I would like my head back, please
First, allow me to apologize for being a bit on the absent side this past week. It isn't because I am hiding from you, I promise.
My thoughts have been overtaken by power analysis, estimates of variance, field travel coordination, building clam cages, and marking clams. There is almost no room left in my head for anything else. Seriously, I have tried to cook a few things this past week, and had a couple of disasters.
One was the Squash Gratin over at 101 Cookbooks. S made it on her blog and I thought I might try it out too. I wanted to make it easier to cook, so rather than listening to my intuition and substituting the potato's, which had to be sliced paper thin, with something like white beans, I kept them in. I know better, I am no Iron Chef when it comes to knife skills. I made a few other substitutions and adjustments, and the gratin did taste good, but it took forever to make. And I wouldn't do that to you.
I have tried a few other culinary experiments to no avail, such as an eggplant gazpacho. The recipe called for a ridiculous amount of lemon juice, and I once again brushed my intuition to the side and put it all in. It overpowered the whole soup. Imagine a eggplant, tomato, and tahini flavored lemon. Disgusting.
Just now, I burned a grilled cheese sandwich while I was in the kitchen. This morning the lid wasn't tight enough on the coffee pot and it brewed onto the counter top. I almost licked it off, then convinced myself to wait the extra five minutes to make more. Close call on that one. I can't be held responsible for decisions made BC (before coffee).
Basically, I have only had use of 10% of my brain. Oh wait, haven't researchers told us that we only use 10% of our brain on average? Crap, that means I am only getting about .01%. The rest is consumed by math and experimental design.
I guess that this post is just one really long excuse for my absence here this past week. I seriously do not have enough brain power to conduct normal activities. The simplest things you can do in the kitchen are to read a recipe beforehand to make sure you want to invest whatever time it requires and to follow your intuition and think about whether or not every step makes sense for you.
Actually, that is a lie. The simplest thing you can do in the kitchen is make a grilled cheese and I can't even get that right.
My thoughts have been overtaken by power analysis, estimates of variance, field travel coordination, building clam cages, and marking clams. There is almost no room left in my head for anything else. Seriously, I have tried to cook a few things this past week, and had a couple of disasters.
One was the Squash Gratin over at 101 Cookbooks. S made it on her blog and I thought I might try it out too. I wanted to make it easier to cook, so rather than listening to my intuition and substituting the potato's, which had to be sliced paper thin, with something like white beans, I kept them in. I know better, I am no Iron Chef when it comes to knife skills. I made a few other substitutions and adjustments, and the gratin did taste good, but it took forever to make. And I wouldn't do that to you.
I have tried a few other culinary experiments to no avail, such as an eggplant gazpacho. The recipe called for a ridiculous amount of lemon juice, and I once again brushed my intuition to the side and put it all in. It overpowered the whole soup. Imagine a eggplant, tomato, and tahini flavored lemon. Disgusting.
Just now, I burned a grilled cheese sandwich while I was in the kitchen. This morning the lid wasn't tight enough on the coffee pot and it brewed onto the counter top. I almost licked it off, then convinced myself to wait the extra five minutes to make more. Close call on that one. I can't be held responsible for decisions made BC (before coffee).
Basically, I have only had use of 10% of my brain. Oh wait, haven't researchers told us that we only use 10% of our brain on average? Crap, that means I am only getting about .01%. The rest is consumed by math and experimental design.
I guess that this post is just one really long excuse for my absence here this past week. I seriously do not have enough brain power to conduct normal activities. The simplest things you can do in the kitchen are to read a recipe beforehand to make sure you want to invest whatever time it requires and to follow your intuition and think about whether or not every step makes sense for you.
Actually, that is a lie. The simplest thing you can do in the kitchen is make a grilled cheese and I can't even get that right.
Hi there Errin,
ReplyDeleteMike here. We met at the Media Bistro event last night. I like your blog - sounds like you have a nice garden and I look forward to checking back for new recipes.
Best,
Michael Burlin
Hey Errin -- Don't feel bad about the potatoes. I had the same issue. Should have mentioned it in my post, sorry! Think I added it in a comment, but not sure if you saw that cuz it was a few days later. Good luck with all your stuff!
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