Author: Daytona

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Writer’s Kitchen: Inspiration from Sugar and Spice

Kladdkaka

Pears and Tomatoes

Sometimes you just need to bake. You need to open a cookbook, find something that you have all the ingredients for, and get to work whipping butter, eggs, sugar, and flour into some magical concoction. Maybe you’re suffering from writer’s block. Maybe you’re just hungry. In any case, a little time in the kitchen can be a great source of inspiration if you’re anything like me.

Kladdkaka

Take yesterday, for example. As I stood in the kitchen, coring pears and stirring a pot of simmering fruit sauce on the stove, words came to me as though I was writing in my head. I was spending the day baking some things I was planning to feature on Outside Oslo, my Scandinavian food blog, and the words just started coming together, making me excited to get to the computer and see what would happen.

Scandinavian Autumn Fruit Soup

As the day went on, the aroma of fruit and spice from the Scandinavian fruit soup* and the pear sauce I was making started to mingle with the deep, sensual fragrance of warm, chocolate cake.** Little did I know when I got to work in the kitchen yesterday that I was going to fill my home with the warmest, most inviting scent, the kind that makes you feel all cozy inside. If that’s not enough to inspire creativity, I don’t know what is.

*The Scandinavian fruit soup is from my latest article in Pregnancy & Newborn Magazine. The article–“Double-duty dishes: Autumn soups to satisfy the whole family”–is on page 36 of the October issue (the digital edition is available here).

**I’ll be featuring the recipe for chocolate cake later this week on Outside Oslo.

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Daily Writers’ Fix: October 1-5

How to use Daily Writers’ Fix

Monday:

Sight

Place your character in a new setting, using her observations of signs to show the reader where she is.

Tuesday:

Smell

The smell of salt water, ocean breezes, dried-out kelp strewn across the sand… What are your character’s maritime memories or associations? A waterbound escape? A grueling job? Flashbacks to a happy childhood vacation?

Wednesday:

Sound

No shoppers laughing and talking on cell phones, no workers taking a smoke break, no cars honking at pedestrians. Why is this street silent and empty?

Thursday:

Touch

Reflect on travel today: past trips you’ve taken, places your character wants to visit, the significance of a journey. Can you make your writing even more vivid by using the sense of touch in your descriptions?

Friday:

Taste

The flavors of fall

Using this photo, phrase, and sense to get you started, spend 10 minutes freewriting today, then review what you’ve written and see if it sparks any ideas.

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Writer’s Kitchen: Learning to Improvise

Absinthe Cake

Life is all about improvisation. Improvisation and reinvention.

Back in the days before we had children, Sarah and I would get together frequently to cook and bake, always finding some intriguing recipe to try, such as raclette macaroni and cheese or David Lebovitz’s absinthe cake (pictured above and featured in a previous edition of Writer’s Kitchen). While those kitchen dates with my dear friend virtually stopped for a while, I’m happy to report that we’re back to it, albeit in a modified and not-so-efficient way (have you ever tried cooking while supervising small children?). And we’re back at it just in time for fall, with its bounty of comforting stews and warm spices.

When Sarah and I used to work through complex recipes, we had a routine. I would take the role of recipe reading, making sure we were following the correct steps and keeping everything on track. Sarah would prep ingredients and keep the kitchen remarkably tidy as we went on. We were a great team. We would take our time and savor the experience, marveling in how well we worked together and talking about whatever was on our minds. These days we improvise–something our new identities as mothers requires. And while it may take twice as long to bake a simple batch of cookies, I have to say that our reinvention was totally worth it. You should see us as we wrangle very active baby boys while trying to get a recipe just right–and keep the kitchen moderately clean!

I never would have expected that becoming a mother would change the way I cooked, but it has–and in the most interesting way. I used to stick comfortably to the flavors and techniques in a recipe, veering only a little to compensate with ingredients on hand. However, in the past few months I’ve found myself coming up with ideas and running with them, sometimes piecing together a few recipes to help me with technique (as was the case with mushroom- and cheese-topped rockfish atop steamed spinach that I made over the summer) and other times boldly pulling experimental flavors together into an improvised side dish (such as the linguine with garlic, anchovies, red pepper flakes, and cilantro from earlier this month). Maybe it’s because I don’t have the time to menu plan as extensively as I used to, and therefore am forced to improvise more often. And maybe developing recipes for some recent articles in Pregnancy & Newborn Magazine and the Norwegian American Weekly has had something to do with it. In any case, it’s been exciting to watch how the kitchen skills I’ve developed over the years now serve me well as I trust myself to create something delicious, and I can’t wait to try out my newfound confidence with the bounty of fall foods.

