What Other Bloggers Eat

I just don't get it.

For someone who loves food as much as I do, I am a dreadful cook.

Most people don't believe me, thinking I am being modest or even that I'm lying.

I can assure you, as can the boy for that matter, I am a truly awful cook.

So I dream. I eat out, I dream, I try (hey, that counts, right?) and I always end up falling back on stuff that I know well enough how to do.

However, being frustrated and with a bit too much time on my hands, I decided this week to attempt cooking something new.

There was no doubt in my mind what to cook. It had to be Jaden's Persian Sour Cherry Saffron Rice (Polow). It had been taunting me day and night. I "visited" the recipe every day since I've seen it, absolutely certain that despite it being cherry, it would be the perfect combo of tart, sweet, salty and comforting. My favorite combo.

I know that to the accomplished cook, this would be an easy dish. You don't understand. Whenever I step into the kitchen, it's like I step into the twilight zone where I become an absolute idiot.

Case in point. I didn't melt the butter.

I melted half of it in the pan at the beginning, then, when layering the rice, cherries and saffron water, I panicked and quickly melted the remaining 1/4 cup and stupidly dumped it OVER the cherries.

Yep, I'm an idiot. Luckily the recipe still worked and was very delish although totally ugly (I stirred too much...) and unphotographable. THANK you Jaden. I will make it again and again and again. I kept sneaking bites throughout the night despite my distended belly.

I then decided, mainly because I had bananas languishing, all soft, mushy and unwanted in the fruit bowl, to make the banana cake Orangette posted about. No oil and no butter needed. Just the thing.

And what did I do? Well............I left out the chocolate chips, the vanilla essence and I substituted cassonade for half of the white sugar because I ran out. OH, and I also cooked it for over TWICE as long because it was still so incredibly gooey inside. I have no idea what happened but I blame it again on the shroud of incompetence that descends on my head every time I step into the kitchen.

Dang it but the cake turned out fine. Slightly too burned on the outside but perfectly moist and chewy inside. And from the boy's quick demolishment of it, it was still good enough to eat.

So please, don't go by incompetence and try the fabulous recipes out there by wonderful bloggers out there. Next I want to try Umami's rice salad, even though I am highly skeptical...