March 24th, 2026

Tried a new recipe tonight.  It's so fun to experiment with food, coming up with new and different things to present at a meal  BUT,  and I'm talking the big but, it's also terrifying.

I mean what if it doesn't turn out good?  Or what if it turns out exactly as it's supposed to but it doesn't suit the palate of those stuck either eating it anyway or throwing it out and having a PBJ instead.  What a let down that is.  It's happened before. Sadly.  Not often but it has happened.

I made a Quiche once that was so pretty. I mean, magazine photo worthy pretty.  And it must have smelled pretty good because the kiddo that was in the house that night at dinner time followed his nose to the kitchen with great interest.  I was so excited to present my dish with it's pretty little side salad. And then they took the first bite as I anxiously watched and both of them, at the exact same time, Tim and Kiddo, looked first at the slice of quiche on their plates, then at each other, then raced each other to the garbage can to spit it out. Oh dear, oh dear.  we ordered pizza.

We laugh about it now of course, and thank goodness Tim did not use situations such as that to suggest that I stop experimenting. And in fact, he encourage it., Mostly because most, hear that carefully, most, of my experiments turn out just fine. And in fact some turn out so good that they are dishes that are part of the usual meal rotation now.  A few things are even prepared, by request for special occasions ;)  

Still if an experiment goes wrong not only is my family disappointed, but we now have to pivot to find an acceptable substitution for the meal we've thrown away AND it was a waste of food. Maybe that's the worst part these days. We all know how freakin' expensive grocery shopping is and wasted food is also wasted money. Ouch!

Tonight's meal was a nail biter.   Tim had picked up, somewhere on some grocery excursion a package of beef ribs. Definitely not something we have on the regular.  And I did some recipe diving before even attempting it.  I knew, since it was being cooked in the oven, that it needed the low and slow treatment which generally suggests a slow cooker but I know that Tim really likes that little crust that only comes from a dryer cook method.  It needed flavour too but also something that will break down the meat and make it tender. Hmmm and also Hmmmm.

Keeping all those things in mind, I  singled out one recipe that had the ribs cooking at 325 for two hours (turned half way through) in the oven. Ok I'm interested.  It had an interesting sounding sauce poured over it before cooking:  tabasco, molasses, vinegar and soy sauce.  Ok Now I'm downright intrigued.  Tabasco for snap, molasses for sweet, vinegar to break it down and soy sauce for...I don't know..salt?  This was it, I decided.  Well I hoped, let's say that. I put it all together, lined the pan carefully with foil (I'm not stupid) put it in the oven and crossed my fingers.

About 30 minutes in, I turned on the fan to low because the "burnt" smell was pervasive. Dang. That's the molasses.  Molasses is a sugar and sugar burns. I began to have great doubts but hey, it's already in the oven, I am committed.  

Half way through  turned the ribs and I thought oh gosh, this really does look like it's burning. I re-read the recipe carefully. Did I miss something really important?  Nope, I'm doing exactly what it says.  Trust the process I said to myself and turned the fan up to medium.  

At the 3/4 mark I turned the fan up to full speed and I could also smell the tabasco and soy sauce, oh dear, oh dear. I began looking through first the fridge and then the freezer for some sort of acceptable substitution.  But I went ahead and prepared the sides just in case a miracle happened. (asparagus and potatoes in case you wondered).

With GREAT trepidation, shortly after 5 I called Tim to dinner. I confessed that I was concerned about the ribs and to let me know what he thought. Then I sat and watched.  He said he was sure it was fine.  They didn't look fine. They looked burnt. They looked beyond burnt. They looked like the last bits of logs in the fireplace after the fire goes out.  Seriously.

First he carefully inserted a fork.  To my great relief, the fork went in, directly in, no hammer or chisel required.  Then he cut off a chunk and popped it in his mouth, chewed with satisfaction and smiled.  That smile was everything. 

As I was finishing cleaning up, I asked for notes. I always do that when I either invent or try a new recipe. How could it be better next time? l Should there be a next time?  Was this a one and done? Should I ever try it again?

He had one note and one only.  Him buying ribs that had more meat on the bone.  LOLOL   And YAYAYAYAY!!  I can still hardly believe that the dish I took out of the oven after two hours that looked more like briquettes than food was actually edible, let alone good enough to repeat another time.  It was, as I said before, a gastronomical miracle!  Yay Again!

I will continue experimenting and trying new dishes and sometimes I will win and other times I will fail, but I learn from each attempt,  Mostly I'm grateful that Tim is such a brave soul who indulges my  attempts with no complaints!

It was nearly Dinner Drama instead of Dinner Delight!  BUT, what's life without risk?  I don't bungee jump or zipline, I don't fling myself down mountains with sticks strapped to my feet or explore underwater caves but I do experiment mightily in the kitchen. 

It counts!