There are days when you just don’t know what to cook, this is my perennial problem though. There are times when cooking a simple meal is a task and the take-out menus look more appealing. Or you keep cooking the same old dishes and have a cooking rut. These are all signs of loss of cooking inspiration. What do you do when you lose your cooking mojo?
Here are a few ways to regain your food inspiration.
1. Clean Organized Kitchen
KG cooks up a storm and when he is done cooking, it’s as if a hurricane has hit our kitchen. But when he starts cooking, he needs a clean and well organized kitchen. Since I have OCD for cleanliness and orderliness, we make a great team in the kitchen! Dirty dishes or the general clutter can be irritating and can put your mood off. So take time to organize your kitchen shelves, cabinets, utensils, refrigerator etc. to have a positive and happy frame of mind to have fun in the kitchen with food.
2. Stock your Pantry
They say that a well-stocked pantry and fridge is like money in the bank. If you have the basic ingredients on hand, putting together a meal is easier. Of course, you need to figure out what ingredients are essential for you. For example, various types of sauces, cheese, spices, dried herbs, eggs, dairy products, snacks along with grains and fresh vegetables are a must in our kitchen.
3. Pull Out Cookbooks
This is our go-to place to find cooking inspiration. Flipping through recipes and looking at the amazing pictures does the trick.
4. Cooking Shows
I don’t know why we buy the Mega Pack of Tata Sky when all my boys watch are cookery programs. Seeing the various chefs and food experts cook, can do wonders to your inspiration. KG loves watching the various techniques of cooking or finding newer ways of using an ingredient so that he can practice the same later. The egg yolk in a kheer was inspired by Rachel Allen : Bake!
5. Wander Around a Food Or Super Market
These days our markets are flooded with so many national and international food varieties that we are spoilt for choice. Also the fresh produce with various colours, shapes, flavours and smells at the local farmer’s market truly tempt you to find ways to use them in your meal. Pick up an ingredient you love but haven’t cooked in a while.
6. Eat Out
The newer fusion restaurants certainly can be very inspiring. The other day, I had Four Cheese and Garlic Pizza at Farzi Cafe and it was absolutely yum and had such an unique taste and flavor that I will certainly try it at home. Looking at the restaurant menu or a dish that you tried there can certainly inspire you to give your own spin to it.
7. Challenge Yourself
Rummage through your pantry and fridge and make use of the available ingredients to make a meal. Or use left-overs innovatively. Or challenge yourself to find a new recipe from a different cuisine and give your twist with the available ingredients.
Got any more tips for getting out of a cooking rut? What inspires you to cook? Please share your comments below.
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22 Responses
I have seen for me cooking shows and videos are a big inspiration to cook food which otherwise I am not really fond of.
Clean kitchen and stocked pantry are certainly enthusing. If one has to clean first and search half hour for the sugar container, half the zeal of cooking is already gone.
Nope. None of these work with me. I simply don’t like cooking. Period. It’s only once in a blue moon that I’m actually inspired to cook something, from the inside, you know. Like there is this inner calling… when I can imagine what the final output would be like, smell its aroma, feel its taste in my mind, even before I’ve started making it. Ahhh, but these moments are rare!
Oh but yeah, I do love to mix and match ingredients of different cuisines and come up with interesting new flavors. That probably falls under the head of “inspired cooking”, doesn’t it? My Dad refuses to touch those dishes, by the way! Sighhh 🙁
I totally resonate with the point no 1 and 2 here
Cooking shows are the best inspiration ever!
I like 6! It’s amazing what things you can up with from bits and pieces. Mind you, I’ve had the odd culinary disaster or two!
I meant 7! Whoops!
Some great tips, we all need some food inspiration sometimes 🙂
I am a big fan of meal plans and stock up accordingly. Yet there are days when I feel lazy and don’t want to follow that plan. My folks are so sweet that their suggestion is always “anything”
Oh yes, a clean organized kitchen is definitely inspiring!
Years ago, my husband and I used to watch a particular cooking show on Saturday mornings. We could never manage to finish it though, because somewhere in the middle of the show, he would run off to the kitchen and start throwing things together because he was so inspired. Even now, our kids all watch cooking shows as entertainment. As a result, they’re not afraid to experiment in the kitchen.
I need you in my kitchen for organization and declutter for sure.
Excellent tips especially cleanliness and well stocked pantry. Half the time my posts get delayed as I have to wait for some or the other ingredient. I am a bad planner in that sense and need to work on it. May be get inspired from this post of yours
My daughter LOVES to watch cooking shows. She’s also been an inspiration to me in the kitchen because she loves to cook while I don’t. I can cook and I do, but loving it, not so much. My whole family besides me loves to cook. I guess I missed the gene. But I like your ideas for putting my mind to it. Thanks so much!
This is exactly how I get my inspiration to cook – clean kitchen, supermarkets, stocked up pantry, cookbooks, food shows! Ah! You’ve got it all covered.
Good points! Ya seriously, day in and day out one question haunts the mind “what should I cook? But yes, checking out the restaurant menu and finding out its recipe to try at home is a great idea! Much needed relief from the mundane food. Also innovating the use of leftovers makes one feel enthusiastic about one’s culinary skills 😀
I get most of my inspiration from cooking shows and youtube videos. Your other points are very valid as well – will keep those in mind
Nice ways to get good inspiration.
Very nice ways to inspire the food blogger.
These are great ideas, Shilpa. I’m always getting ideas off the internet, since I don’t watch television. Another source of inspiration is eating out – I’m always trying to guess ingredients.
Great ideas all. Going to the market always inspires me to cook. And so do cookery shows. But I agree with you about the tedium of every day cooking. What really inspires me is the appreciation I get from friends and family. I am a sucker for praise and when I get compliments for my food, I’m inspired to cook up a storm 😉
Cookery shows give big-time cooking goals. Another one is the constant demands of your kid.
Meeting friends and learning a new recipe too at times/
Very good points and great ideas for someone starting with food blogging