The Creative Process

In my own creative endeavors in the kitchen I've identified several distinct steps that I go through. The steps vary slightly depending on what sparks the creative fires, but I will describe the most useful process. I go through this process on an almost daily basis.

First identify the type of food you want, and/or identify the ingredients you want to use. For example, this morning I woke up and decided I wanted muffins for breakfast. I had some ripe bananas just screaming, "Use me! Use me!" So, I decided on banana muffins. I have not yet perfected an eggless banana muffin, so I would need to create one.

The second step is to find or think of a recipe that is similar to what you want. In my muffin example, I had already found a good eggless applesauce muffin recipe. This step can be the most time consuming or the simplest, depending on what you're trying to do. I would highly recommend allrecipes.com for help with this step. They have a search engine that lets you identify up to 4 ingredients you want to use and up to 4 ingredients you don't want along with keywords to search for. This lets you look for recipes that already exist that might fit your criteria.

The next step is to identify what changes need to be made to fit what you want. Let's go back to the muffin example. My applesauce muffin recipe calls for 1 cup of applesauce. I knew that applesauce has more liquid than banana, so a straight substitution would not work. I also knew that I didn't have an entire cup's worth of banana. I decided I would make the recipe using the banana I had and then, if it needed more liquid, I could add it at the end.

I followed that plan for the banana muffins and ended up having to add about 1/2 cup of rice milk. I didn't measure it, so I'm not sure of the exact amount. They turned out pretty good. Here's a picture.



This was all that was left by the time I got out the camera. These are whole wheat, eggless banana muffins. I won't post the recipe this time, because it's still a work in progress. They were a little too dense.

The last step is actually the most important step, because it's the basis of future experimentation. Taste what you made. Decide if it's good or not. Does it meet your expectations? Does it have enough flavor? Is the texture right? Try to identify ways that you might be able to improve the recipe, even if it's good. If you want to improve on it later, make sure you write down what you did, so you don't make the same mistake twice.

Going back to the muffin example, I made the comment that the muffins were too dense. This could be a result of not enough liquid or not enough baking powder. They may also have been cooked too long. Before I put them in the muffin tin, the batter was barely moist, so that was probably my mistake. So next time I try this recipe I will add enough rice milk to make the batter slightly thinner. I will need to make sure that I don't add too much milk, though, because then they will not cook all the way through. This is usually the problem I have with eggless muffins.

As you become more proficient with this process, you will get more enjoyment out of cooking. You will be more versatile in what you cook and you will have to make fewer last minute trips to the grocery store. You will enjoy the creative process and enjoy your food.