It occurred to me this past weekend that I am a bit of a risk taker. At least when we are talking recipes. Oh, and anything related to gardens or flowers.
I very rarely follow written recipes completely, modifying them with favorite, gluten-free, or on-hand ingredients. For family dinners I usually try out at least one new recipe, and this past (Canadian) Thanksgiving dinner was no exception.
I made the perennially favourite pumpkin pie as well as cherry and butter tarts, but instead of apple pie or crisp, I tried a strawberry rhubarb crisp. My brother had commented on Facebook a while back that he was craving strawberry rhubarb pie and no one would make one for him, so as he was hosting dinner this past Sunday I took the bait. One of my clients donated the rhubarb and I had frozen strawberries on hand. The recipe called for fresh strawberries, so I just let mine thaw on the counter before using them. I do believe the dessert was a favourite at the table; the bit that was left in the pan was scooped up by my nephew to take home for later.
Tired of the popular vegetable dishes this time of year too, I decided to try roasted zucchini as my vegetable contribution. It too turned out delicious; I will definitely make it again. I simply sliced 3 yellow and 3 green zucchini lengthwise into about 6 spears each (you could slice them into coins instead) placed them on a greased cookies sheet, drizzled them with olive oil, sprinkled them with a mixture of parmesan cheese, garlic, oregano, and dried basil, and baked then broiled them to perfection. Yummy!
Someone asked me after I volunteered to make my daughter-in-law’s wedding bouquets if I wasn’t nervous they wouldn’t turn out. My new daughter-in-law is wonderfully laid back, so I knew if the bouquets weren’t exactly perfect, she would not stress over it, otherwise, I might have been more nervous and (probably) would not have offered my services. All five were different and definitely unique creations…
I consider cooking or baking and gardening to be artistic adventures, and I think most will agree that artists of any kind have to take some risks to be unique. I guess I do tend to fly by the seat of my pants (as I call it) or like to take (some) risks, but it is (almost) always worth it!
I do take some risks also in terms of doing my children’s story.
Rhubarb is not much of a risk. It is an excellent vegetable! I just had to see what you wrote about it. My mother makes pie with rhubarb alone, without strawberry. My pa likes it that way, and thinks that strawberries are just wasting space that could be filled with more rhubarb! I still grow the same rhubarb that I got from my great grandfather when I was a kid.