I have lost my cooking mojo...

H

heather_in_sf

Well-known member
at least I can laugh about it now but this Christmas I don't know what happened to me. Perhaps it's because I sprained my ankle a little the Saturday before I had to leave to head up to my parents and standing on a fat grouchy ankle isn't helpful to concentration and patience....?

I overbaked the shortbreads, they were hard as a rock. I overcooked the roast too, it was medium-well. uck!!! The peas, carefully brunoised carrots and turnips looked just like they came out of a bag of Birds Eye... The dessert tasted fantastic but the outside edge turned lavender. The list just goes on and on! Then Sunday was the best, I baked an orange cornmeal cake, it overflowed the pan and burned, and the entire house filled with smoke! My poor sister had to retreat to the porch until 4 hours later because smoke bothers her lungs. Did I mention it was in the low 40's? Fortunately my dad didn't notice, he can't smell any more, but my mom and I did our best to remove the smell from the house. Oy. I wrote a blog about it and it made me feel better. Yesterday I bought a rotisserie chicken from Costco instead of cooking dinner and this morning I flunked making coffee this morning, grounds everywhere. At least it tasted good! Meantime, I have a 10 pound turkey breast attempting to thaw in my fridge and a ton of good groceries to cook up and I'm afraid...!!!! Once more into the breach boys! LOL

 
Heather, these periods come and go. Randi used to call them "the GAKS"...

Is the turkey breast still mostly frozen? If so, I say re-freeze it and take a week off.

We forget, when cooking is our occupation/vocation/etc., those are what the Holidays were supposed to be a break from.

 
Stress, ankle pain, the holidays... sometimes everything just seems against us.

I go thru "the drops" when I swear I just can't hang onto anything. Eggs slip to the floor, I pick up a pan from the stove and it just slips right out of my hand, the half gallon of milk I grab in the fridge is suddenly on the floor. Granted, my dog thinks this is fabulous, but oy... what a mess! Then the world shifts back and all is fine again.

 
"This too shall pass"

Heather...take it in stride (how wonderful you can laugh at it and I'm sure your blog readers enjoyed your sense of humour!).

It happens; and it will pass. I would definitely take a few days off; pamper yourself with prepared food/restaurant/simple home cooked that you love and then...once again immerse yourself in food!

Deb

 
Heather, something similar happened to me once, I just couldn't bake any more....

I grew up with a gas oven. In the little townhouse that I bought there was an electric stove/oven. Everything was good at first and then I lost it. Nothing I baked turned out well. A sympathic friend, listenting to my rants, suggested that one of electric grids in my oven needed to be replaced. It worked! I could bake again! Maybe that's the case here if you are baking in someone else's oven?

 
Go for soups...

when I lose my touch with cooking, I turn to soups, because let's face it, there is no way to ruin a soup... sort of dumping a cup of salt in it smileys/smile.gif

plus, it is soothing in this time of the year, it can be light and nutritious, fighting the excesses of Christmas

I just made a big batch of a simple soup with shredded chicken breast, navy beans, corn, tomatoes, and some kale. It will be my lunch every day this week, I already feel healthier

(wishful thinking... smileys/smile.gif

 
I've had periods like that where everything I touched burned or boiled over.

Or got frozen or something. Take a break from the cooking and do take out for a couple of meals, then get back into it. The mojo will return!

 
excellent prescription! then, go to your favorite bakery and buy a crusty loaf of bread. perfect

 
Happily I still have my cocktail mojo!

The turkey will thaw by the weekend the way my fridge works. Wish me luck! Meanwhile the Costco crab rangoons are really excellent, and so were the cocktails!

 
Along the same lines:

I haven't really cooked in over a year, not in my own kitchen yet...

The other day I was making a few side dishes for x-mas eve dinner and it took me all day to make Richard's potatoes and a green bean casserole - I kept getting distracted, misplacing ingredients, screwing up etc...

Even when I do make the odd shake-n-bake or tacos I sit there and read the instructions like I'm an idiot and have never made stuff before

Can't wait for our new kitchen, the cabinets are going up and appliances were delivered today - I hope I get my cooking mojo back!

 
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