*Usually* when a cookbook is so vague, it is because the guidelines are subjective and not crucial to the outcome of the dish. So use your own taste and preferences to guide you.

If a recipe calls for a "few" cloves of garlic, I'd use 2-3 if I was just okay with the stuff. If I loved garlic (and I do!), I'd use 4-5 cloves.

"Several" minutes probably means you're looking for a specific outcome from the food, and that timing isn't the key. For instance, when you cook scrambled eggs in a frying pan, you need to watch for them to become firm and not runny. Minutes aren't very accurate in determining when that will happen.

So whatever the recipe is, watch for a desired outcome (is the meat cooked well enough? Are the cookies just slightly turning brown on the edges and getting cracks on the tops? Are the noodles becoming bloated or limp?).

And for everything else, go by your preferences. Sometimes in cooking you just have to jump in the deep end and experiment!

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