Mom’s just seem to be amazing cooks, right? When I first left home at 21, I totally took for granted the home cooked meals my Mom used to make every day. Suddenly I found myself getting home to a bare kitchen and reaching for a take-out menu. Not ideal or healthy, so I started putting the lessons I’d learned from Mom to good use and got into the kitchen.

Here are some of the best tips from Moms:

1. Mom always stressed the importance of cleaning up as you go. That means you’ll always have at least some counter space free for prepping and, even better, the post-dinner cleanup is no big deal because most of it is already done.
2. Any imperfection can be fixed with icing.
3. Always lick the bowl – no matter how old you are. Your inner child will be thrilled.
4. Rub your fingers on metal (like a silver serving spoon) after cooking with garlic or onion to remove the smell.
5. Always read the recipe more than once before you begin, check that you have all the ingredients, and take it slow. But most importantly: Love is the main ingredient in any cooking!