The other night my beautiful wife, one of the most amazing cooks that I know, got to a place in the meal prep where she lost it. Things were not turning out like she wanted and, in all honesty, she was pretty discouraged.
At that point she gave me a holler and asked if I would help her salvage the meal. We tried a few tricks, but to no avail. Things were not looking good. The main dish, a beautiful curry, was spelling disaster! The flavors were not mixing! The fat was simply resting on the surface and wasn't allowing the curry flavor to penetrate into the rest of the dish.
So there we were, faced with a choice; give up, eat it as is and potentially end up throwing all the leftovers away, or keep on trying. We opted for the third choice and decided to thicken the curry with some arrowroot (a wonderful substitute for corn starch and flour) and cook it down on the stove. Our hope was that the thickening process would bind the flavors together and keep the fat from separating.
After a few minutes of hoping, we at last achieved success. The meal was amazing and the leftovers were so delicious that they were gone in only a couple days, which in our house is a record.
The moral of the story is that real cooking (the kind that doesn't come from a box or can) involves a whole lot of patience, time and endurance. Sometimes things just fall apart! The roast gets burnt, the veggies get overcooked, and we just want to throw the whole blasted mess in the trash! But listen, that is the nature of the game. You're going to ruin some meals in your life, but that's how we learn.
If you're new at cooking this can be especially true. There will be days that you wonder why you even try, but keep on plugging away, and don't, whatever you do, don't stop trying new things!
So when (not if, but when) disaster strikes, keep your cool. Remember, it's not the end of the world if you serve a mediocre meal. And last but not least, if you're not sure, add lemon!
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