What are some of your favorite original kitchen creations? I’d love to hear from you and get some more inspiration!

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Daily Writers’ Fix: September 24-28

How to use Daily Writers’ Fix

Monday:

Sight

Despite your first impression, these aren’t dog prints. They’re cat prints. What part of your world do you need to look at more closely?

Tuesday:

Smell

Step inside this photo and take a deep breath. Breathe in all the smells surrounding you–the salt water, the smoke from the distant barbecue. Capture a portrait of a late summer or early fall evening using your sense of scent.

Wednesday:

Sound

Close your eyes. Not changing anything about your surroundings, just listen. Sit back and take it all in, noticing all the sounds around you, no matter how slight they may be. Maybe you hear the dishwasher in the other other room, the lapping of ocean waves outside your waterfront hotel room, or the laughter of children at the park down the street. Maybe there’s an argument in the apartment down the hall, or you’re surrounded by silence.

What moods do the noises around you suggest? Write a short story, poem, or scene that captures these sounds and moods.

Thursday:

Touch

Soft feathers? Coarse fur? Sharp claws? Write about your character’s favorite pet.

Friday:

Taste

Your character is sitting under this umbrella. Why is he there, and what is he doing? And of course, what is he eating or drinking?

Grab Bag:

Vividly colored leaves, foggy mornings, hot cocoa–what suggests autumn to you? Develop your list into a poem or scene rich with detail.

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We Have a Winner!

My Berlin Kitchen Book

Congratulations to Lauren Van Mullem of the WanderFood blog over at Wanderlust & Lipstick! She is the winner of our giveaway of “My Berlin Kitchen,” the just-released memoir by The Wednesday Chef blogger, Luisa Weiss. Lauren, I’ll be shipping your book this week. I hope you enjoy it!

As for the rest of you, we hope to be doing more giveaways in the future, so be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or RSS so you can find out about them. In the meantime, Lauren happens to be doing her own giveaway over at WanderFood–the winner receives a copy of Lonely Planet’s “The World’s Best Street Food – Where to Find it & How to Make it.” Head on over to her site before 11:59pm PST on Sunday, September 23, to enter to win!

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Daily Writers’ Fix: September 17-21

How to use Daily Writers’ Fix

Monday:

Sight

Stretch your ability to describe visual appearances today. Using the photo above–or any other photo with contrasting textures and colors–spend 10 minutes freewriting about the temperatures, moods, and emotions their appearance brings to mind. Don’t worry about it making sense or sounding great–just write! When you’re done, set it aside for a while. Revisit it tomorrow with fresh eyes. Do you like the sound of any phrases or descriptions you came up with? Share them here in the comment section.

Tuesday:

Smell


Today just write, using the sense of smell and the photo above for inspiration or just writing whatever is on your mind. Set the timer for the length of your choice and don’t stop until the time runs out.

Wednesday:

Sound

What do you hear in this photo? Absolute silence? The sound of children playing in the background? Work your descriptions into a scene, short story, or poem.

Thursday:

Touch

Get your character’s hands dirty today. Describe the feel of the dirt in the gardener’s hands, the dough between the fingers of the baker, the wet clay in the hands of the artist. This might relate to your character’s hobby or something he’s cooking, or maybe it’s a way to add texture to a scene you’ve already begun.

Friday:

Taste

It’s a late summer day at sunset. What is (or was) in your character’s glass? Does it matter to your scene? It might if she’s rolling the last sip of wine around in her mouth while mentally replaying and processing a conversation or argument from earlier in the day.

Today, use a common, potentially-mundane fact like a beverage to illuminate part of your character’s personality.

Grab Bag:

It’s your turn. Look at this photo from all angles. Look at the color, the light, the shadows, the textures. What scenes does it bring to mind, what emotions? Come up with five writing prompts based on this photo. Save them in a running list of writing prompts either on your computer desktop or on a piece of paper you keep at your writing space. Better yet, type them in the Comments section below and share your inspiration with others!

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“My Berlin Kitchen” Author Luisa Weiss Comes to Seattle (Giveaway!)

My Berlin Kitchen Book

My fellow foodies and bloggers will be excited to note that Luisa Weiss of The Wednesday Chef is coming to Seattle this month in support of her new memoir, My Berlin Kitchen. In advance of the appearance at University Bookstore on September 24, we’re giving away a copy of the book, courtesy of the publisher.

