Trial and error consistenly have been my instructors

Recently someone asked where I learned to cook.

You might assume that since I teach others how to cook in this column, in my cookbooks, at cooking demonstrations and sometimes on TV, that I had some formal training. But, nope, I'm completely self-taught. Here's my story.

Long before I began writing this column, I voraciously read food magazines (Gourmet or Bon Appétit) and cookbooks (I gave myself "Larousse Gastronomique" as a weight-loss reward in 1990) and watched cooking shows (I loved Julia, big time). Then, for the fun of it, I took those recipes and cooking techniques to my kitchen and gave them a try.

Did I ever fail at cooking something? Yeah. Did I learn from my failures? Every time.

I accept cooking failures as part of the process that leads to cooking success.

Several years ago I discovered two reader-friendly food scientists: Harold McGee (author of "On Food and Cooking," and "The Curious Cook"), and the humorous, but knowledgeable Shirley O. Corriher ("CookWise"), as well as non-food scientist Russ Parsons ("How to Read a French Fry and Other Stories of Intriguing Kitchen Science"). They showed me the "why" behind the "what happened." Learning from the expert greatly reduced my failure rate, making me a better cook and teacher.

Want to learn from a true master? Check out "Theory and Practice of Good Cooking" by James Beard, considered the dean of American cooking. Divided by techniques, such as boiling, sauteing or baking, Beard takes the reader through all the steps, explains many "whys," and shares 300 recipes that put theory into practice.

Having that basic knowledge freed me up to be creative and tinker with written recipes. Early on I realized that as I read through a recipe's ingredients and instructions I could virtually taste the end results and that lead me to wonder "what if?" What if I used dried cranberries instead dried cherries? What if I added kalamata olives? What if dried basil adds better flavor than dried oregano, and might taste better still if added when I sauté the meat instead of later?

My teacher always has been trial and error. Most times, my ideas and changes worked really well; sometimes, they didn't work at all.

One more thing I learned the hard way: if you're going to change a recipe, change just one thing at a time. Changing multiple things (pan size, an ingredient or two, mixing times, oven temperatures) makes it impossible to determine why something happened.

Now, go play with your food and learn from and enjoy the results.

Try this recipe: An earlier incarnation of this recipe appeared in my first cookbook, "Lean and Lovin' It." True to form, I haven't been able to leave it alone. I ditched the sifting step and opted for real eggs over egg substitute. Give it a try.

Glazed Pumpkin Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour (not self-rising)

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon fresh-grated nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground allspice

¼ teaspoon salt

1 packet (½ ounce) Butter Buds

1½ cups sugar

1¾ cups canned solid-pack pumpkin

1 large whole egg

1 large egg white

½ cup orange juice (fresh-squeezed, preferred)

¼ cup nonfat plain yogurt

1 cup golden raisins

Glaze

¼ cup powdered sugar

2 teaspoons warm water

½ teaspoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice

Set the oven rack in the middle position and heat to 350 degrees. Lightly spray the bottom and sides of a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan with vegetable oil. Set aside.

Into a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, allspice, salt and Butter Buds. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, pumpkin, egg and egg white, orange juice and yogurt until well combined and the sugar seems to have dissolved, about 45 seconds to 1 minute. Add dry ingredients and raisins to the bowl and, with a rubber spatula, stir and fold until just moistened, 30 to 40 seconds. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 1 hour, 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool bread in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Lift the bread from the pan and return to the rack and cool for 1 hour, or until thoroughly cooled.

For the glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, water and lemon juice until combined. Brush the glaze evenly over top of the cooled bread and serve.

To store: Wait until the glaze is set and dry and wrap in aluminum foil and refrigerate.

Serves 16.

Nutrition values per slice: 184 calories (2.8 percent from fat), 0.6 g fat (0.2 g saturated), 43.3 g carbohydrates, 1.6 g fiber, 3.1 g protein, 13 mg cholesterol, 102 mg sodium.