I am in a culinary rut.
I love to cook. I always have. My family loves it when I cook and I love to cook for them. It’s just that recently I haven’t felt the fire that I need to finish off some of the half baked ideas I used to have almost every time I walked into the kitchen. I have a 9 foot by 4 foot spice rack that is full to overflowing and when I look at it, I see nothing. When I open the fridge, I see jars & bottle of different sauces & spreads and I yawn. When I look in the fridge or freezer, I see cut after cut of meat or fish and I think about takeout. The Super Bowl is a little over 17 days away and I haven’t even begun to think about my game day menu and if you know me, you know that is bad. I’m not even sure if I have the alligator in the freezer that I will need for my mandatory & much requested alligator chili. So yeah, I am in a culinary rut.
I am sure that I can put some of the blame on the lifestyle change I was forced to make last spring when my doctor sent me to my room without dessert and I am sure I can put some of the blame on the DIE-t I went on to go with that lifestyle change. Sure I lost 48 lbs and now I can eat just about anything I want any time I want (within reason) but even that hasn’t inspired me to get wild & crazy in the kitchen. I guess I feel like a part of me has an out of order sign hanging on me and the service person keeps having to re-schedule.
Slow cooker recipes bore me. Cookies were fun for a while but the holidays are over. I can only justify cookies as donations to food banks and I can’t justify them for myself. I haven’t been traveling anywhere new so I haven’t had a chance to try some new dishes that I can try to spin at home. I haven’t tried out for CHOPPED or had my wife & kids hit me with a mystery basket full of bizarre ingredients. I was hoping that the NFL playoffs would inspire me but most of the teams with interesting cuisines got eliminated already and I am not all that inspired by the food of Baltimore, New England & New York though I can most certainly play with San Francisco. Even my writing feels a bit like limp overcooked pasta to me.
So what do I do ? What do you do when you are stuck in a culinary rut ? How do you get excited about being in the kitchen again. I generally hate blogs that ask a question but I am tuck so I am all ears, eyes & tastebuds for any idea you may have no matter how outlandish. If you know me, you know I will try most anything (within reason).
So come back next time when hopefully I will be out of my culinary (and literary) rut and we will be discussing the incredible Super Bowl Menu that you all have inspired me to create.
I SOOOOOO feel your pain of the rut. I have been there so many times. I got kicked out of my most recent rut by the need to try a new diet for my kids and it’s forcing me to learn to bake and cook all over again. Although the transition to gluten-free has kicked me in the rear on a whole new level, I find it’s often an event or a person that needs something that inspires me to get in the kitchen and cook again. Maybe the Superbowl menu will come through for you yet
Good luck! It’s no fun. Especially when the family starts circling asking what’s for dinner.
My mother was gluten-free in the last few years of her life and cooking for her was challenge but it was a great challenge. I am sure you are doing a great job for your kids. Thanks for checking in and I’ll have that Super Bowl menu planned & posted soon….I hope.
It helps that both of us cook so the other can function when one is in a slump. Maybe taking an inventory of the frig and freezer and then googling recipe ideas for the most exotic mixture you can think of will strike your funny bone.LOL
I suppose I could play a brand of CHOPPED at home by just closing my eyes and grabbing 4 random ingredients. It can’t be that bad. Thanks for checking in.
Oh, Doug, say it ain’t so! You can’t be in a culinary rut!! You are the “go to”
guy for all things food related. You have shared the best photos of the best food from everywhere. Come on man…pull yourself together!
I’m trying Joanne – I am starting to think Super Bowl and my readers at allrecipes are giving me lots of suggestions. I promise to come back strong !