inspration comes from many places

with Golden Globe wins and worldwide facination and popularity over the movie Julie and Julia, many novice chefs like myself have gone to the source: Mastering the Art of French Cooking to find inspiration, guidance and maybe even a little bit of stardust to add to the daily hum drum of our lives...

as i have dreamt of having my own cooking show with my mom and i, it is fun to watch the Julia Child episodes for the originality and honesty of it all. the Food Network just whizzes by with perfect little ramekins filled with chives and fleur de sal and time lapsed footage where everything turns out perfect. i always thought that if i had a cooking show, it would be to make other cooks feel good about themselves. my soufflé fell! my chocolate creme pie didn't set! onions burned while braising! wait, what is 'braising'?! the viewer would learn what not to do, but also see what to do- eventually. (however long that might take me to get the correct version, who knows?)

after receiving a birthday of special gifts, i got to work: granite rolling pin- of which to make flaky Pâte Brisée
the much awaited and much pined for cast iron casserole pot to make Coq Au Vin

and a funky apron (by Funktion) to make me feel cute while cooking and making a mess...

(this is not me pictured)

so i end with: What inspires you?

Cooking shows? Magazines? Your husband's appetite? Competition of other women (friendly, of course)? French cuisine?  

p.s.> after re-reading this, i smiled to myself thinking how much the title sounds like my son's favorite movie Ratatouille and Gusteau's "Anyone Can Cook" motto. interesting that both Ratatouille and Julia/Julia evoke a sense of "anyone can cook"... guess we all want to be artists in our own way. :)