One of the biggest debates I have regarding my blog content is whether or not to post about
recipe flops.
Tonight, I had such a flop. I walked into the kitchen without a recipe and said I was going to create a recipe out of the blue and it would be magnificent. The most magnificent little recipe I have ever concocted. Yes, I tend to suffer from delusions of grandeur in the kitchen at times…
I debated posting about said flop and then I realized I had nothing else to blog about. :mrgreen:
Dilemma solved!
I also remembered something a crazy wise psychology professor once told me.
[Speaking in my old, wise professor voice]:
‘Miss Angela, everything contributes to knowledge in some way, shape, or form. Even the studies that don’t ‘work’ like you predict contribute to knowledge.’
I came across this and had some horrible memories:
“The distinguishing mark of graduate research is an original contribution to knowledge. The thesis is a formal document whose sole purpose is to prove that you have made an original contribution to knowledge. Failure to prove that you have made such a contribution generally leads to failure.” <—no pressure though! lol
[Source]
So yes, even though my recipe tonight was a flop, I now know what not to replicate in the future- or better yet- how to tweak this recipe and iron out the kinks!
All seemed to start well. Chia seeds, onion, sweet potato, spinach. A good foundation, no?
I guess I should probably tell you what I was intending to make.
I wanted to make the In A Jiffy Spelt Veggie Burgers. The only catch was I was too lazy to go get the recipe off my computer. [Whoever said it was a good idea to run 5 miles before baking on my feet all day was wrong…wait, that was my idea.]
I decided to save myself the troubling walk and to just ‘wing it’, creating a brand new recipe.
Sounds fun, right?
I used the following:
- 1 T chia seeds
- 1 small sweet potato, processed (or grated)
- 1 handful organic spinach, chopped
- 1/3 onion, chopped
- 3 T Sunflower seeds
- 1 clove minced garlic
- Paprika, salt, and pepper to taste
- 1 cup Whole Grain Spelt Flour
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 avocado
Into a big bowl and then mix with your hands.
At this stage, I thought to myself oh this is going to be good. I jinxed myself, clearly.
Oops, I forgot I also added half an avocado! Good thing I took pictures to document.
Despite widespread panic over the weekend, I was able to ripen my rock hard avocados on the windowsill. [In desperate times, I also place bananas on the windowsill too!]
The true test of a homemade veggie burger is usually how well the patties form. These formed fairly well, so I thought I hit the jackpot. My work here is complete.
I made 5 patties and 5 BALLS.
After 20 minutes of cooking at 375F, I flipped them. This is when I realized that something was wrong…very, very wrong.
The patties cracked and split and generally looked like they were going to explode!
These pictures actually don’t do the flop justice. The burgers wouldn’t even hold together and just crumbled in my hand! I should have taken a picture of the crumbles. ;)
With my upper lip quivering, I said, ‘Nothing 20 more minutes in the oven won’t fix.’
But, I knew in my heart they could not be saved.
The middle was mushy. I blame that on too much moisture due to the 1/4 cup of water. The chopped onions also prevented the patty from holding together. Next time I would eliminate the onions and take out the water (anyone want to give it a go? haha)
The upside? They tasted ok. The only thing I didn’t like about them (aside from them falling apart) was the onion. The onion flavour did not pair well with the avocado and sweet potato! Should have thought that one through…
The BALLS held together very well, although they were still mushy on the inside.
I had three patties, one on a piece of toasted Ezekiel bread with hummus and t-paste.
My second flop contribution of knowledge was what I like to call BLAH, BLAH, BLAH (you know the song by Ke$ha??). That is what I was singing when I tasted this.
I boiled some cabbage, drained it, and then put some EVOO + balsamic vinaigrette on it. It was so utterly blah, I had to laugh. My poor husband. Eric would not touch this with a ten foot pole and I don’t blame him.
I tried to redeem my Goddess of the Kitchen status to Eric by making a spin-off of the delicious Choco-cado Pudding. My goal here was to make a lighter version without chocolate (I know many of you gave up chocolate for lent and were sad when you couldn’t make it.)
Refreshing Peppermint Pudding
[Adapted from Gina’s Choco-cado Pudding]
- 1/4 cup cashew butter
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 small avocado
- 1 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
- 1 tablespoon dark agave nectar
Directions: Process all ingredients together and serve. This makes about 2 small servings.
