Ah, I think I should have clarified! Those three I mentioned are dishes I made completely by myself, with no guidance or involvement from my mother-in-law aside from her providing the use of her kitchen. I've made loads of dishes with her help, but I wouldn't consider them something "I made" just yet for that reason.

But I agree with you. I shouldn't pressure myself into performing up to her level since she's been cooking for 40 years or more and I'm a beginner. But I like observing and helping her when I can because it's really helpful to me to see a visual example and get some hands-on experience while also being able to ask an expert questions when they come up instead of just making my best guess. I'm gotten better about not worrying about things being perfect, but I should probably lower my standards at least little bit more so I don't stress so much.

My two short-term goals are: 1) try to mimic MIL's way of peeling veggies and 2) successfully flip omelets/tamago-yaki by myself with chopsticks.

I take forever when I peel potatoes (among other veggies) and then I see my MIL peeling them all beautifully in one nice spiral motion. I need more practice.

And egg dishes are hard since you have to flip them quickly or they burn, so after a few failed attempts my MIL will take over and I don't get a chance to practice. I'm fairly confident I could flip them with a wooden spoon or something, but any time I try with chopsticks like she does, I accidentally break the egg up a bit and then it become even harder to flip. Plus, she usually makes a giant omelet for 4 people that she cuts up into appropriate sizes rather than individual small ones, making them harder to flip. So far no dice, but I think I'll get it eventually. And luckily they taste fine even if they look kind of funny.