So why am I writing about this? Because perspective makes the world go 'round. ;) Especially in the kitchen. What you see as a total failure today may shock you and turn out to be absolutely amazing in a few days or weeks when you have a lightbulb moment.
For example--last weekend, I bought a flat of strawberries to make jam, and since we are trying to cut out as much refined sugar as possible, I attempted to make a version using coconut sugar. It tasted great--coconut sugar has a caramel-y flavor to it, and it tasted like strawberry caramel....not exactly what I had in mind when I was dreaming about strawberry jam, but still pretty good. Problem is, even with twice the pectin, it did not set up like regular jam--apparently pectin prefers refined white sugar. *sigh* It set somewhat, but not like jam. And I was left with 8 or 9 jars of total fail, in my mind. I gave about half of it away and figured I'd use the rest in smoothies and on frozen yogurt and the like....and really just kind of stared at it for a few days.
Yesterday, I decided I'd make grilled chicken for dinner, and when I went to pull out BBQ sauce (refined sugar! -UGH- I need to toss that...), I had a lightbulb moment. I pulled out a jar of this jam, and used it like I would have used BBQ sauce and basted my grilled chicken with it. And...I gotta say...OMG. Best. Freaking. Chicken. EVER. Seriously awesome.
So, my strawberry creation totally failed when I looked at it as the jam I set out to create....but it totally *ROCKS* as a grilling sauce.
So why am I telling you this? To more or less drive home the point I'm always making--stay open minded in the kitchen. Just because something doesn't work out like you planned, doesn't mean it's a total failure. :) Perspective...it's your friend. :)
