I think a lot... I think about work. I think about life. I think about food. Sometimes I think so much, I get what Kevin calls "busy head," and I can't sleep. I also read a lot... I read cookbooks, food magazines, and various and assorted other stuff. I also watch a lot of Food Network. While I read or watch food shows, I think. I'll see a recipe... a piece of fruit... a cool new kitchen gadget... and an idea will be sparked. When I get an idea like this and proclaim the idea to be brilliant, that is a culinary epiphany. Sometimes, though, something not even remotely related to food will spark an epiphany. A perfect example of this happened at work this morning...
I was going through my scripts for this morning's show, and a name jumped out at me: Jane (first name changed to protect the innocent) Limeburner. Yes, Limeburner. I said to my co-worker/friend (the producer of the show) "Limeburner -- that sounds like a recipe I need to invent!" The next thought in my head was that the name was just screaming "alcoholic beverage!" Derrick then said, "that would be a great name for a drink!" We had the thought at the same time, but he's younger than I am -- his reflexes are better than mine -- he verbalized the thought first.
Please keep in mind that I am not a big drinker. I am not morally opposed to alcohol -- I just don't like much of it. In fact, I have never been drunk. A bit happy once or twice, but never drunk. I know just enough about alcoholic products to be dangerous. I will spare you the gory details of the thought process that ensued over the next few minutes (cinnamon schnapps came up at first, but was quickly nixed. Lime and cinnamon? Eeewww!), but here is what we came up with in the end: the "Limeburner" should consist of lime vodka or lime juice (Derrick says vodka, I say juice), ginger brandy, and a good quality ginger ale such as Reed's Premium Ginger Brew. We think it should probably be served in a highball glass over ice. Hopefully one of us will get around to actually experimenting with this mix soon! In the meantime, another co-worker of ours also tends bar at the local "99," and said if she has a few minutes and can find some ginger brandy, maybe she'll play around a bit.
Oh - Derrick's other brilliant idea was to float some 151 on top and set it on fire. I told him I'm way too much of a lightweight to allow 151 anywhere my drink.
I'm pretty excited about this epiphany. Considering how little I drink, I think this sounds like something I might actually like. Lime and ginger go so well together! And I'll take any excuse to have some Reed's.
The irony in all of this...? The news story that included Ms. Limeburner was about a group of junior high school students producing a play about "saying no" to alcohol and drugs.
My name is Kelli, and this is my first blog/website. Please bear with me as I learn how to build it as I go. =) I am comfortable around computers, but I have done very little website building outside of some token school lessons a few years back.
My intents and purposes for this blog are many and varied. Well, OK, not that many or varied, but I am hoping to learn a few things as I go.
I have always loved to write, but have never done enough of it. One purpose of this site is to get back into that groove.
I'll build my autobiography slowly but surely, but here are the basics: I live in a small town just outside of Bangor, Maine. Yes, I have lived here all my life (so far!), and yes, I LOVE it here. I am an hour's drive from the coast, an hour's drive from Mt. Katahdin (the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail), and about a four hour drive from Boston. What more could a girl want?
I work at a local television station. I direct our morning news show. What does that mean? A former Air Force pilot friend of mine compares it to air traffic control. I sit at a big computer called a switcher, and I "punch up" the camera shots and tapes. I am in communication with two production assistants, two master control/tape operators, a producer, two anchors, and a meteorologist. Basically, I tell them all what to do for an hour every morning! It's a trip. I also write and edit commercials, which is a lot of fun, but not as exciting to describe. I also do a lot of other smaller, but just as important things, but I won't bore you with the details.
Now onto my main purpose for this blog: to write about FOOD! How does that relate to my job, you ask... well, it doesn't. Not at all. But it is one of my major interests. My love for cooking started about twelve years ago, when I got a bread machine. What a magical appliance! (Can you tell that I am NOT on the low-carb boat? More on that later, I'm sure.) Soon after getting my machine, I couldn't get enough of bread cookbooks and recipes. A couple years later, in the summer of 1993, I became a vegetarian. I had been toeing the line for several years, and finally made the call one day in August. As a result, I had to learn a whole new way to think... a new way to live... a new way to cook. I started buying vegetarian cookbooks faster than I could read them. Have I mentioned that I've always been a total bookworm? I guess not. Consider it mentioned. Ten years later, my cookbook obsession has become a running joke between my boyfriend (Kevin) and me -- as in "we're going to have to add on to our apartment if you buy any more cookbooks!"
So as not to bore you completely with my first entry, I will end it with this...
My main goals in publishing this blog are: to put some of my often-read but rarely "used" cookbooks to use by trying at least a couple new recipes a week, and to show you the results. To make myself write more. And to generally share my "culinary epiphanies" with you. I'll tell you more about my inspirations, influences, interests, and life in general soon. Oh, and don't expect too much excitement on this site for the first couple of weeks. I am learning as I go, and I don't have a digital camera yet, so there won't be any pictures for a while. I did, however, order one yesterday. =)
