"You're Never Making This Again"

It's Karen here - hope you are well! After last week's lesson on food ruts, I was inspired to try some new recipes (see, these classes help the dietitians too!) I selected a recipe from a website I've had good experiences with (Healthy-ish). The recipes are well-written and the results are always reliable. The recipe I selected was (in retrospect) a little "fussier" than what I might normally be game for. But the ingredients were simple enough and the dish itself was something that I thought would be a crowd-pleaser in my house (it was, for the most part!)

The trouble came when I actually prepared the recipe. As many of you may know, I am a self-taught cook who didn't learn basic cooking skills until well after my college days. I have come a long way, but I am still a bit hesitant in the kitchen. For example, when preparing a new recipe, I have to follow it exactly as it says the first time. After I prepare it once, then I feel confident to make changes in the future.

So, follow the steps I did. And there were a lot of steps in this recipe (I should have paid more attention to that). My husband is rarely in the kitchen when I am cooking dinner, but he was this time, and he is quite observant. About 90% of the way through the preparation, he says to me "I can tell you're never making this again." Having someone around who knows you better than you know yourself sometimes can be a jarring experience ;) My immediate instinct was to be defensive, but deep down I knew he was right. He saw there were a lot of steps and that this was a "process." And that is NOT my jam. I like simple, unfussy recipes (preferably in one pot or pan) and this was definitely not it. Too many moving parts. And while the end result was tasty, it was not worth the effort to me.

I share this story because I want you to know it okay to have these experiences. What's important is to stay open to new things. While it was frustrating to feel like the effort was not worth the payout, I tried something new. That's what matters, and I felt good about that. Maybe with another recipe, it would have been worth it. You never know when you'll discover your new favorite dish! And these kinds of experiences might just affirm what you already knew about yourself, and that is okay too. There is value in that. Keep trying and keep learning!