A DATE TO FEED THE ARTISTIC WELL By Debralee Mede

After a weekend of frenzy and fear from the threat of destruction from Hurricane Irene, I am feeling a little drained and so is my muse.   Muse and I are both feeling like it is time to be rejuvenated using tools a la one of my favorite how-to authors, Julia Cameron this coming holiday weekend.  You may be familiar with one of Cameron's popular self-help books called "The Artist's Way."  This book was written with the intent of helping the artist live a creative life by being open to receiving creative inspiration.  The tools she encourages writers use are: to write three pages of free writing every morning or "Morning Pages" in order to retrieve creativity and to keep "The Artist Date."   With "Morning Pages" is the way that you notify yourself of your intentions while the "Artist Date" allows you to receive inspiration and guidance.    

The "Artist Date" a la Cameron is a block of time when you give your inner artist time for a play date.   It is a time where you, as Julia says, "fill the well and stock the pond."  To do this the artist must feed his brain images that must be reached by using the senses: sight, sound, smell, taste and touch.  This serves to nourish the writer within using repetitive actions.  Laura Esquivel who wrote "Like Water For Chocolate" says that the idea for the book came to her "while she was cooking the recipes of her mother and grandmother."

Like Esquivel one way that I try to "Stock the Pond" by cooking and this Labor Day weekend is the best time for me to use some grilling recipes that I enjoy eating, cooking and sharing.  Grilled fish is a favorite of mine and while I have used mahi mahi, bluefish, mackerel, striped bass, and tuna in this recipe.  As an aside mahi mahi, though called dolphin and Dorado, is really a dolphin fish and not the mammal known as dolphin. .  It is brilliantly colored with an iridescent bluish green and gold body, and golden yellow fins and tail while in water.  They have a firm texture, are extra lean, and are a sweetly moist meat with moderate flavor and are considered to be an ocean-friendly seafood choice when commercially harvested by hook-and-line which does not cause destruction of their habitat or of other species.

Mahi Mahi or Dolphin Fish

 Grilled Mahi-Mahi

Ingredients:

4 mahi-mahi fillets (3/4 inch thick each )
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
¼ cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon lime juice

Dolphin Mammal

3 tablespoons chopped peeled fresh ginger
1/2 cup olive oil
Serves 4








Marinate the fish, covered, in the refrigerator for 15 to 30 minutes while you make the salsas and light the grill.  Brush and oil the preheated grill grate.  Arrange the fish filets on the grill, and cook while basting on each side with the reserved marinade until nicely browned and cooked through, about 3 to 4 minutes.  Discard the marinade and transfer the fish to a platter.  Serve with your favorite salad like pasta, potato or black bean salad.  Or, if you would like try filling warm tortillas with the savory grilled fish topped with sour cream, cheese, lettuce or homemade cabbage slaw, guacamole, and a fresh tomato salsa.  Roll it up and enjoy flavorful fish tacos.

Let your artist's imagination go this weekend: fill up the well and stock the pond."  This weekend do feed your body and soul with great food and friends on Labor Day.  Be safe and enjoy a great day of creating, eating and writing."

Debralee Mede

My question: What fills your writer's well?  What feeds your muse?
























Filed under: Artist Date, grilled fish, Julia Cameron, Laura Esquivel, Mahi Mahi, Morning Pages, muse, recipe, romance, Stock the Pond, Taco, Writing