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Posted by Sharon Hunt Jul 15, 2008 |
Summer is a great time to do new things or the same things a bit differently. There’s something about sunny days that makes you feel like anything is possible.
This summer I have been creating a food blog with a friend. She is a vegetarian who makes amazing dishes with a handful of ingredients, and not a lot of time, and I’m happy in summer to make such dishes although I'm not, officially, a vegetarian. We both are passionate about food, accomplished cooks and bakers, and enjoy getting into our kitchens to create or recreate a dish for friends and family.
Sometimes our recipes work, sometimes they don’t, but we always learn something from the process and that’s the key to excelling, as a cook or a writer … always learning.
Recipes are like outlines. Both start at a logical beginning - assembling all the necessary items to create the final product. If you follow the steps, you will be rewarded with something that gives you a sense of pride in a job well-done.
When writing is not going well, I find that getting into the kitchen and creating a mess on the way to a finished dish, helps get my writing instincts going again. I suppose this is because the source of creativity – for everything from a perfect cheese omelet to a perfect short story – is the same. Creativity in one area feeds creativity in another.
Spending so much time lately in the kitchen has led me to interesting research projects – Just when and where was bread pudding first made? Why is a Strawberry Fool called a Strawberry Fool? – and triggered new ideas for food writing projects.
So, now that it’s summer, see if the sunshine and blue skies trigger new creative possibilities for you.