back on my game

I like to improvise when I cook. Not all improve is good, but with the aid of a few stiff drinks can usually be tolerated. I've been bombing so often recently that I'm keeping rubbing alcohol on hand just to disinfect my mouth. The other night my cooking was so bad we had to order take out.

While it is slightly embarrassing to admit that, as of late, my culinary skills have produces nothing to rival the cuisine of even Pizza Hut, I have persevered. I haven't had to throw away food simply because it tasted bad in years, and in a way it's kind of cool that I've had to do just that three times in the past three days. It's nice to make a new mistake, one you are excited to learn from.

I'll revisit some of the dishes I tested for the first time this week, and I'll remember never to try some of the others again, but today I decided to play it safe with an old standby; chicken noodle soup. For the past five years I've roasted chicken for this soup on a baking sheet. Today I had the bright idea to roast the chicken in a saute pan from which the drippings could be easily deglazed and added to the broth. I'm sure that thinking about how my failed experiments went wrong and how I might get them right in the future led to this revelation.

I'd like to remember this outcome when ever I'm thinking about not doing something for fear of being less than perfect.

I'd like to look at failure not as an end point, but a tool that can be used to find the right direction.

I'd like to ask that no one teach my grandmother how to use her computer, because if she found out how much food I've been throwing away she would kill me.