Inspiration and Reasoning: Why am I writing a blog?

You see I have this tendency to obsess. I wouldn't go as far as to say I have OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder), however, my husband and family would probably say otherwise, but I will take full owernship of the 'O'. Maybe I'm just a disordered obsessive. This obsessive behaviour presented itself from an early age when I had an over the top obsession for Cabbage Patch dolls. I collected them in their hundreds, and to this day I still collect them. I will admit people did find this a bit odd but then one might say I am bit of an oddball. Although the years have quickly passed, my obsessions have never wavered only altered. But one thing has stayed the same; whatever I obsess about is the most pointless and unimportant thing going on in my life. I never seem to obsess about anything that matters. Do you know anyone who obsesses about the seasoning in their evening meal that no one but them is going to eat? Or whether their meat is browning enough-I will often ponder to myself "perhaps I am overcrowding the pan". Anyone who spends time with me knows that wherever I go and whatever I do I come armed with antibacterial hand gel (just to note I find Cuticura, available in all Boots, has the nicest scent). That's right I obsess about germs. I will not eat my sandwich at lunch until I have degermed myself.

I never had a hope in hell of not adopting these behaviours. Let me explain; my mother has an obseesion with overpurchasing in the supermarket for fear that she may run out (god forbid). Some may think she is preparing for nuclear war or famine when she heads out to the shops. As a result, she has to buy everything in threes. One for on the go, one for when that runs out, and one just in case. In case of what, I'm not sure. As my Dad likes to say, "you could stock Tescos with our storage room". As for my Dad, I could write 10 blog posts about his obsessions but one of his main obsessions is with bags, or man bags as he likes to call them (although he will justify this by describing them as not womany). Well actually any type of bag; suitcase, briefcase, camera bag, bags for other bags you name it. He has actually bought the same bag twice without realising. Why you may ask, well it's because no bag is ever quite good enough and I actually think purchasing bags really excites him. In addition to this obsession probably better suited to a woman, he is also obsessed with dogs (in a non wierd way) and in particular our boy Toffee (will introduce you to him later). So much so that my Dad will talk out loud to our dog when he is neither in the same room nor the same country. If you happen to pass the bathroom door while he is in there, you can catch them in conversation, a most bizarre experience.

So as you can see I was doomed from the start. You can only imagine how obsessively excited I became when I had my wedding to plan. I loved every minute of it, Samuel not so much. I obsessed mainly about making it a wonderful day for everyone not just for us, and it became a sort of hobby to occupy my energies. On a side note this all paid off because our wedding is going to be featured in an upcoming issue of Cosmopolitan Bride magazine, I have posted a picture of a past issue below and will of course post when it is out. I will admit the shrills I produced when I discovered this amazing fact were somewhat hyena like so god only knows what I will do when it is published and I go into WH Smiths to buy it.






So while planning our wedding I started to discover photography and in particular wedding photography. I realised what a powerful and exciting medium it is and it completely engrossed me. Hence my new obsession and one of the reasons for starting this blog. Wedding photography (I'm not talking the boring line ups here) in particular, intrigues me because of its powerful storytelling qualities and how meaningful it is to the couple whose wedding is being captured. It is also a special and important heirloom for generations to come. A photographer I really admire is Jasmine Star. She is not only an amazing wedding photographer-take a look at her blog here http://www.jasminestarblog.com/index.cfm-but she is also a great writer and combines the two so well, which is part of the inspiration for my blog. She now has about 25 million hits. I'm right behind her with around 160 hits. Even if you readers aren't that enthralled with photography I have set myself a mission to hopefully get you interested, so I will introduce you to other photographers in later posts.


Further inspiration for my blog came from a great book called "The Gastronomy of Marriage" http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gastronomy-Marriage-Memoir-Food-Love/dp/0812979192/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263824047&sr=8-1; which is so perfectly subtitled with "a memoir of food and love". It's a true story of a woman's relationship and engagement told through food and cooking and is a great read.

Here is some more NON wedding photography inspiration for the more romanticlly challenged These are photos taken on safari in Kenya and they are just amazing. I would love to one day take pictures like this: http://www.neilredfern.com/blog/?p=999 and http://www.neilredfern.com/blog/?p=1082.

Lastly my Dad is another big inspiration for my photography. He is a great photographer and is teaching me and helping me to learn so many things I need to know. He has even handed down his Nikon 70-200mm lens which is not only professional and amazing but I would never ever have been able to afford it otherwise. And in honour of him here is a photo taken by my Dad, of our late dog Brandy who we loved dearly.

So now I need a new obsession to indulge my old obsessions so enter the BLOG! I hope some of my reasons and inspirations for this blog have become a little clearer. If not, you can just humour me.

As Samuel and I have decided to have chilli con carne tonight, I thought it would be fitting to share our recipe. It is adapted from a Nigella Lawson recipe in "Nigella's Christmas", but I like to think I have improved perfection with my version. The secret ingredient is dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids). Now do not even contemplate ommitting this ingredient. It is commonly used in mexican and south american cooking and can really add great flavour to a savoury dish-just don't use milk chocolate or white (as if you would). My version has no kidney beans for the important reason that Samuel doesn't like them, but please do add them. On another note, I served this to my good friend Marimba a few weeks ago and he was horrified that I ommitted the beans, so much so he rang me late one night last week (deadly serious here) just to complain. He explained to me; "Dominique, you can't not put kidney beans in a chilli, I mean you just can't, what's the point of chilli without the beans". However, he did admit that my chilli was very good indeed. So in honour of him, I have made a point to say optional here!

Chilli con carne (kidney beans optional)

500g pack of lean mince beef (you can of course use the fattier stuff)

3 largish onions finely chopped

6 fat cloves of garlic crushed (if they are not fat then add more, it's all about the garlic here!)

2 hot chillis (the smaller they are the hotter they are. Feel free to add more chilli if you like it hot!)

1 rounded teaspoon of ground cumin (make sure these are rounded)

1/2 rounded teaspoon of ground coriander

1/2 rounded teaspoon of ground cinnamon

Pinch of chilli flakes if you like it extra hot

1 x 400g can of tinned tomatoes

125ml chicken stock (again I use Knorr touch of taste and add to water, but if you have fresh woohoo!)

25g DARK chocolate, chopped

2 x 15ml rounded tablespoons of tomato ketchup

2 x 15ml rounded tablespoons of tomato puree/paste

Sea salt, pepper, sugar (sea salt is best and a lot milder but if you are using table salt, go easy!)

1. Heat your olive oil in a wide saucepan and fry your onions on a medium heat until softened and slightly golden

2. Once the onions are soft, add your crushed garlic, spices and chilli to the pan and fry for another minute or two

3. Turn up the heat to as high as it will go and add your minced meat. Fry until it is nice and brown

4. Add your ketchup and tomato puree/paste and stir through

5. Add the tinned tomatoes and chicken stock, as well as a pinch of sea salt, a grinding of pepper and a teaspoon of sugar.

6. Bring to the boil and add your chocolate. Stir until it is melted.

7. Turn down the heat and simmer with the lid on for an hour.

8. Check for seasoning, it's key! You may need another pinch of salt and/or pepper or even some sugar to sweeten it up a bit and bring out the flavours.

Serve with steamed white rice, sour cream and if you have some, guacamole!

Yummy!
Well that's all for today. I will hopefully post again soon.
Feel free to comment if you like!
xxx