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!
