List it Up!

Do you have a list? A list of everything you want to make? A list of everything you crave right now? I do. It helps me organize the zillion food related thoughts that go through my head each day. My list was started in January and now has roughly 300 items on it, all just waiting to be cooked and photographed and put on the blog. To some this may seem obsessive but anyone who has passion for something knows how I feel. If you have ever truly felt love, whether for an activity, hobby, interest or person, you know what I’m talking about. You just can’t stop thinking, dreaming, visualizing, and imagining the person/activity/whatever. You obsessively try to improve, reach new heights, do your research. I am constantly on Pinterest and Punchfork and multiple food blogs always looking for inspiration, new flavor combinations, old flavors with new flair, etc.
Above are the cookbooks I'm in love with right now. I just recently got Martha Stewart's Pies and Tarts and the Joy the Baker Cookbook. Both are amazing. They have so many new and exciting takes on classic baked goods, everything in them just looks awesome. I've gone nuts with the list making and bookmarking lately. Here are some abbreviated lists of mine:

Top Ten Things I Want to Make:

1) Bruleed Lemon Tart
2) Black Tea Cake with Lemon Buttercream Frosting
3) Homemade Lasagna
4) Swedish Meatballs with Mashed Potatoes and Lingonberry
5) Grapefruit Ginger Curd
6) My Nana’s Waffles
7) Blackberry Red Wine Chocolate Cake
8) Strawberry Lemonade Pie
9) Bagels with Cream Cheese
10) Pizza with Artichokes

Current Flavor Obsessions:

1) Lemon/Lime
2) Apple (unseasonal I know but the apples I’ve eat recently have been absolutely sensational)
3) Goat Cheese
4) Eggplant (aka Aubergine*)
5) Bell Pepper (aka Capsicum**)

Oh man I can just taste those things right now. Guess this means more kitchen time for me in the near future! Thank goodness my oven is finally working and I can bake again! I thought I was going to go crazy there for a moment.

*Isn’t aubergine a cuter word for eggplant? I think it is, don’t ask me why, I just like the way it rolls off my tongue.

**I think capsicum is a cuter word too, and it’s way less confusing to read “capsicum” in a recipe than “pepper” or even “bell pepper”. In my mind peppers are hot, capsicum, on the other hand, is not. I don’t know,  it just makes more sense in my head. Also I just recently learned to like this food so I’m a little obsessed with it right now, I can only assume I’m trying to catch up on the previous 18 years I spent absolutely hating the stuff.