If it doesn't go viral, is it worthless?

── The reason I, who was swallowed by the numbers, started note.

An era where recipes and videos are constantly flowing by.

What catches my eye is "easy, time-saving, photogenic, no knife needed." I don't know what's good. It's exhausting to choose. Yet, I don't want to fail either.

So, I try things at random for now, and then look for the next recipe. Recipes have become something that just "flows by."

Even though I "started it to reach people," they are being consumed.

I started posting recipes on Instagram eight years ago. Back when it was still just a "place to post stylish photos."

At first, I just wrote recipes as an afterthought to my blog update notifications.

But soon, the voices saying "I made this!" reached me. I could see the reactions. I got replies back. That made me happy, and I became obsessed with it.

── But, in just a few years, it changed dramatically.

SNS evolved, from still images to videos. Diffusion, curation, reuse...

I feel like recipes have changed from something "to reach people" to something "to be consumed."

Before I knew it, I was only chasing "recipes that get numbers" instead of "recipes that are useful to someone."

“When cooking, still images are probably more convenient.”

Even though I knew that, it became a world where things wouldn't reach people unless they were videos. My feelings and my actions were drifting further and further apart.

Recipes are rushing in.

Recipes flowing by, menus I'm tired of choosing from, a feeling like my heart is being chipped away little by little.

“Easy,” “quick,” “no knife needed”
Recipes with words like these lined up are certainly convenient, and some are helpful.

But when too many flow by, I think, “Maybe I’m no good because I can’t even do this,” or “I’m already full just looking at them.”

── I think there are times when it actually makes you feel worse like that.

When recipes changed from something you "choose" to something that "rushes in," I realized that just offering them might not be helpful.

Before I knew it, my "sense of self" had disappeared.

Why I created this recipe.
What kind of day it was, and what I was feeling when I ate it.
The parts where you might stumble, and where there's room for improvement.

It's not just about the steps;
I want to convey the life and feelings behind them too.
But on social media today, that's difficult.

Even if I write the caption carefully, it's hard to get it read.
If it's not going to be read... I think, and I trim it, and trim it more.
Looking at the post I finally finished, I suddenly thought:

"Wait? This isn't me."

In an age where they say "shorter is better for writing."
When that happens, naturally,
powerful words start to line up,
and it becomes just another cliché sentence—

Without realizing it,
I had even trimmed away my own personality.

Here, I share meals for days when you don't want to try too hard, but still want to feel like you've done enough.

To those who have become a little tired
of recipes that just flow by.

Even if it doesn't go viral on social media,
a gentle meal that makes you feel like you've really cooked,
the kind that makes you say,
"This saved me again today."

I wanted a place where I could properly share
recipes like that.

That's why I started note.

Here, without pressure or rushing,
I will deliver meals from my daily life,
along with my words.
(And I'll gently add in the unadorned days, too.)

On days when you're lost for a recipe,
or days when you just want to take a break.
I would be happy if this place
could be a place where you feel even a little at ease.

♦︎If you'd like, please take a look at these as well.

"I'm lazy, but I want to do things properly."

"I slacked off again today. But I decided to count it as having cooked properly."