After seeing JULIE AND JULIA (I loved it) and watching way too much Food Network TV, I began to hallucinate and experience visions of myself as an intuitive, self-made cook and recipe writer.
In the movie, Julie’s a blogger and Julia loves to cook; in real life I’m a blogger and I love to chop. The similarities were too in-my-face to ignore.
On Saturday, I leanrned that Hood and Yankee Magazine were hosting a recipe contest. Rules? You have to use Hood products and you have to live in New England. Hearing this, do I sit down and take a personal skills inventory? Do I consider that I’ve never created a recipe before? Do I factor in that I like to chop (I am the salsa queen), but my cooking is average? No, of course not; I go straight to the grocery store and buy Hood products. Time to create a winning recipe.
I chopped, squeezed, and mixed, tasted, added, and remixed. I liked the look, and taste, of my pre-baked creation. Daydreaming, I spent the $10,000.00 prize money as I waited for the ding of the oven timer.
There were two tasters available: my husband Bruce and my sister Julie. Bruce said the pie was delicious (but he lives with me and he likes sex, so he has to compliment my cooking). Julie took a taste, deemed it spicy and never lifted her fork again. A little tweaking or start all over? I know better than to ask those silly questions.
Julie left, and as I was cleaning the kitchen, I came down from my cooking cloud, and I had to laugh. For those frantic couple of hours I believed, I really did, that I could come up with a winning recipe, and on the first try.
What I lack in cooking ability, I more than make up in enthusiasm and determination.
Yes, of course I’m going to enter, and if I win, you’ll be the first to know.
