These are Not Blueberries (and other kitchen calamities)

Last week was a rough week in my kitchen. My mind was on a million different things – and as a result, I found myself experiencing fail after fail in the kitchen.  

There were three burning-food incidents last week – crispy garbanzos (see they’re not blueberries), a bit too dark morning biscuits, and the burned-to-a-crisp bottoms of homemade burger buns. 

It’s a trio of wasted food, which rubs me wrong these days. The irony of all this burnt food is that my intent in making these foods was to save money and to use ingredients I had at home – instead of running to grocery to purchase them.

There was also a bit of trying to mix things up and to get out of the food rut, and get cooking, baking and creating. It was also a lesson for my girls . . . . See, there is food in the house, and with just a bit of time, you can make something delicious.

Regardless of my intent, I failed on all counts. 

Luckily, my family was there to support me in my cooking fails. 

I didn’t make them eat the burned garbanzo beans, they shunned my declaration that the biscuits were a bit overdone and promptly devoured them, and as for the charred buns, they sliced off the bottoms and enjoyed the buns with our black bean burgers, all declaring, “Mom its fine, they’re good.”

Sometimes I’m Out of My Rhythm

There is an ebb and flow when it comes to my time, and success, in the kitchen. I think this was an ‘ebb’ kind of week, where my mind kept me from being fully present in my cooking/baking adventures. Admittedly, I prefer the ‘flow’ kind of week, but whichever end of the spectrum I am on, I still find myself in the kitchen.

I’m happy to report that I’m back at it — with a good flow in the kitchen. This past weekend I made homemade pasta for the family — and a guest of one our girls, and then it was a pizza extravaganza on Sunday eve while watching the Academy Awards.

My cooking attempts to reconnect with the food we eat and the family I love may have resulted in a trio of imperfect foods that week, but even though they weren’t perfect (and maybe not even edible), it did give us a good laugh, and something to talk about at dinnertime.