This Month, We’re Taking a Closer Look at All That Inspires

How we keep our cup of inspiration overflowing

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Devan Grimsrud

Food Editor at Kitchen Stories

www.instagram.com/devan.grimsrud/

Inspiration comes in many forms. Even though we’re just about constantly bombarded with potential inspiration these days—hello viral TikTok recipes (remember Dalgona coffee? Now we have the baked feta pasta!) that spread like wildfire from one end of the globe to the other, breaking down your defenses slowly, but so, so surely—our chefs and editors still get stuck in a cooking rut from time to time. So, this month here at Kitchen Stories, we’ll be pulling at the threads of our inspiration, digging up, sharing, and swapping trusted sources to broaden our collective culinary horizons.

Our team finds inspiration all over the web, from Facebook groups like Subtle Asian Baking, where our photographer Eric finds fun new ways to bake with matcha and ube (purple yam) to Instagram where our editor Lisa saw my post featuring mushroom confit and promptly submitted it as a recipe for this very issue (stay tuned!). And how could we forget YouTube, where our communication designer Amina gets inspired and loves to learn about Korean cuisine from YouTuber and cookbook author Maangchi and associate food editor Xueci puts all her trust in “magic,” aka this channel?

We also dig up new ideas by looking back through our memories, from senior food editor Ruby comparing notes with her mum until she hits just the right recipe her tastebuds remember (like for this jammy egg and kale dish her mum used to make). Operations assistant Steven has recently been plumbing the depths of his childhood to give new life in British classics he grew up with, like chip butties, sausage rolls, and steak and kidney puddings. Our head of arts Sebastian recreates dishes from his favorite restaurants thanks to casual flips through stolen (shh!) paper menus he keeps for bursts of inspiration at any given time.

This month, we’ll use ingredients like the humble egg and much-loved, spicy chili crisp as cornerstones for stories and recipes that showcase how a single ingredient can be a seed for something brand new. We’ll share a selection of pantry items we are constantly inspired by, make our own riff on savory, snackable rolls (inspired by Meera Sodha’s Bombay rolls), and talk about some singular dishes that can be endlessly played with to continuously keep our cooking inspired (think risotto, granola, cheesecake, or lasagna). Last but not least, we’ll dive into recipes that not only teach us a new technique or how to use an ingredient we might not be familiar with, but also give us a tangible way to actively participate in and learn about and engage with the cuisines of cultures other than our own.

So if you’re interested in finding new inspiration and taking part in the conversation, save this article and check back each week to see what’s new—we’ll be updating and adding links to our latest recipes and articles throughout the month. In the meantime, we’re curious: Where did you find your most recent spark of cooking inspiration? Let us know in the comments below!

— Love Tomatoes? Love Bread? Try Andalusian Salmorejo Soup
— How the World Eats Eggs
— How to Make Chicken Tikka Masala—From Memory
— I've Always Known That Chili Crisp Was Pantry Magic
— Forget Cinnamon Buns, Make These Chimichurri Rolls
— There are Cans of Inspiration Hidden In Your Pantry
— How to Make the Creamiest Risotto (In All Its Variations)