Tonight I caught the movie Julie & Julia written and directed by Nora Ephron. It’s an inspiring film derived from two stories – firstly – Julia Child and American who’s husband takes a job that moves them to Paris. Eventually, to take the monotony out of her day she decides to develop and perfect (bascially!) her cooking passion and join the male dominated famous Le Cordon Bleu cooking school. Her passion for cooking and eating fine French food results in a published book deal and crazy TV cooking demonstrations.

The second story woven into the film is about a disgruntled government worker who decides to add some spice to her monotonous life by honing in on her own cooking passion by going through Julia Childs cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking. She decided to cook each of the 524 recipes in 365 days and blog about her experiences!

This film makes bloggers want to blog more… wannabe cooks want to cook more… and gives food lovers even more good reasons to eat! Anyone – male or female – who are into those three things will most likely enjoy this film!

I love to muck around in the kitchen – as you might have worked out if your a regular blog or twitter reader. I think its actually my escape from the business of life. I remember during my first year of teaching my kitchen became my place of solace… away from terror students and free of stress and demands. I would go to the tiny little IGA in Taroom(very small town – only 56 kids in the whole high school) grab a few ingredients and whip a concoction that I’d dreamed up during the day when I had a moment to think and sit down and eat it by myself in my TV-less home savouring every moment.

So today a ‘concoction’ I came up with:

Shrimp and Basil Pasta
Whole Grain Thin Spaghetti
Shrimp
Fresh Garlic
Small Onion (from my garden!)
Handful of fresh basil (also from my garden)
Season with Salt
1/3 cup of Olive Oil
Tablespoon of Sweet Chili Sauce (available in the Asian aisle)
Tablespoon of Lime Juice

Method
Cook the Spaghetti
Saute the garlic, onions, basil leaves, half the amount of olive oil, Sweet Chili Sauce and Lime Juice.
Add with rest of oil to cooked pasta.
Season with a dash of salt.
I also added a bit more Sweet Chili Sauce and Lime on top when I served it up.

It’s interesting seeing what different people do to ‘veg out’ after a stressful day at work. Coming home after a busy day and cooking might not appeal to you at all. I guess for me, being on the road so much deters me from eating out… especially grabbing unhealthy takeaway. What about you? Where do you pour your energy when you’ve had a bad day or even just a busy one? Are you a couch surfer or do you get active and do something? Whatever it is – do something – don’t let the monotony of your work suck your creative juices dry … let it out whatever way that is!