I am trying to push myself in the baking department. I try and write my own recipes most of the time. But when it comes to baking I am still solidly "an adapter". I mean recipe adapter. Which may sound a bit like a confession and maybe it is.

You see, I'm at the International Food Bloggers Conference (IFBC) in Santa Monica, California this weekend. It's one of those meet, greet, sit, talk and eat events I do quite a bit of. There are always opportunities to learn and grow our blogs at these things too. One of the directions I would like to grow is in recipe writing. So I sat in on a panel discussion of the subject with Dianne Jacob, Amelia Saltsman, and Martha Holmberg.They're pros, they write cookbooks.

But I couldn't help feeling that the way they look at recipe development for print, and the mission of so many of us who share recipes and a passion for food online, may be radically different. I mean, intellectually I know their point is correct. If it's not original to me and my blog, does it have value? But I wonder, can't I share something by merely passing along a recipe I've had success with? Or do I need to bring the same level of print journalism standards to every morsel and tidbit I present on these pages? I don't know. I suspect not.

I could call this Shepherd's Pie if I wanted to. After all, it is the third savory pie in a row in this week long tribute to the genre. But I choose to call this Lamb Champvallon. And I'm not the only one.

According to the Larousse Gastronomique, this classic French dish dates from the reign of Louis XIV. It was supposedly invented by one of his mistresses. But which one? There are 14 (quatorze) officially recognized mistresses. That's a lot of ladies to give credit for this dish to.

The French seem to have a lot of these stories attached to their most traditional foods. It's hard to say how much truth there is in any one of them.

Take this recipe known to the French as Cotes D'agneau Champvallon. If it was indeed a lamb dish brought to the King's attention by a mistress, it seems to make sense that her name may have been Champvallon. But most mistresses get short shrift in the history books. I can find no references to any of Louis' lovers with that name.

So I decided it was time for me to take hold of this lore and redefine the history behind this dish to suit my own needs and my own cooking style. While I am rewriting history I think I'll do a bit of tweeking to the recipe too. Something more suited to the modern palate.

Am I bad?

I made a zucchini dish again. Baked Zucchini with Pancetta & Breadcrumbs.

Which sounds delicious. But you see, I am an omnivore (in theory).

I use this label (though I hate it) not because I eat meat and vegetable, but because I want the culinary world spread at my feet. I want to experience the exotic, taste the unusual. I want to travel to far away lands without even leaving my kitchen. I want it all and I want it on my plate (in theory).

Because (in theory) I am not the kind of person who chooses to limit myself, I can’t imagine, with all that life has to offer, why I would ever say to myself: “Oh, I no longer need those experiences. I am happy with just these experiences.” That’s the point of being an omnivore, right? The choices and experiences should be limitless (in theory).

But (in reality) I am a crappy omnivore. Sometimes I forget to even put meat in the dinner. Heck we eat vegan meals several times a week. Maybe my grocery skills are lacking? Just look inside my shopping bag. Too many of the same old things.