I think it all started around the time I got beer in the mail. Normally this would make people happy. Me?
I did not remember saying I would review it. I am not a beer drinker. I hate beer.
I am on so much medication, if I did drink beer I would have to do so at noon. Which I did consider but then abandoned. It made me feel weird.
I was given two recipes. One for a mojito which is essentially beer and mint. I hate mint!
The second was for a margarita which sounded more palatable but I would have to buy tequila (which I would probably never use again) and it had chopped chili peppers in it. Uh… No thanks.
It was very generous to get this in the mail but it totally threw me off. Yes, I could cook with it but that was not a part of the promotion for a get away at home with a beer cocktail during spring break.
Instead, I gave them to Reg who reviewed it with the words, “Good beer!”
I did try the one with lime, hoping it did not taste so beer-y. But…. it tasted like beer. Blech.
Cook Like a Rock Star Tumble
I really wanted to continue with Anne Burrell’s cookbook Cook Like a Rock Star. I decided to make her hazelnut cake with Nutella mousse. That sounded right up my alley and you all know I have been trying to make peace with cake.
The problem? Cost. Just the nuts would have cost me over $8. It also required hazelnut paste and the closest I could find was hazelnut butter. Over $12 for one jar! So, I wanted to cry. Instead, I came up with a different game plan.
Pasta dough from Hell
Making Anne Burrell’s pasta would not cost me a lot of money but I know would taste like a million bucks. I have made homemade pasta before but for some reason, everything went wrong. I could not get the dough to come together. My whole upper body was in agony… for nothing.
I threw it in the food processor. It still would not come together.
I put it in my breadmaker and it came out like dust.
Everything falls apart
Then my blender officially dies and it is back to shopping for a new blender which is just as much fun as a root canal without painkillers. I agonized and agonized, trying to find the right one. (Review to come soon.)
In the middle of making a salad my beautiful stainless steel salad spinner spins apart all over my kitchen floor. I have had it for years and years and used it just about every day. I felt like I had lost a friend.
Time for change
And no more cookbook reviews! Although right after I made that decision a publisher sent one off to me so there will be one more but that is that! Life in my kitchen is going to be more intuitive to what I want to make.
Obviously the foodie gods want me to continue with product testing, considering they are attacking the appliances in my kitchen. I love product testing so I am good with that but please, stop blighting my appliances!
I think my breadmaker wanted to make up for the pasta dough fiasco and made me the biggest loaf of dough I have ever seen!
Star anise pendant winner Laura sent me a container of her favourite cookies as a thank you for the pendant I sent her. Now that made me feel like a foodie rock star. Thanks Laura!
I am good with change. I want change. As sad as I am to turn cookbook review opportunities away, I now have more energy and a little more money to spend making dishes Reg and I really want to eat.
I have no idea where this is really going to take us but that is far more exciting than following the steps of another person’s cookbook.
I’m glad you will be following your own foodie path on this! It will make you happier and I think everyone can understand about needing to save money and not making food you won’t really enjoy. Will you still be reviewing recipes that you try, even if you aren’t doing whole cookbook reviews?
Beer and chicken! Or in a stew. 😀
I’m with you, I loathe beer! I also can’t stand wine of any kind and only like Scotch whisky but don’t drink it very often.
Good for you for going with what you can do and not what causes you pain and too much money!!
i am not really a beer or wine drinker, but just recently i found chocolate wine. i had to try it. it was okay,but i made it better with ice,vanilla soy milk and a banana. yep! i turned it into a smoothie. sorta….lol…i love visiting your blog…i am always looking for new ideas. you are so entertaining and informative 🙂
Oh, that Reg! He is a man of few words.
Good for you, Suzie! Time is too precious to spend feeling obligated or frustrated. I strictly blog joyfully too.
Suzie, you always have been and always will be a Foodie Rockstar. I’ve never been one to follow recipes to a “T”, because as you accurately put it, it’s just too restrictive. I love all my cookbooks and magazines, they offer so much inspiration and wonderful pictures to drool over, but it the end you gotta make what suits you ingredient-wise and budget-wise. Cook with love, flair and creativity and the food will taste so much better. I can see you put tons of love into that loaf of bread, WoW!!
This is so sad. I would love it if someone sent me beer in the mail! Whoever thinks mojito has anything to do with beer needs to be slapped (haha it wasn’t you right?) 😉
what gets me is that same bottle of Hazelnut butter here in Ottawa is 1/2 the price !
Susie, it is great to hear that you will be taking artistic license with your upcoming recipes. It is truly liberating to cook ‘off the cuff’. I love cooking without a recipe. Even when I do use a recipe, I often tend to alter them.
With all your cooking experience, spirit and wonderful imagination, you are going to come up with some fantastic dishes. I cannot wait to see your future posts.