I don't buy fresh fruit; Del Monte has stuff in sugar free cups. There is even applesauce. Also pudding with real milk. I am not diabetic; my mother was, my youngest sister is. I watch my weight (elevate) and just eat less. Going to the local senior center for lunch helps. Sometimes I eat enough to not have to eat supper. If my stomach gets insistent, I will eat nuts or sugar free wafer cookies or some brownies made with pumpkin puree....
Sorry this is so late. I'm playing catch up on emails and stuff. My biggest cooking disaster was years ago when I was in my 20's. Mind you, not my only disaster, but the funniest, and I guess all-in-all wasn't really a disaster. Anyway, long story short, I was guilted into baking something for the office by co-workers. I waited until last minute then had to throw something together the night before. I decided to make toll house pan cookies and discovered I didn't have enough butter and sugar. I substituted honey and peanut butter not realizing they were a totally different consistency (and didn't bake the same). The batter was too dry so I decided to add amaretto until I got it the soft enough to spread. It came out looking good but next morning I could barely get it out of the pan it was so hard. I thought "screw it, I'm taking it in." I bought something at the bakery to make up for it. People ate every last crumb, saying it was like biscotti. Go figure!
This sounds like me! 😆 My dyslexic brain likes to play tricks on me with letters and where numbers are on a page. I need forgiving recipes because I’m very likely to make a mistake 🙈
The runner-up: A chili-mac recipe calls for a couple of spoonfuls of chili powder. I put the powder in, noticing it seemed a paler, more purplish shade of red than usual, but since different batches of spices can vary, I shrugged it off. It was only when I stirred it and caught a whiff of what smelled more like spice cake than chili that I double-checked the container. Turns out GROUND CLOVES came in exactly the same size and style container, and are similar enough in color, that I'd used them to render the dinner inedible. My husband graciously said, as I dumped it out, "At least you figured it out before you cooked and served it," but he has also not been able to resist asking if I plan to use cloves in the next batch of chili.
The champion: While attempting to make risotto for a friend, I extended the "stir the rice in oil" phase too long, because it didn't look the way the recipe said it should, so I kept thinking it wasn't done yet. That's how I got burnt rice that set off the building's smoke detector so that maintenance had to come verify that my apartment wasn't on fire. I made chicken parmesan for my friend instead.
Wow. Good bloopers. You’re lucky your husband took it well. Have I mentioned the time I coated cookies with cornstarch instead of powdered sugar? They definitely tasted funny.
I'm so glad you like the ATK book! That place has been my go-to for years when I want completely reliable recipes and lots of hints along the way. May I humbly also suggest a book I just picked up from the library and plan to buy soon? It's The Everlasting Meal Cookbook: Leftovers A to Z by Tamar Adler. She is ingenious, thoughtful, loves to eat, and hates to waste. Paging through the book made me want to eat EVERYTHING she listed.
I tried to quadruple a cookie recipe once. Math is not my strong suit. I added way too much butter, which made the batter drop off the cookie sheet. It fell through the small holes in the bottom of the oven and the d&$# thing caught on fire! Luckily, just a little fire, but ugh!
One year in the run up to Christmas a friend and I decided to make piccalilli as thrifty presents. We had a huge vat of the stuff. The whole house stank of vinegar for weeks. And although we thought we had sterilised the jars clearly we did something wrong. By early new year the massive jar I had given my parents was making a ‘fizzy’ noise. Shortly after it exploded, covering their kitchen with a yellow that never truly disappeared. I have never made piccalilli since.
I had a similar catastrophe with a squash soup & which I desperately tried to salvage.
I don't buy fresh fruit; Del Monte has stuff in sugar free cups. There is even applesauce. Also pudding with real milk. I am not diabetic; my mother was, my youngest sister is. I watch my weight (elevate) and just eat less. Going to the local senior center for lunch helps. Sometimes I eat enough to not have to eat supper. If my stomach gets insistent, I will eat nuts or sugar free wafer cookies or some brownies made with pumpkin puree....
Sorry this is so late. I'm playing catch up on emails and stuff. My biggest cooking disaster was years ago when I was in my 20's. Mind you, not my only disaster, but the funniest, and I guess all-in-all wasn't really a disaster. Anyway, long story short, I was guilted into baking something for the office by co-workers. I waited until last minute then had to throw something together the night before. I decided to make toll house pan cookies and discovered I didn't have enough butter and sugar. I substituted honey and peanut butter not realizing they were a totally different consistency (and didn't bake the same). The batter was too dry so I decided to add amaretto until I got it the soft enough to spread. It came out looking good but next morning I could barely get it out of the pan it was so hard. I thought "screw it, I'm taking it in." I bought something at the bakery to make up for it. People ate every last crumb, saying it was like biscotti. Go figure!
This sounds like me! 😆 My dyslexic brain likes to play tricks on me with letters and where numbers are on a page. I need forgiving recipes because I’m very likely to make a mistake 🙈
2 biggest cooking disasters:
The runner-up: A chili-mac recipe calls for a couple of spoonfuls of chili powder. I put the powder in, noticing it seemed a paler, more purplish shade of red than usual, but since different batches of spices can vary, I shrugged it off. It was only when I stirred it and caught a whiff of what smelled more like spice cake than chili that I double-checked the container. Turns out GROUND CLOVES came in exactly the same size and style container, and are similar enough in color, that I'd used them to render the dinner inedible. My husband graciously said, as I dumped it out, "At least you figured it out before you cooked and served it," but he has also not been able to resist asking if I plan to use cloves in the next batch of chili.
The champion: While attempting to make risotto for a friend, I extended the "stir the rice in oil" phase too long, because it didn't look the way the recipe said it should, so I kept thinking it wasn't done yet. That's how I got burnt rice that set off the building's smoke detector so that maintenance had to come verify that my apartment wasn't on fire. I made chicken parmesan for my friend instead.
Wow. Good bloopers. You’re lucky your husband took it well. Have I mentioned the time I coated cookies with cornstarch instead of powdered sugar? They definitely tasted funny.
:-D
I'm so glad you like the ATK book! That place has been my go-to for years when I want completely reliable recipes and lots of hints along the way. May I humbly also suggest a book I just picked up from the library and plan to buy soon? It's The Everlasting Meal Cookbook: Leftovers A to Z by Tamar Adler. She is ingenious, thoughtful, loves to eat, and hates to waste. Paging through the book made me want to eat EVERYTHING she listed.
Yes! I will try it.
I tried to quadruple a cookie recipe once. Math is not my strong suit. I added way too much butter, which made the batter drop off the cookie sheet. It fell through the small holes in the bottom of the oven and the d&$# thing caught on fire! Luckily, just a little fire, but ugh!
Wow. That's awful. I'm glad you didn't burn the house down.
Very interested in freezing oranges - who knew!
I know. I just put some in the freezer. We'll see how well that works.
One year in the run up to Christmas a friend and I decided to make piccalilli as thrifty presents. We had a huge vat of the stuff. The whole house stank of vinegar for weeks. And although we thought we had sterilised the jars clearly we did something wrong. By early new year the massive jar I had given my parents was making a ‘fizzy’ noise. Shortly after it exploded, covering their kitchen with a yellow that never truly disappeared. I have never made piccalilli since.
Oh my gosh. That's terrible.