Kevin Meyer

Cooking

Retirement has given me something I didn't fully appreciate during my working years: time to cook without rushing. What started as making better dinners a couple years ago has evolved into genuine enjoyment of the process - the research, the technique, the experimentation. Last year I took it further by using AI to modify existing recipes and even create new ones, testing whether large language models could actually understand flavor profiles and culinary techniques well enough to be useful in the kitchen. Turns out they can, within limits, and the process taught me as much about cooking fundamentals as it did about AI capabilities.

This year's bhavana takes the cooking obsession to another level: cook a modernized traditional dish from a different country each week, aiming for thirty countries by year's end. Since I'm pescatarian, all recipes are either fish-based or vegetarian, which adds an interesting constraint when working with cuisines built around meat. I'm researching the history of each dish and the broader cuisine it represents, learning techniques I've never attempted, and hosting friends for weekly dinners that have become as much about connection as they are about food. Below you'll find those recipes as they develop, along with other favorites I've accumulated over the years - the ones that get requested repeatedly or that solve specific culinary problems I've encountered.

Cooking Around the World (2026 Goal - 30 Countries - Check Back!)

  1. Ecuador: Encocado de Pescado — Coastal Coconut Fish Stew
  2. Portugal: Bacalhau à Brás — Cod and Potato Scramble
  3. Turkey: İmam Bayıldı — Classic Olive-Oil Eggplant Dish
  4. Malaysia: Ikan Bakar Sambal — A Social, Fire-Driven Classic

Other Favorite Recipes