen is not a scary place. The spice cabinets? Not something to be afraid of. Rather, a treasure trove of hidden wonders and glories yet to be discovered.

Do you know your spices? Your tastes? Your favorite smells and textures? These are absolutely imperative to good cooking.

It has been said that all you need to know to cook, is how to read. Well, that’s true. If all you want to do is cook. But, if you want to create, to share, to have others experience your emotions through your food, then you need to understand flavors and textures.

The easiest way to do this, go to your local farmer’s market and smell, touch get to know, the fresh herbs there. Your sense of smell is one of the most important tools for eating and cooking. If something smells foul, it will taste foul, if it smells savory and delicious and mouthwatering, then that is what you will experience when you eat it. It will fill your mouth with flavor, melt on your tongue, or cause your taste buds to dance with delight and your very sense come alive with the experience.

You don’t have to go to culinary school to be a good cook, you just have to feel and enjoy, experiment and be willing to fail.

There are a few tried and true things that every kitchen must have:

Measuring spoons, liquid measuring cups ( I have two different sizes – the ones with the spouts), and stacking measuring cups, for your dry ingredients.

Baking Soda and Salt by your stove, for those unfortunate flare ups (they happen, trust me) in those incidents, water is NOT your friend.

If you are not experienced with jalapenos, do not cut them without gloves and buttermilk nearby (gloves to protect your hands, and buttermilk if you didn’t protect your hands).

Know your measurement abbreviations: I have a handy chart that I bought at the Dollar Tree that is a magnet on my fridge.

Flour, should always be sifted before measuring (except for cake flour). Then, gently spooned into the (dry) measuring cup and leveled off with a knife

Dried herbs have a much more intense flavor than their fresh counterparts. Crush them after measuring. A good rule of thumb for dried herbs vs fresh is ½ tsp of dried for each Tbsp of fresh, for strong herbs and 1 tsp dried for each Tbsp of fresh for the milder herbs.

An apron and chef’s hat. Okay, maybe not a chef’s hat but sometimes you just want to look the part. Did you know that there are 100 pleats on a traditional chef’s hat, each one representing a new way to cook eggs?

Which brings me to my last item, eggs, of course. Honestly, what food is as versatile as eggs? They go with everything – and in everything – and can be made in so many ways, as you can see from the recipes I’ve been posting. Seriously, don’t know what to make for breakfast? Throw last night’s leftover vegetables in a pan, add eggs and cheese and you have an omelet.

Most kitchen tips, tricks and helpful hints can be found in the front pages of major cookbooks or by googling them. More tips and hints about eggs can be found at www.incredibleegg.org