Making things I wish existed!
by combining new cooking goals, illustration, data, and birds.
Hi! I’m Kayla Stark, an illustrator working primarily in the children’s publishing world. You’re reading “Odd Thoughts”, my blog/newsletter where I talk mostly about illustration, process, publishing, and anything else that’s tangentially related in my life. Join in! Everyone’s welcome!
Sometimes I’m asked “What project or illustration are you proudest of?” And more often than not, it’s little one-off pieces I make in the spaces between client projects and just living my life—something that combines my interests, something that I just want to exist in the world. Bonus if it’s something I can use!
Here I smash together my love of birds, organizing data, cooking/baking, and illustration to bring you something I’m proud of…drumroll…dun da da da…bugle sounds…
✨The Kayla Stark Recipe Rubric✨
How the idea came to me—a dramatic reenactment:
We (Brad and I) both received a new cookbook during the holidays. (More is More by Molly Baz and Start Here by Sohla El-Waylly)
I thought, “Wow, our cookbook collection is really growing and yet we keep making the same chicken shawarma, tacos, and frozen dumplings over and over.”1
I said, “Hey, let’s set a goal to make a new recipe from one of our cookbooks each week this year!”2
And then I said, “WE NEED A RUBRIC TO RATE HOW WE LIKE THE RECIPES AND HOW WELL THEY FIT INTO OUR LIVES/WEEKLY ROUTINE.”
*excited breathing and pit sweat* data, layout, illustration…a worthy challenge.
(have I mentioned I’m a virgo?)
How to use the rubric:
I want to share this with you all, and I hope it’s pretty intuitive, but just in case, I’ll explain!
The point of this rubric is to record our opinion, at a glance, for each recipe after we make it. Is it something we want to make again? Does it fit well into our routines?—our meal rotation? etc.
At the top I made sections for the recipe name, chef’s name, and recipe location (cookbook/website).
Moving directly to the right, I included an area for the recipe’s total score. (out of a possible 50 points). The top right corner felt like a good spot for the score totals. That way you can glance through to find your top rated recipes. :)
The five sections below, Taste, Difficulty/Time, Cost, Ingredient Crossover, and Leftover Potential are the categories we chose for scoring. Reflect on the recipe you just made; circle the number you think it deserves in each category. (1 being a low score and 10 being the highest.)
Add those numbers together and write the total in the total score box I mentioned.
You have just recorded and organized data! Doesn’t that feel good! Don’t you feel like a scientist!? It’s up to you what you do with this info, but I think it will be useful for remembering what we liked/didn’t like and how it fits into our lives (especially timing and budget wise).
Yes, there are download links toward the end of this post in my “secret desk drawer”. :) You’re welcome!
Why the birds?
My Neutral Birds (click the link if you don’t know but want to know what that means) are all over this rubric because they’re fun and I like to draw them! I think about these bird characters a lot; they are slowly revealing their personalities to me through illustration and play. I want to continue expanding their universe as stories, in stationery, home goods, and MORE. Just realizing—I think they are becoming my mascots! (Is 6 mascots too many? 😅)
Because printers can be a pain…
I made a fillable form version as a PDF. 😎 Sidenote: I LOVE making forms. I used to make up forms as a kid and give them to my parents to fill out. I was…so cool.
This (above) is the blank PDF form. After you fill it out, you can export as a jpeg, save with the name of your recipe and viola!
A cute, little digital record for you! (above) You could also print this out if you wanted; I’m saving them to a google drive folder I shared with Brad. ha!
If you liked this, thank Brad, he encouraged me to share it! And if you hated it, blame Brad, he told me you’d like it…
Use it and share!
If you use this rubric, or if you make your own version, please show me!
Substack or Instagram are the best places to share (and make sure I’ll see it)! Use #kaylastarkreciperubric if you share it in a place that uses hashtags. I really want to see them!
Also I’m curious, would you change any of the rubric categories in your own version?
You found my “secret desk drawer”!
I’m opening the “secret desk drawer” to all subscribers this round. We all deserve to have a good time learning and building cooking skills. I hope this is just the thing that encourages anyone needing an extra push, or pat on the back, to try something new!
Here (below) is the high-res JPEG (let me know if you have trouble with it).
And here it is (below) as a fillable PDF form. :)
Other Noteworthy Bits
Related to the main point, I’m thinking of having these rubrics printed as tear off notepads—and maybe a blank, lined version too for grocery lists/recipe notes. Good idea? Bad idea?
I have one more round of easy edits to do on my picture book dummy, then it’s TIME TO PITCH BABY! (I’m a wee bit scared, but mostly excited)
Who is he?! 👀 I booked a flight to Italy in April (with my pal Vivien)! We’ll be checking out the Bologna Children’s Book Faire while we’re there. :) Let me know in the comments if you’re going!
Coming soon to the “secret desk drawer”!
The very seasonally inappropriate process video for Vroom Broom. Where I talk about the illustration process for the “Ode to a Scarry Halloween” series, answer a few questions, and discuss some of my hopes/plans for the new year.
Thanks for reading 🥰 and remember to make the things that you wish existed…because who the heck else will?!
These recipes are delicious mind you, I still want to make them often.
I know we won’t make all 52 weeks and that’s ok. It’s okay! (I say this mostly to myself.)
I'll be at Bologna! Let's try to meet up!!
This is a SPLENDID idea!