Practice makes inspiration.

It must be said, practice can make perfect, but only once, maybe twice.

One day in culinary school, I had to make Roasted Lobster with Zucchini Risotto garnished with dried Squash Blossom. It was during our last semester, after already six months of cooking Monday to Saturday. I studied my recipe after demonstration, planned out what pots and pans I needed, decided what to prepare first, second, third, fourth, etc. and then went in to practical and began. The result was the best dish I made during school. The lobster was sublime, the risotto was creamy, loose and shiny, the dried squash blossom was colorful and crisp. The chef was very pleased. He said my lobster was perfectly cooked, which the French never say. A compliment is saying not bad, "pas mal".

I have thought often about that plate. Every time I make something for dinner and it turns out crappy, which seems to happen in spurts, I remember that I do have skill, I do have talent.

But I realized the other day that it isn't the perfection of that dish I care about, it is how beautiful the image of it in my mind is. It was a beautiful plate. The lobster was that great orangey-red, the risotto was a creamy yellow with little brunoise specks of green, and the dried squash blossom was both. Together they were beautiful and tasted wonderfully. (I think I ate it before class ended which I barely ever did. Most food became dinner for me and my husband.) It is the inspiration of that plate I need while at home alone in my kitchen, about to prepare dinner for the upteenth time.

So forget perfection, go for inspiration. To get some you have to accept some practice. I've been trying to enjoy more fresh spring vegetables - young fava beans, slender asparagus, crisp green beans. I want to eat more vegetables in general but thinking of it that way is completely boring. I need some ideas and inspiration to commit to practicing some new recipes. For that I've been studying a cookbook I've had for years but never really dug into, Chez Panisse Vegetables, by, of course, Alice Waters.

The plate of vegetable dishes above are nearly all made from it - moroccan carrots, beets with sherry vinegar, orange juice, olive oil, and walnuts, fennel a la grecque, and shaved raw asparagus with lemon vinaigrette. And all amazingly good! And simple. Really. The carrots are just peeled and simmered until tender in salted, simmering water with a crushed garlic clove, then cooled and tossed with a little cumin, paprika, cinnamon, salt, and cayenne before being dressed with lemon juice and olive oil. The beets are just roasted at about 375F for around 45 minutes or until tender, then peeled and dressed with sherry vinegar while warm. When cool, they are tossed with orange juice and olive oil and topped with toasted walnuts. And the asparagus are just what they are described as, raw and shaved thinly then dressed with lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper. That is it. Only the fennel a la grecque takes time. The other dishes are so simple it's riduculous. And of course they look beautiful too. It is inspiring that beautiful, healthy food like this is simple and elegant. But I never would have known it if I hadn't practiced a few times with another inspiring dish in my mind.

Susan