Wednesday, October 6, 2010

I Am A Culinary Master!

Ok, not really. But, I did do something in the kitchen that I've never done before-- improvise! ;)

Usually I stick to the recipe. I don't feel confident enough in my knowledge of food/spices to just throw things together and hope it will turn out yummy. But today I was brave! (Am I saying that a lot lately?)

It's been raining her a LOT lately. Just going to and coming home from Jeffy's speech lesson, we got soaked, even with an umbrella. The air is cool and crisp and beautiful leaves are everywhere. It's definitely fall and I LOVE it!! On the way home, I really got a craving for chili. And not the gross canned chili--the homemade good stuff.


My sister-in-law, Elizabeth, once made this amazing homemade chili that is now my standard for yummy. I haven't had chili as good as hers since then, and have been meaning to ask her for the recipe. But I haven't yet, so I googled chili recipes. They all called for tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato juice, tomato paste, or all of the above, and the only tomato thing I had was a 6 oz can of paste. They also called for lots of other things I don't have, so I got discouraged.

But then I thought that chili is basically beans and meat, and I had both of those, so why not try? Our chili consisted of ground beef, chili beans, carrots, onions, corn, cheddar cheese, the tomato paste, water, and a bunch of spices I don't remember. It wasn't nearly as good as Elizabeth's, but it was really good. And I made it from scratch and made it up myself, so it was REALLY GOOD. :)

I'm proud of myself. I like to cook, but am not especially good at it. This makes me think that maybe with a lot of practice I can become really good at it. That would be fun.

We had it for lunch, we'll be having it for dinner, and Jeff will be eating it for his lunch tomorrow too. Hope he's okay with that. :)

4 comments:

Natalie said...

I quit improvising a long time ago too, because things never came out very well. The only thing that I make without a recipe is taco salad. :) So good for you Bethany! Sounds delicious!

Erin said...

Ok, you're ready to apply to "THe Next Food Network Star"! Ha ha! That's so awesome. When you start cooking a ton, you get to know basic good ingredients. You build confidence in using them, and know when to use them. This I have found on my cooking quest. Can't live without garlic or cilantro:)

Tara Johnson said...

Those are the best recipes that you make up your self. Just smell all the spices and through them in! I love just seeing what I have in the kitchen and having to make something up, or getting a recipe and not having the ingredients and having to "ad lib" Keep on playing!

Tina Crowther said...

Nice work! I always try things myself, but I'm sad to say they don't always turn out yummy like yours did. I very often have nasty renditions that result in tears, or worse. But, for some reason, I haven't learned my lesson and I keep on not following the recipes, and making up my own. Oh well. Yours looks tempting, maybe I'll try chili tonight. hehe