A lot of good cooking is in technique. What’s something that you discovered or was told that really changed something meaningful for you? For me, I had struggled a lot to make omelettes. They always wound up becoming scrambled eggs because I sucked at flipping them over to cook on the other side (I like my eggs cooked pretty well so this was important to me.) Finally, watching someone else make an omelette, I noticed they didn’t flip it. They put a lid on the pan, turned the heat down, and let the top cook that way. I tried it myself and now I make almost perfect omelettes every time. Have you had anything like this happen to you? If so, what was it?
not a technique per se, but whole garlic bulbs are usually significantly less expensive than the jarred minced, with shitloads more flavor (and more you can do with it.). and an extra-fine microplane grater will turn that clove into paste in seconds. (or ginger, super fine zest, super fine cheese if you wanna nice melty shred.
as for tomatoes… the reason canned tomatoes taste better is that the canners set up shop near the farmers, so they don’t have to pick them green. same with a lot of frozen fruits/veggies. with fruit, you tend to loose some texture (strawberries going ‘soft’ is an example,) but, if you’re not needing the whole fruit, they’re going to be better.