Spring Inspiration

It's April!  Spring is here and that is always an inspiring time of year.  And for cooks like me, this time of year is especially inspiring as we start dreaming of all the beautiful produce that will become available over the next few months. We start preparing in our minds the lovely spring holiday foods and the summer barbecues that will soon follow,... Oh the recipes...

But my job is not really to create recipes from all this dreaming, not that I haven't in the past or that I won't in the future, (truth be told I rarely use recipes anymore) but generally I teach beginners and those that are challenged when it comes to cooking even the basics, like how to boil water.  Because that can be a little boring at first, I need to inspire my students and help them get inspired on their own to pull out those pots pans and clean off those dusty knives and utensils that have gone unused since they bought them and attempt to make some good food. 

So first, how do I get inspired.

1. Other Food Blogs:  I so appreciate and honor the work of others who have all ready been doing this awhile.  The photos and the inspired creations of today's recipe and food lifestyle bloggers are amazing.  Those mouthwatering photographs are often all I need to get cooking and baking.

2.  Cookbooks.  I have marked a lot of favorite recipes over the years and sometimes, for me it's just like looking though old photo albums of friends from high school or college and saying  I really need to give that person a call.  When going through the cookbooks it's, "I really haven't made that dish in a long time.  I'll add it into my meal plan as soon as I can."

3. Farmer's Markets and Produce Isles.  Walking past all those strawberries and cherries, I get visions of pulling yummy pies and tarts from the oven, mixing them into ice creams and chopping them onto salads.  I see peppers, green onions, green beans, carrots, peas and new potatoes mixed with healthy grains and beans alongside specially prepared meats spread out all over my lovely Passover or Easter table.

4.  Cooking Shows.  I'm not an addict like some people, but a few shows really help get my creative juices flowing. Although I'm entertained by watching Iron Chef and the great celebrity restaurant chefs cooking the gastronomic equivalents of the empire state building.  I'm mostly inspired by those good home chefs that were once like me creating and preparing mouthwatering food at home for their friends and loved ones.

5. Good Restaurants:  As I've mentioned before, with a little one around, we don't often go out for dinner, but when we do we make it count.  My husband and I both have good and adventurous pallets, so we love to try new foods and culinary experiences.  Then we try and figure out how we can replicate those dishes we liked the most at home.  Some are easy - simple ingredients put together in ways I hadn't thought of before.  Then others are more complex, spices and flavors I recognise but can't quite put my finger on.  These are the most fun trying to recreate.  Sometimes I hit it and sometimes I come up with something completely new that was inspired by that restaurant chefs excellent work.  Often I will aquire a new technique I hadn't gotten around to learning yet.  Either way we win. 

My easy tip to new cooks:  Every time you go grocery shopping, pick up at least one new ingredient you haven't tried before, bring it home and cook some cool dish with it.  Look a recipe up on the Internet or create a whole new dish, whatever suits you. You'll learn a lot and you'll get some new inspiration each week.