I’ve had this journal for probably 20 years. It started as a place to keep recipes that I found interesting. It stored inspiration. Then the internet came along. Now I use it to store recipes that I use often and want to reference quickly, like basic meatballs, my mother’s potato salad, iced coffee ratios, bagels… etc. It’s seen better days, but I do use it often.

Inspiration is a funny thing. It can flow naturally from within, or it can be influenced by things beyond our control. It certainly doesn’t come with a tap, available whenever and wherever. 

To say that inspiration has been lacking for me would be an understatement. 2015 saw precious few posts here. Fewer than one a month. My lack of motivation had several origins, many unknowingly rooted in a couple of health issues. I’ve tackled one, and I have more energy and “good” days than I have in a while. Another looms ahead, a cloud of uncertainty.

With it is coming a slow shift in perspective. So here I am, determined to blog again. I need to create. And to share space in creation with others. My Edible Journey affords me that space in the larger community.

But since I can’t manufacture inspiration, I’m searching for it. Food Bloggers of Canada (part of that larger community that I just mentioned) has some great resources.Quite some time ago I posted a recipe for Mennonite meat buns. At the time I wrote, “I’ve decided to tackle some of the more foreign (to me) recipes and make a blog series of them.” Life happened, and that series never did. But I still think that it was an idea with merit. An inspired idea, if you will.

I have a lot of cookbooks. I seldom use them for actual recipes (save for the baking ones, to a certain extent). But they are full of wonderful ideas. So I’ve decided to use them for inspiration. I intend to actually cook from a variety of them this year, and blog the results. On days when I just don’t have it in me to create, I can fall back on some amazing people who have done the work for me. It also gives me an excuse to unplug and curl up with a good book (yes, I read cookbooks like novels).

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