Inspiration is sometimes hard to come by in this gray and drizzly place. After staring at all the ingredients in my fridge and eating takeout twice this week (horror of horrors!) I decided to jump start my culinary creativity in a very structured way. I took a cue from my own kitchen design. When we first moved into this house, I created this wall of open shelving for all my oils, vinegars and spices to keep myself constantly inspired. I figured all I would have to do is stare at all my ingredients and, voila!, instant blast of creativity. And it works most of the time, but this dreary winter is taking it’s toll and I’m finding it ever harder to get dinner on the table.

I set aside an hour while little Oscar was deep into art projects to chop, dice, mince and slice every last vegetable in my refrigerator. I realize this sounds a tad extreme but it really worked! With most of the “heavy lifting” already done, dinners this week have been a breeze. One of my family’s favorites is arroz con pollo (spanish for chicken with rice) and with all my peppers, onions, garlic and herbs all chopped up for me, putting it all together was a snap! I’ll share that recipe with you later in the week.
Take a lesson from my attack of OCD this week and dice yourself up some inspiration. The culinary artist inside you is dying to get out!