Weiss started The Wednesday Chef back in 2005. She was working as a cookbook editor at the time, and decided to start a blog as a way to document the stack of newspaper recipe clippings she was cooking her way through. Today The Wednesday Chef is one of the most popular and admired food blogs out there, and her followers waited anxiously for My Berlin Kitchen to be released yesterday.

I’ve only had a chance to read the introduction and first chapter so far, but already I’m enjoying Weiss’ tone and her honesty and vulnerability as she digs into her personal history and shares with readers how the kitchen has always been a haven and a place of comfort and reflection. I can’t wait to keep reading later tonight…

In the meantime, I’m excited to be able to give away a copy of the book. There are several ways to enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post telling us about a favorite recipe from your past.

2. Follow us on Facebook (leave a comment here letting us know)

3. Follow us on Twitter (again, leave a comment)

4. Sign up for our RSS feed (yes, leave a comment)

The giveaway ends on Tuesday, September 18, at 11:59 pm PT. We’ll pick a winner at random and ship the book off to you. Please note that we can only ship to addresses in the United States.

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Writer’s Kitchen: The Food Writer’s Moment of Truth

Salmon on Lentil Salad

Being a food writer is a scary thing–exhilarating, fun, and delicious, to be sure, but also anxiety-inducing. Especially when it involves sharing a recipe. Once that recipe is published, there’s no going back. I experienced a bit of those nerves a few months ago when submitting my recipe for Fennel-Scented Salmon atop a Lentil and Spinach Salad to Pregnancy & Newborn Magazine. It was a sidebar for my article called “Craving conspiracy: Ten ways to work with your cravings—instead of against them—to give your baby the best start,” and it was my first recipe to be published in a national magazine. However, part of the job of being a food writer is testing recipes, so my family ate well as I tweaked the proportions until the flavors were just right. After months of waiting, the article and recipe are now in print in this month’s issue, and my husband and I got the pleasure of cooking from my own recipe, right there on the glossy pages, a few days ago. I’m so familiar with it by now that I can make it without following the recipe to a T, but that was my moment of truth. Guess what? It’s delicious. Phew.

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Daily Writers’ Fix: September 10-14

How to use Daily Writers’ Fix

Monday:

Sight

What’s peeking through the grass? What is he/she/it looking for?

Tuesday:

Smell

Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, or Chardonnay, root beer, lemon soda, or water… what are you drinking right now? Exercise your sense of smell by turning off your tastebuds for a few sips and trying one or both of these prompts:

  • Using only your sense of smell, and without telling what you’re drinking, see if you can write a description that would make anyone instantly know what’s in your glass.
  • Does the smell tell you anything about where the individual ingredients came from? Does it take you to a lush vineyard or a refreshing spring? What about a noisy factory or a flavor lab? Spend five minutes freewriting about this, starting with smell and then going wherever your imagination leads.

Wednesday:

Sound

Think of a voyage, whether it’s one you’ve taken or an imaginary one. Describe it in detail, making sure to include key sounds that help place your reader in the setting.

Thursday:

Touch

One of your primary characters knows exactly where he’s going. Or does he? Does he tighten his grip on the wheel when familiar terrain suddenly looks foreign? Does he stomp his foot on the brake pedal as he approaches an unexpected roadblock? Explore an obstacle or a case of bad directions, not forgetting to use the sense of touch to ground your character in his setting and heighten emotion or tension.

Friday:

Taste

Today’s challenge: Brew a pot of tea and savor it until you’ve come up with 30 words or phrases to describe its flavor or the feel of it on your tongue. Now that your creativity is warmed up, use your list to create a full-bodied description that will make your readers crave a taste.

Grab Bag:

Consider twilight. What feelings and moods come to mind? Do they differ if you place yourself in Paris’ bustling Place de l’Opéra or at a remote Eastern Washington cabin surrounded by trees and no electricity? Tell a story that takes place at twilight, using the setting of your choice. Or, if you’re writing a novel, could thinking about twilight in this way add color and texture to a chapter that otherwise seems stalled?

Grab Bag Bonus:

The most brilliant of stories–fiction or non-fiction–come from nothing more than a seed. Devote at least part of your writing time today to pulling out your collection of writing ideas and see if you can find new potential in old seeds. Does time give you a new perspective on a topic, making a previously disregarded idea now seem bursting with life? Does a character sketch you never fully developed suddenly fit perfectly in the story you’re writing now?