Inspired to Cook

February 19, 2010

Roasted Pears by InspiredTaste.net

I’ve been meaning to tell you, my faithful reader, about my internet life and travels for a while now.  (I could be optimistic and address you as ‘readers‘ but hey, I am not fooling anyone.) The reason I want to share this aspect is because I am oddly fascinated when other blog authors discuss what they have been reading. These people inspire me, make me angry, make me think, entertain me, and to think about who does the same for them is just cool.

So today, I want to introduce you to my new favorite blog/website. Yes, I said my favorite and I mean it! I forget how I discovered it, probably facebook, but it is a site put together by some old high school friends of mine. Joanne and Adam, now a married team, started up InspiredTaste.net back in August. I have only been reading their blog for about month now, but I eagerly await each new post and I went back and read all their old posts!

Shrimp Salad on Endive by InspiredTaste.net

The site is well put together, professional, very clean, easy to navigate. The photos are absolutely beautiful, to which Joanne says “Most of the time the best photos are the ones when the food does all the work.” Every time I visit, I leave drooling. Joanne and Adam share a little bit of their lives with each recipe, not so much that you leave bored, but enough that you  feel like you get to know them a little better each time. I like that. This is one of the many benefits of blogs. Blogging allows the readers to see more of the personality of the author, to hear a little more life story, to better understand what is being communicated. Though I digress. One day, I will have to give my full rant on the pros and cons of blogs, bloggers and the “new media.”

Back to Joanne and Adam. Their recipes are easy to follow, often complete with photographs. They have a wide variety of appetizers, main courses, snacks, desserts, soups. The recipes and posts are so elegant as well! Some delicious foods get lost in the presentation, but not here. I do have a very sad admission to make though. I have yet to try any of their recipes myself. Which in a way brings me to my only (very slight) complaint. Often Adam and Joanne use ingredients that I don’t keep on hand. For example, should I admit that I didn’t even know what endive is? Or star anise? So I ran out and bought some pears yesterday to make their Roasted Pears (as seen above) but I am not even sure where I can get star anise. So I may skip that ingredient. (shhh, don’t tell! I am the type of person that rarely follows a recipe. I usually get inspired by a certain recipe and then just make it with whatever I have in my pantry.) I will definitely let you know how it turns out. I also forgot to get some vanilla bean ice cream, which is definitely vital so that was another excuse for the delay.

Chocolate Cupcakes by InspiredTaste.net

Here are the recipes that I am definitely going to try in the near future:

Roasted Pears
Simply Roasted Chicken (Another sad admission: I have never cooked a whole bird before, be it turkey, chicken or what have you.)
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Creamy Vegetable Soup
Earl Grey Tea Shortbread Cookies
Poached Salmon (Although I am not a big fish person, this for some reason just looks amazing!)

Now that my life has calmed down a little bit, I have been catching up on sleep, reading and cooking! With last weeks snow vacation, I posted my first Tasty Kitchen recipe, and tried all sorts of new recipes inspired by other stuff on Tasty Kitchen, the PW, and Barefoot Contessa. InspiredTaste.net has, well what-do-you-know, inspired me to try some more new things, like fish and roasting a whole bird. I should branch out from my chicken breast, vegetable and pasta variation meals. That is not the only inspiration I have gotten from Joanne and Adam.

Joanne has had a long time dream of writing a cookbook. Like a good husband, Adam found a great way to encourage her in along this avenue by suggesting and helping in the creation of their blog. New to the blogging world, Adam and Joanne found a great way to share their recipes and their lives with the world! And it is amazing to see what they have accomplished thus far. This is a great encouragement to me as I continue working towards my own goals and dreams. Thanks, Joanne and Adam! I can’t wait until your next recipe and dear reader, I promise to share with you my successes and failures as I attempt to recreate their scrumptious creations!

Tags: Cooking, Favorite Blogs, Favorite Website, Food, Friends, Recipe, Reviews