I’m a picky eater. Always have been. And since moving to a country where the default vegan options often include tofu and mushrooms (two things I can’t stand), I’ve had to rely a lot more on cooking for myself.

But googling recipes every time got exhausting — especially when I’d forget the personal tweaks I made that actually made them taste good. So I started documenting my cooking. Not just with scribbles in a notebook, but with illustrated recipe cards — because I’m an illustrator, and I like pretty pictures more than random, half-legible notes.

This is the first of many: a small, visual record of food that works for me, made with care, curiosity, and zero tofu.