A Wine Surprise & The Deliberations of a Food Blogger
Yesterday, I felt fresh out of ideas. I had nothing to blog about today. No recipes to report. Nothing spectacular. Since I started Zen Foodism almost 2 months ago, this was the first time I’ve drawn a blank. Usually I feel overwhelmed by all the food I want to talk about and share and photograph and describe.
So, I opened up a cookbook I’d never used before - The New Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen. I felt like cooking something homey and comforting. A casserole would do the trick! I made a half-batch of her Spinach and Rice Casserole. Problem solved, right?
Nope. The dish wasn’t very good. My husband didn’t even finish his small serving of it. The flavors and texture actually kind of grew on me and I liked it more at the end of my bowl than when I first started. But this situation brought up two questions:
- Should I share this mediocre recipe anyway?
- Now what would I blog about today?
I decided “No” on the first question and a total fluke lead me to answer the second. While I was cooking the unfortunate casserole, I opened up a cheap bottle of merlot that I had bought at Trader Joe’s about a month ago. My husband keeps really nice and expensive bottles of wine in the house. But when I’m cooking or it’s just a plain, old weeknight, I feel bad about opening a high-stakes bottle just for a glass or two. So, I got a couple $6 bottles at TJ’s recently and the one I opened last night was actually pretty good! My husband approved, too, and I trust his wine opinions more than my own because I am just starting to learn about it all.
So, here’s my bit of wisdom for today: If you’re looking for a cheap bottle of Merlot, I can recommend PKNT from Trader Joe’s.
Phew! I survived this post. Now, what will I write about tomorrow? 
Beth, I have posts in the past where something didn’t go well and I said why. I don’t think there is any shame in saying that you don’t like something or it didn’t do well. I am a professional chef and I still burn food, such as my baked chicken where I forgot to turn down the oven from 500 to 350 to finish it off. I came up here to work on my blog that day and well, what the hey…I forgot. Then I threw caution to the wind with my Pumpkin cake and it took 90 minutes to bake. I said why and showed the difference between baking effort number 1 and number 2. I love seeing the flops as well as the successes. You can post the recipe and the next person will rave about it. Go figure! I have days where I have no idea what I am going to blog about too. Then I read all my favorites and get inspiration. The wine did that for you. Inspiration comes from both good and not so good experiences. Now I know that I can buy decent wine at TJs. So I got something from your blog today. You did well! Tomorrow will be a new inspiration.
Comment by vlb5757 — October 26, 2005 @ 6:15 pm
Glad to read that your dinner ended nicely with the bottle of wine, despite the mediocre recipe (I’ve had those, too).
Paz
Comment by Paz — October 26, 2005 @ 7:10 pm
Hi Beth - Just a zen-like moment of contemplation wouldn’t hurt at all!
)
Comment by Kirk — October 26, 2005 @ 8:45 pm
I have a Moosewood cookbook too, and have had trouble with every recipe I have tried.
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