A recipe that says “salt to taste” is trusting you. Learn to trust yourself back.

Instructions that stop short of a number are not being lazy. At some point nobody can tell you how much, because the answer depends on your pan, your tomatoes, your mouth. That blank space is an invitation to have an opinion, which is less comfortable than following a measurement.

Cook one thing this week without checking every ninety seconds whether you are doing it right. Taste it, adjust, taste again. The same muscle works on much bigger questions, and it only grows from being used.