Archive for July 31st, 2008
Contest (You) Cajun/Creole Cooking Challenge (Me)
I like to cook. I like to collect cookbooks. I can boil water, mince garlic, chop an onion, make a smooth non-lumpy white sauce, and lumpy mashed potatoes. I can do all of these things on purpose and with purpose. Ok. Great. If that’s the case, then how come I eat as badly as I do. How come I am always making the same dishes over and over again? Cooking has become a chore for me, after all, I am a single working woman with two large dogs who commutes 50 miles round-trip every day. I like to go to yardsales on the weekend, and sometimes I forget to go to the grocery store. And, as my mother would say, “Excuses will get you nowhere, fast!”
With credit to Howard Beale: “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not gonna take it anymore!” Ok. I’m mad at myself for not eating healthy, drinking too much coffee, and for continuing to add cookbooks to my collection that I never even open, or just give a cursory glance to once and a while. What happened to the girl (me) that made 10 pounds of kimchi from scratch? The girl that could whip up a banana bread without even looking at a recipe? The girl that got her cooking badge from the Girl Scouts without any help from mom?
Stay tuned. I am about to embark on a new (fairly regular) challenge–A new recipe taken from my collection of hundreds of cookbooks. No more searching for recipes on the web. I’m digging out that nice wooden cookbook stand, gonna prop that book up, and I’m going to get cooking.
So, here’s how it works: You vote for the recipe you want me to fix (in the poll) AND leave a comment on this blog entry. Voting closes Saturday, August 2nd at 8:00 pm EST. I’ll go shopping Sunday morning for needed supplies, and will post photos and the results on Sunday evening along with the winner of the comment contest (chosen by using Random dot Org.) The prize will be … a choice between a $10 gift card from Barnes & Noble, or a box of books from my own stash. The winner will have the choice! (( Remember: You have to comment in order to get a chance at the prize. AND if you link to my contest or promote it on your blog, I will give you two extra chances in the drawing. AND if you have no interest in the giveaway, you can still vote (anonymously) for your recipe choice! ))
I chose the cook books by reaching blindly for the books on the shelf, and I chose page 50 in each book … just because it is a nice round number.
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Update 7/31/08: Thanks to everyone that has commented and voted! I will post on Sunday evening the results of my cooking challenge along with the winning recipe, some photos, AND the name of the contest winner!
