Friday, July 17, 2009

Are you a plotter or a pantser...in the kitchen?

When it comes to writing, I'm a plotter. Oh, I went through a romantic phase where I thought I was a pantser, floating along with the flow of my story and letting my characters do all the driving. Problem was, I never managed to finish anything because my characters apparently have Attention Deficit Disorder and would drive us in circles chasing butterflies or unicorns or somesuch. Only when I became a plotter could I actually be productive. So, for me, that answers that eternal question.

In the kitchen, however, I'm a pantser, as I recently discovered after joining Weight Watchers® Online. I've never been much of a cook, since I've worked outside the home since I graduated from college, and I've generally had only myself to cook for. But when I joined Weight Watchers® earlier this year, I committed to cooking more of my own food. Which was quite the interesting commitment, since I didn't actually know that much about cooking. But I did some quick study. Read recipes, watched a lot of Food Network, frequented food blogs—I guess in that aspect, I was acting like the plotter that I am.

But when it came to actually cooking, I found that I wasn't the sort to follow a recipe. I like playing around with spices, or throwing in a twist to recipes to make something new. Instead of sweet French Toast, I tried making a savory version of the egg-coated bread dish, mixing red peppers and onions into the egg mixture and sandwiching a slice of fat free cheese and a sprinkle of feta cheese in the middle to make a sort of weird French Toast Grilled Cheese Sandwich. (For the record, it was delicious). I don't plan these meals out until I open the fridge to see what's inside to work with. So I guess I'll have to cop to being a pantser at the stove.

What about you? Are you a plotter or a pantser in the kitchen? How about when it comes to home decorating--go by a carefully plotted out floor plan or just mess around with furnishings and decor until you get it like you like it? Do you find you're consistently a plotter or a pantser in all things or, like me, that you're sometimes one and sometimes the other?

And what, if anything, does that tell us about our own personalities?

1 comment:

  1. That's a good question! I guess I'm a pantser if I'm going after an overall effect, (like rag rolling the wall in the hallway), but on others...definite plotter. Almost to the OCD point! :D

    I know it probably should tell us something about ourselves....I'm just not sure what that is! LOL

    ReplyDelete