Stop maintaining 50 separate recipe files. Maintain 3 templates that absorb any ingredient.
The shift: From “Recipe A: Chicken Stir Fry vs Recipe B: Beef Stir Fry” (50 files) to “Stir Fry Template with variable inputs” (1 file).
The Three Templates
| Template | What It Absorbs | Mental Load |
|---|---|---|
| Roast Sheet Pan Cooking Template | Any protein + any vegetables + any roasting sauce | 1 technique |
| Grain Bowl Cooking Template | Any grain + any protein + any vegetables + any sauce | 1 technique |
| Stir Fry Cooking Template | Any protein + any vegetables + any sauce | 1 technique |
Total mental load: 3 techniques instead of 50 recipes.
The Cheat Sheet
Put this on your fridge:
| Template | Protein (Pick 1) | Veg (Pick 2) | Flavor Bridge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sheet Pan | Sausage / Fish / Tofu | Broccoli / Potato / Onion | Italian (Pesto + Oregano) |
| Bowl | Chicken / Beef / Beans | Kale / Peppers / Corn | Mexican (Salsa + Cumin) |
| Stir Fry | Pork / Shrimp / Egg | Snap Peas / Carrots | Asian (Soy + Ginger) |
When shopping, just fill the slots with whatever’s on sale.
The “Aha” Moment
When you realize Chicken Tikka Masala and Beef Stroganoff are the same recipe (Meat + Creamy Sauce + Starch), you’re officially recipe-independent.
You can now buy whatever meat is $3/lb and know exactly how to cook it.
North: Where this comes from
- Template Cooking (parent concept)
- Pattern Recognition (seeing structure)
South: Where this leads
- Front Page Rule (shopping by template)
- Modular Meal Planning (planning by component)
West: What’s similar?
- Design Patterns (software templates)
- Chord Progressions (music templates)
- Plot Archetypes (story templates)