We love cookbooks. We love recipes in magazines, and articles on how to choose and prepare the healthiest food. Don’t get me wrong: I’m all for education in culinary and nutritional topics; it’s how I make my living. At some point, though, it’s inspiring to rely on an internal compass rather than external directions. Cooking and food preparation is the most natural, instinctive activity in the world, right up there with nest-building and baby-making.

I had baby artichokes for dinner the other night. We let them sit in a marinade of grapefruit juice, rosemary, olive oil and black pepper, then grilled them along with slices of ruby grapefruit. It was elegant, delicious, and had nothing to do with recipes or menu planning. It was just practical: the baby artichokes at the market were beautiful, and I had two grapefruits languishing in the bottom of the fridge, right beside a handful of still-good rosemary just beginning to brown at the tips.

Cooking by availability and intuition – shopping the market, choosing produce that looks fresh and appealing, and then combining it with ingredients on hand, according to taste and personal preference – is perhaps the oldest and most authentic way of food prep. My Southern grandmothers cooked this way, without recipes or elaborate meal planning. They simply gathered vegetables from their garden, combined them with ingredients on hand, and added a pinch of this and a dash of that until it tasted good. At the end, it was invariably a feast.

Cooking without a recipe requires only a little skill, plus a lot of imagination, and a willingness to be bold and inventive. Some hints to get you started:

Head to local farmer’s markets. That’s where you’ll find an abundance of fresh, seasonal produce. But don’t write off our local grocery stores; Whole Foods can’t be beat for its high-quality organic produce selection and vast array of herbs, spices, oils, nuts, cheeses and specialty items. Vitamin Cottage has wildly competitive prices and a full selection of organic produce. And some mainstream grocers are doing a pretty good job of offering more organic and local produce.

Start with color. It will be one of your main guides for choosing ingredients. Begin with one main ingredient – asparagus, for example – then look around the market or produce section for seasonal produce that would compliment their bright-green color. Look for what appeals to you - the pale hue of green onions, for example, and the soft tan-gray of wild morels.

You could sauté these in olive oil, then top with a little black sea salt and shaved Parmigiano. How would you cook them? Maybe make them into a soup with a light broth, a little cream and nutmeg? Or sauté them in sesame oil with garlic and ginger, and top them with black sesame seeds? You get the idea; anything is possible. Don’t overlook fruit; pears, berries or citrus fruits compliment many vegetable dishes with a subtle, fresh sweetness.

Try something new. The first time I saw a rutabaga, I was consumed with curiosity. I purchased the monstrosity, which looked something like a mutant potato. At a loss, I chopped it up, boiled it and served it with butter, salt and pepper. It was delicious—sweet, clean, with a mildly nutty, cabbage like flavor. Try something new – celery root, cardoons, chanterelle mushrooms, tomatillos, fiddlehead ferns, chayote squash, kumquats. Ask for cooking suggestions at the market. Start by seasoning simply with a little salt and pepper, and branch out from there. You’ll know.

Stock up on basic cooking ingredients. An artist needs the proper paints, brushes and canvas upon which to express her creativity. You’ll need an assortment of oils, vinegars, salts, spices, fresh herbs and other ingredients, to make the most of your cooking artistry. Basics include:

• A good olive oil and grapeseed or other neutral cooking oil
• Balsamic, sherry and red wine vinegar
• Kosher or coarse salt, sea salt and, if you like, a finishing salt, such as fin de sel, to be added after cooking.
• Seven or eight spices you love (try cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, chili powder, black pepper, white pepper, paprika and curry   powder) and a wide selection of fresh herbs, garlic and onions.
• A selection of dried beans, lentils, grains, nuts and seeds.
• Canned tomatoes, canned beans and a good, basic broth or stock.

Start with a great recipe. It sounds counter-intuitive, but having guidelines for a dish you love—pasta, salad, soup—creates a basic framework, the scaffolding upon which you can lay your own original design. A basic soup recipe, for example, might be 6 cups of broth, 2 cups of vegetables, 1 cup of beans, 2 tablespoons of oil or butter, and 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs. Within these basic guidelines, you can then be wildly creative.

Find a recipe you love, figure out the framework, and then make your own additions and substitutions. Try this salad recipe to get you started:

Recipe

Fill-in-the-blank Spring Salad
Serves 4
6 cups greens, in any combination (arugula, baby oak leaf, bibb, Romaine, chicory, Belgian endive, radicchio, mache)
1/4 cup oil (olive, coconut, sesame, walnut, or other nut or seed oil)
2 tablespoons vinegar (balsamic, sherry, red wine, champagne, apple cider, rice)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (optional, if it feels right)
1 garlic clove, finely minced (optional, if it feels right)
1 tablespoon minced fresh herbs (basil, thyme, rosemary, marjoram, oregano, chives)
1 cup salad vegetables (grated carrots, beets or cabbage, thinly sliced fennel, cucumber, radishes, green beans, peas, corn, tomatoes, jicama, broccoli, asparagus, celery)
1/4 cup nuts (walnuts, almonds, cashews, pecans, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds)
1/4 cup cheese (feta, shaved Asiago, blue cheese, manchego, chevre or other)

Tear greens into bite-sized pieces; wash and spin or pat dry thoroughly. Set aside.
In a small bowl, combine oil, vinegar and herbs. Whisk together. Taste, and adjust ingredients, adding more oil, vinegar or herbs if it seems necessary. Add 1 teaspoon mustard, 1 teaspoon honey, and/or 1 finely minced garlic clove, if it feels right to do so. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

In a large salad bowl, combine salad greens, salad vegetables and nuts. Toss with your hands. Drizzle about half the dressing over salad; toss again with hands, adding more dressing if salad feels “dry.” Divide among four individual salad plates, top with cheese, and serve.

Lisa Turner is a chef and food writer in Boulder. She also teaches cooking and nutrition classes at Bauman College, and offers catering and nutrition consulting. Visit TheHealthyGourmet.net or InspiredEating.com for more details.