Cooking/Writing

When I was in NC with the mommie one year I posted pictures of the soup of the day. Mostly as a way to keep myself entertained. I could put a protein, a veg and a starch on a plate and she'd scream that it was too much food. If I put all the same stuff in a soup she was happy. Soup was my constraint for years.

The food posting continued albeit as erratically as my blogging. And my writing. 

Now I mostly cook on Saturday night for a friend. Somewhat regularly. And I often post pictures of that stuff on Instagram. I get ideas from magazines and the Internet and cook books. I think about things and then I do whatever I want.
I made what I intended to be a stew but it took a long time to thicken up so it was more like a soup when we ate it. It was based on something I saw somewhere. I sliced a pork loin, dredged it in flour, cumin and smoked paprika and cooked it in hot oil with chili flakes. Then I added leeks. The pot was really too small. I was trying to be careful but at a certain point it felt silly. I pulled the pork out and things got easier.
I love that moment when leeks get translucent and shiny. I love the pale green they become.
Then I put the pork back in and added chicken stock. Last was sliced sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are not a go to for me. I like them but I don't love them.  Typically I would choose Yukon Golds. Sweet potatoes have been in a lot of my reading lately. Maybe they're trending. I think it's a glycemic thing.
So it was good. Not as pretty as I might have wished but tasty. And it did thicken up.

My favorite way to write is to write really fast. First thought best thought. And then go back multiple times and edit. I catch endless spelling errors. Remember things that I was going to add. Reorganize. It can take me hours and I'm rarely satisfied. It's harder to that with cooking.

If I ever make the stew/soup again I'll cook the pork a bit longer, to get a little color.  Take it out (on purpose)  before I cook the leeks. And maybe slice the sweet potatoes a bit thicker or in chunks. But I rarely cook the exactly same thing twice.
Writing and cooking feel the same to me. Lots of pre-thinking. Working fast. And then editing. I'm pleased with a lot of what I do but hardly ever satisfied. I'm always thinking about what I wish I'd done differently. 
At a certain point you have to let go. You have to put the food on the table.