Put a pot on the stove

It's time to get cooking! And I'm using that phrase literally and metaphorically. My blog reached the one-year mark (93 posts) last month and I have been doing crap-all with it since. I've cooked a couple times and been to a few parties. But there's been no writing, no photo-taking or posting, and no push to make this bigger and better. That all changes now. I'm a list-making kind of girl. So to get myself out of this cooking and blogging rut I'm going to make myself a good, old-fashioned list to keep me motivated and on track.

1) Perfect my dough recipe.
Dough is such a basic staple of our food culture. I eat bread in so many forms all the time and it's so satisfying to bring together the ingredients and make dough from scratch. I've been making pizza dough for years with the same basic recipe of yeast, a sprinkle of sugar, 1 cup warm water, pinch of salt and 3 cups white flour. You can do anything with that from pizza to rolls to breadsticks. Usually it works out but sometimes I get sloppy and it crumbles. I also want to figure out how to adapt it to make it healthier.

2) Get back to basics.
I'll be going on a camping trip this summer so I'm hoping that's going to force me to learn about food basics and really get back to simple, easy recipes. Beans in a can over the fire? Maybe but I'm going to aim for something a bit more sophisticated while keeping it to five ingredients or less and just one pot or pan. The second part of this will be to learn more about food in general. Where does it come from, how does it grow, and how far did it travel to get to me? I've always been interested in food security and food quality so it's high time I get educated and involved.

3) Organize my kitchen.
I've moved my kitchen stuff (pots, pans, utensils, food processor, etc.) a couple times this year and I plan on doing it once more at the end of summer. I want to have a system in place where ever I land that allows me to best use my space and stuff. Plus I'm going to be on the lookout for some kitchen purchases in the next little while, such as a new coffee grinder and pepper grinder. I'll have to factor in these new gadgets into my overall plan.

4) Organize my blogging.
Desktop Gourmet has really been good for me, my cooking and writing. But it's so easy to get caught up in life and get too busy to blog. I want to go back to writing regularly, upgrading my food photo-taking skills, reconnect with the foodie sites I used to visit so often, and generally become a better food blogger. Blogging is work but there's no sense doing this if I'm not going to try and do it well.

5) Attempt something big.
I feel I need some adventure in my cooking life. So I'm going to start attempting more experiments, more recipes I've never made before, and more cooking Mount Everests. Two words: for that Crème Brulée. I've never made it but always wanted to try. Who knows, if I get through it without lighting myself on fire I just may have a new outlook on things. When I feel uninspired or lethargic about cooking or baking, I'm going to suck it up and try something completely out of my comfort zone.

So that's my 5-point plan on getting out my lazy rut and becoming a better food blogger...and hopefully a better food-maker along the way.