@thor I think I combine both approaches, but yes, improvising is important. I think the one who's not up to culinary experiment must be a very boring person.
Soups are particularly fun — I did a lot of weird stuff when I was living in the country during COVID summer and my friends were bringing lots of food they ended up not eating: soup based on instant soup, but with veggies and meatballs made out of leftover cutlets; cheese and mushroom soup because I didn't want them in their original form…😂