From the store to the kitchen to the table: We outline the steps that get you from something raw to something cooked using simple ingredients, free of measurements and complicated techniques. A method that you can have in your back pocket and whip out whenever you like. We call it recipe-free cooking.

- a bowl
- a spoon
- a baking dish
- a timer
- a meat thermometer
- a knife
- chile powder
- brown sugar
- salt and pepper
- olive oil
- brewed coffee
- a three-pound boneless pork loin (not a tenderloin, but a roast, which is just called a loin and is much larger)
Illustrations by Bill Russell


