Challenge Accepted

As the page turns, so does a new chapter begin. As it is written, so shall it be.

Enough cliches for one line? I think so.

As you may have noticed, my presense here has been, shall we say, completely null and void for some time. It turns out that selling your soul to Mother Bread has some consequences beyond spending entirely too much time around frozen cookie dough.

I have, of late, been stifled. My culinary escapades have been about as adventurous as the mid-afternoon nap of a beached walrus. This, dear friends, is a problem. And one that is to be soon fixed.

First and foremost, I am a creature in need of stimulation. I am a cold blooded culinarian - and that's not to say I'll steal your scallops for my own ceviche. Rather, I thrive on experience. Taste, touch, sight. Give to me, and I will give back. Give me nothing, and you will get less in return.

I hate to break it to you, mama dearest, but the past year of pastry blanks and 3 hour old sandwiches just haven't done much for me.

And so I must say, with all due respect (that is to say, very little), good bye. Adieu. I'll not be calling. I won't write. I will, however, be back to pick up my last paycheck. That's about it, though.

I am on to greater and greener pastures, as it were. I've always been a fan of variety (and not waking up before 8 am), so it works out that a pair of part time jobs will fit the bill (and foot mine). And, considering I'm still in the rather fledgling state of life, exposure to a wider selection of operations and techniques will do me good.

I could go into more detail about where I'll be working and what I'll be doing, but that would both take away from future articles and continue to distract me from the original point of this one.

I am going to start doing what I should have been doing all along. I am going to start cooking.

Hard.

I hereby declare, to the internet world, my intentions. I shall henceforth make it a point to better myself and my skills, to expand my working knowledge and calibur.

This may sound fancy, convoluted even, but it is quite simple really.

I will cook. And I will do it with reason.

I will do it with passion.

I will do it. With everything that I have and that I am. And it will be good.

My goal is thus; Twice a month (ish). I will prepare something. Something new, different. I will try different things. I will play with techniques and foods that I haven't. I will take ideas, in the form of dishes, styles, ingredients, or anything in between, and I will run with them.

I will buy plates. Yes, I am offering the world of porcelain my hard earned dollar bills. I will use said plates. I will make things beautiful. I will garnish. But never needlessly. I may, even, take a few pictures.

I will practice. I will improve. I will live.

So what are you to be doing during all of this?

You are to be my inspiration. For this, I need ideas. I need ingredients, a dish, a cuisine... anything.

If you are extremely lucky, I will need you to be my taste tester. Words for the wise, bribery is a great way to start on that front.

I can accept no one's fault but my own for falling into such a rut as I have. Let it not be thought that I have not picked up a pan over the course of the year, but it's true enough that I've stuck to the simpler things that often come from cooking for one.

I suppose, though, that I can think of one great way to fix all of this silliness.

With newly sharpened knife in hand, I head into the black. Keep flyin', said Captain Mal to his crew. Keep cookin', says I to mine.