Inspiration

I love cookbooks.  In fact, my husband says I'm probably one of the few people who reads cookbooks like novels - cover to cover.  I disagree.  I think there are a lot of us who read cookbooks this way.   I just love looking through the pages, reading the recipes, and admiring the pictures.  I might not cook every item in the cookbook, and I might change the original recipe if I do, but, I still love reading them.

Over the past two years, as I have discovered more and more blogs, I have used them for cooking inspiration.  I read cooking and healthy living blogs like I read cookbooks.  I love to find new recipes or food ideas in the pages of blogs.  It makes cooking come alive for me.  Blogs haven't replaced cookbooks for me, but they have definitely added a new dimension to reading about baking/cooking.

When I need new recipes, I select cookbooks from my collection and pour through the pages, using post it notes to mark the recipes I want to make.  I do the same with the blogs I read regularly, but I keep an ongoing a list of the recipes I want to make in a notebook that sits beside my computer.  The pages are quickly filling up with a list of things I can't wait to make.

This past week, I have been baking and cooking a lot in preparation for an upcoming family trip.  For me, trip preparation includes food prep.  I can't embark upon a vacation without bags of food and snacks.  Some is pre-made, but most of it is snacks that I have lovingly prepared in the days leading up to the trip.  This week, most of the recipes I used came from the blogs I have been reading.

First, I made Mama Pea's Blueberry muffins.  Unfortunately, I didn't have the ingredients to make them blueberry "cheese" cake muffins, so mine were just standard blueberry muffins.  They came out perfect.

Next, I made Casa de Carver's granola bars.  These are delicious, and I know my kids will enjoy them during our trip (as long as I don't eat the entire pan tonight).

Finally, I made the zucchini bread from Oh She Glows.  I did not include the nuts or raisins because my daughter doesn't like nuts and raisins in zucchini bread. I don't have a picture of this because it is still baking in the oven, but I assume it will be wonderful.  The batter smelled delicious.

I love blogs as much as I love cookbooks.  They are a great source of information and inspiration.  Just this week, I found recipes that used the ingredients I had on hand to make snacks that will travel well and feed my family over a few days.  I know cookbooks would have done the same, but there's just something about blogs...