This is the part where I take a moment to ask for your help.
This is the part where I tell you how much I need you.
Seriously people…. I need some inspiration. Give it up. Please and thank you.
I think I’ve found myself in a bit of a kitchen rut. What should I make? What do you want to see?
Hot? Cold? Sweet or savory? At what point will you stop putting up with my baking antics? How much cranberry juice is too much cranberry juice to drink in one day? What do I do about this giant blemish on my chin?
Ok… I suppose you should only answer the first few questions above. Send me some inspiration. Send me a dozen eggs. Send me a punch in the skull. I need your creative kitchen juice or your closed fist punches. Let’s be a team about this. I need you… but please don’t actually punch me. I was kidding about that part.
Update: You all are the most lovely people a blogger could ask for. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for all the inspiration. I’ve already got a list working from all your suggestions. Keep em coming! I think you’re dreamy!
Aaaand another update: You lovelies have blown me away. Thanks for all the inspiration. Amazing! Let’s hug. I’ll be in my kitchen this weekend and be back next week with some pretty fabulous treats for you. Thank you. One the real…. thanks.
Gayathri
Sticky Date Pudding with butterscotch or toffee sauce
I’ve had it twice in my life….both times in Australia..
PLEASE make it so that I can fill this void in my life
Leslie
i want cheese danish!
Nags
cupcakes. they always make the world better. and waffles. and pancakes.. and..
Mbdea
…also, as a kid I used to spend the better part of my summer months in central Mexico where I always hit upon an infinite variety of ice cream flavors such as –and this is a small sampling– helados (ice cream) de elote (corn), aguacate (avocado), guayava, passion fruit, zapote, chirimolla, jamaica (habiscus flower), tamarind, tuna (no, not the fish but the suculent cactus fruit) and even -wait for it, wait for it…mole (mol-ay) ice cream. I kid you not. Of course, there are always the popsicle counterparts of these flavors but no, the inspiration I offer here is from the actual ICE CREAM flavors. All so suprisingly and so very perfectly delectable.
Louise
Inspire me to try to make some of those things I always WANTED to make, but that are too intimidating: croissants, challah, brioche.
I’ve got recipes and stuff, but I’m too chicken to try.
Can you make it sound easy?
Mbdea
Picnic food! I have a tough time finding comprehensive inspiration for a good variety of picnic foods. How about basic beach picnic food, the perfect park picnic, a playdate picnic, a healthy picnic, hiking picnic. Okay, you see where I am going with this. Hope this helps.
Shabneez
Ice cream? Food on sticks? Really, who doesn’t like food on sticks?
Ali
Breakfast…I get stuck in a rut for breakfast ideas. Can you help me turn ordinary oatmeal into something more exciting? Or any regular old breakfast idea, can you spice it up?
Or, why not get started on some of those picnic food and/or theme ideas for the picnic you are planning?
Michelle
When I get into a kitchen rut (which happens more often than I care to admit), the easiest way out of it is to start making a whole bunch of ridiculous things from scratch! When I say ridiculous, I just mean those things which are often or easily purchased from supermarkets.
So…
Phyllo dough
Puff Pastry
Shortcrust pastry
Bread
Mayonnaise
Jam of any kind
Various preserves (chutneys, pickles, etc)
…and so on and so forth. Find a few basic items which you might otherwise purchase and have a stab at making them from scratch. :)
As for the giant blemish, crush up an aspirin, add some water to make a sort of paste (you can do this in a blender or something). Apply a dab to your blemish and you’ll find the redness will fade and it will shrink a bit,too! :)
Michelle
Laura (Alwaysroom4dessert)
I can definitely relate to being in a kitchen rut sometimes! One of the questions I like to ask my friends (they put up with my silly questions because they know how much I love food) is what is your favorite food you ate growing up? (Like hearing about your dad’s buttermilk biscuits) I always like to hear about childhood favorites because I think those recipes are the ones that comfort us the most and bring back those memories. I was working in the kitchen and was munching on a snack I brought with me the other day when one of the girls asked me, “are you eating GOLDFISH crackers!?” I said yes..yes I am..! Yes I know they are snacks for 4 year olds but I grew up with them and still love them! How bout making a play on a classic and making aged cheddar crackers?
Joanna
Hi Joy–
I just recently found your site and LOVE it!!! I made the bacon waffles for dinner last night and they were amazing. How about some zucchini muffins or bread? Whatever you come up with, I am sure it will be delicious! Thanks so much for sharing your recipes. :)
Lara
And by jyogurty, I mean yogurty. The j is silent and should be invisible.
Lara
When I was a kid, my mom would sometimes make these incredible jyogurty strawberry popsicles for us as a summertime treat. I think it’s popsicle weather.
Cate
Hi Joy- To start with, I for one have difficulty imagining a time in the forseeable future when I will not “put up with your baking antics”! Why not put some standard baking ingredients in a hat and oull out three, then invent something that involves all three? (and I don’t me put in the ingredients themselves- that could get messy!) Or ask your readers to suggest their favorite ingredients and use your ingenuity and baking prowess to combine some into something delicious? Just some thoughts. Your lack of inspiration needs a name- Baker’s Block sounds a little too much like a cutting board…
Good luck finding your muse! I’ll be here to read about it when you do. :)
Tara
One of my friends made a cheesecake with strawberry balsamic topping. I think you should make something like that! It was so delicious and I’ve been trying to find a good recipe for it!