Thursday 18 September 2008

What do you think?

In an attempt at self improvement, I recently bought a book on Food Writing. Not only to improve the writing of my blog posts, but also the food website I'm developing (more on that soon...) . I'm trying to educate the scientist out of me and experiment with things like similes and metaphors. Exciting.

I devoured the book in a week or two, a 45min commute will do that with most books, even in between the occasional nap, and its revolutionised my life! Well, not my life, but at least the way I approach this blog and the writing. I'm aware that I probably shouldn't draw attention to my writing, lest people start looking at it more critically and realise I fall somewhat sort...

The point of this post is actually to draw attention to my recipes. A large section of the book was devoted to writing good recipes, I soon realised my slapdash approach was not going to cut it when writing actual recipes for a website. I've now dedicated a new notebook to recipes, and try to write down what I use as I make something. Then when I make it again, I can go back and see what I did, perhaps make alterations, until I'm sure I have the perfect recipe.

This is where you come in, dear reader. Should you happen to cook one of my recipes. I'd really love some feedback. Did it work? Was it nice? Did you make any changes? Were the quantities right? Email me your thoughts, rachelamanley [at] gmail [dot] com and I'll be eternally grateful.

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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's funny you mention this because I was struck by how you put your recipes together while cooking your mushroom pasta last night.

I find it difficult to make the recipe sound interesting, it's usually just "fry for a few minutes, add something, then something else, fry a bit more, then serve" which is incredibly dull....not only to read but also to write!

Your style seems to be more of a story than the factual approach I usually approach and it makes for more enjoyable reading I think. I'm not a fan of the overly flowery style some people use, if you're following a recipe closely then you need to see clearly exactly what's next, especially if you're watching more than one pan at a time. I think you have the balance right.

Violet said...

Love your blog. As a former English Language Arts teacher, I think your writing is wonderful. Very readable and interesting. I especially like the introduction to the recipes in which you point out things you learned about the preparation of the meal, etc.

I came upon your blog because I was looking for a bulgar salad recipe which I had made before for my daughter who also happens to be named Rachel. As a matter of fact, until I saw your picture and took a closer look at the URL, I thought maybe she had taken to food blogging since your food philosophy is almost Identical to hers and the recipes are exactly the type of foods she eats. Small world. I did sign up for the emails and I also bookmarked the blog just in case. I think I will cook along with you.

BTW, how do you manage to stay thin?
Violet