Something I forget to do when I am cooking is to taste along the way. Books tell you to do that so you can see how flavors are developing, or at least to see if what you made tastes any good before you serve it to someone else. I was making chicken salad with apples and cumin when this practice hit home for me. I thought I was about done making it and I took a taste. It wasn’t very exciting. So, I started asking myself questions: does it need more seasoning, is there a good acid/sweet balance, does it need a complimentary flavor? I ended up toying with it for another half hour. It was one of the best things I made in months and taught me a good lesson along the way.