I am pretty sure that most humans have found themselves in a rut at some point or another. Could be a workout rut, career rut, daily life rut, and the list continues. For me a big rut I find myself in once or twice a year is a cooking rut. I start to make the same recipes over and over. It becomes easy to just plan the same food the next week or something similar. I find myself getting comfortable with the easy, same ol’ stuff. After a while my enjoyment for cooking diminishes completely and I find myself ordering out or cooking from a box. It’s after my kids have had mac and cheese for more then a few meals in a row that I get melted back into reality. WHAT AM I DOING?! I LOVE cooking! Why am I making meals from a box for my kids when I enjoy cooking so much?! That is not who I am! I find myself at a low point but I am not exactly sure where to go, I feel stuck. I know I need to pull myself out of the easy travelled rut but how?! I start to feel desperate and almost claustrophobic in my dark canyon of mundane!
I RUN to a computer, pull up good ol’ Google in my browser and type “recipes”. Oodles and oodles of recipes are brought up before me. Some look good, some look fun but they are missing passion, I NEED passion! I sit back and think for a minute, what could I do to add passion back into my cooking? First thought that pops into my mind is cooking school! YEAH! Dumm-da-dum-dummm, reality check, you are a stay at home mom and committed to getting out of debt with dear hubs! That idea quickly goes to my brain’s file folder labeled “Empty Nester”. I think some more…COOKING CLASS! YEAH! Hmmm although cheaper and less time consuming then school I have a lot going on and I cannot really afford (time or money) to do those… sigh. Hmmm… BING!!! LIGHT BULB!!! TV!!!! I can go to my TV and turn on the food channel! Some of the most brilliant people in cooking and baking are on there. So I go to the TV hoping I can remember how to find more channels besides Disney or Sprout. I sit down with my coffee and found the food channel! BAM! There she is my favorite of all chefs, Giada! LOVE HER!!! All of a sudden my brain is opened up to new techniques, new flavors and new recipe ideas! My preschooler wanders down from her quiet time, sits next to me and for the next two hours we are taken on a tasty journey through Italy, France, Spain and America. BONUS she learns the love and art of cooking! What happened last night was out of this world! I flipped the TV off grabbed 2lbs of burger, opened my spice cabinet and cheese drawer, called the hubs asked him to pick up a few things on his way home, I was inspired! I created the best burger I have EVER had in my life, hubs agreed! Juicy, full of flavor, perfect texture and the best part ALL MY OWN, I did not use any recipes from my TV adventure I just felt the push and drive to go create again!
The TV saved my dinner last night! I do have to be careful though because I could end up watching to much TV and then be in a TV rut! If you are like me, at the moment, then getting out, traveling, taking a class is not something you are currently unable to do. Do not let that reality get you down, find a video online, a TV show, a magazine, or a book! Those are easy tools that will help you to climb out of your rut! Easy is always good when you are facing a big wall. If the first step is small and manageable then the big steps ahead will be a breeze! I noticed a saying today on pinterest, “It doesn’t get easier, YOU get stronger”. In my effort to throw you a “lifeline”, go find some kind of media that will ease you out of your rut. Oh and if you say that TV is your rut the only thing I can say to you is TURN IT OFF and pick up a book!
Strive For Progress!
~Mae
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Awesome! I love when something kicks me out of my rut and I come back with a vengeance! Well, usually I do. Sometimes my rut-buster is my husband being blatantly honest. Then I get huffy for an hour or two (sometimes longer). But it usually does the trick and then I’m thankful later that he said something. It’s more fun when a magazine, book, cooking show etc. gets your creative juices flowing again.
Lately the library has been helpful for me. I think about the upcoming month or two and the things I need to get done, then I head to the library, find the section focused on that skill or task and pull out a big old pile of books. The more pictures the better for me. Then I come home and even if I only get to skim some of them they get me all excited for things like…keeping chickens, worm composting, organic gardening, canning, cooking, sewing, home sprinkler systems etc. lol
When I’m really on top of it I’ll check out childrens books on similar topics to mine and Jovie and I will sit and read and learn together. Then she’s more involved in the task as it arrives. When she’s excited about making pickles or cleaning the chicken coop…it sort of revives my pickle-making, chicken manure scooping spirits. Hehehe.
Happy cooking!
LOVE this!!! I also love the idea of getting books of the same topic for the kids, so going to try that!