It was different, but very creamy and refreshing! Next time I might add a bit more water to thin it out a little. The cashew butter and avocado went surprisingly well together.
Good times! :)
Updates:
- Follow me on Twitter (@ohsheglows)
- I’m hosting a meet-up this Sunday March 7th in Toronto. If you are interested in attending please email me by Thursday morning for the deets (angela [at] ohsheglows.com)
Size Healthy Around the blog world:
- Amy: http://amysquesttoskinny.blogspot.com/2010/02/size-healthy-contest.html
- Kate: http://k8hasablog.blogspot.com/2010/02/are-you-sizenumber-obsessed.html
5:30am wake-up call tomorrow. I have about 200 glo bars to bake, pack, and ship before the Fedex man arrives at noon! Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. This week is going to fly by.
The worst gift is a fruitcake. There is only one fruitcake in the entire world, and people keep sending it to each other. ~Johnny Carson
I learned a good trick with onions yesterday when I was making meatloaf for my family– fry the onions first before adding….they blend in better.
I think your patties look delicious. Next time try a brocolli salad: chopped brocolli, olive oil, lemon juice, seeds, dried fruit….
I’m currently wrapping up my MA thesis, so I feel ya on the pressure bit! However, that view is a little harsh! I know in my program the attitude is slightly different – do SOMETHING for your MA and that’s good (ie. write an unoriginal paper and you’ll still graduate), do something *original* and that’s great (and you’ll probably be able to do a lot more with your grad studies if you choose to). A much friendlier approach!!!
As far as kitchen flops go…yes, as is research, findings are still findings! haha. And hey, appearance isn’t everything right? If it tastes good…bring it on! :)
I always post flops…mainly just to have something to write about! :-)
Those do not look like flops though– I think they look delicious!!! Seriously!
I have flops all the time – or at least ones where I sit there and think…hmm shoulda stopped at ingredient “X” – :)
Hey, not every recipe can be a winner on the first shot. Trial and error!
As for the avocados, I eat a few a week, and there’s nothing more annoying than waiting for them to get nice and ripe. Place them in a brown paper bag with an apple and it speeds things up. Works for bananas, too.
I love the new take on the avocado pudding! Will have to give it a go with the cashew buttahhh!
As for the burgers, probably too much flour, plus the water evaporated. Maybe do 1/4 cup spelt plus 1/4 cup ground flax, some water and 1 tbsp oil? They look delish though apart from the cracking. I hate when that happens!
Those burgers looked so promising.
I posted my flop just recently. I was testing someone else’s recipe and I clearly got sidetracked!
Sometimes I have to post about flops. I’ll get home from work with the intention of making a recipe and then blogging about it. Then I make said recipe….and it’s a bomb. What else can you do??
I once spent all day making a homemade banana bread (for the first time ever, hence all day). When it was done it smelled SO SO SO good. I quickly turned over the bread pan to let it cool… not remembering I was supposed to let it cool IN the pan first. The whole thing fell apart in a big mush. I was devastated! We still ate it, but over ice cream.
You are so funny! I love this post. It’s so true, a flop isn’t really a failure at all. ALSO, interesting what you call a failure compared to what someone else might consider a failure. For me, if I made something from scratch that was edible, it would be a success, for sure! Maybe not something I’d repeat, but certainly not a flop.
It’s hard to post about flops for sure, but they do help you and others learn what works and what doesn’t. Plus people can offer suggestions. I make black bean burgers that fall apart all the time but taste so good, I don’t even care anymore :)
Ahhhh, we all have recipe flops. Love that you admit to it LOL. I think the important thing is that you learn from the goofs and make something better in the end!
You know, flops only reaffirm that we all mess up and can’t always make beautiful, fantastic and wonderful recipes, right? :) The best part…you had the best intentions and now you know not to use water + onions in the burgers. Big lesson learned.
GOod luck with that big order busy bee!
I think those burgers would have been a success in my book lol! I am terrified of cooking solo without a recipe and honestly wouldn’t know where to begin. Thanks for sharing that though, it is a huge feat to be able to publicly admit to our mishaps : )
I, for one, thought this was one of your more witty posts — so I am in favor of flops. . . well, posting about them, anyway. ;) I have flops ALL THE TIME. My husband finds it hilarious, whenever he comes into the kitchen to find me staring in horror at another experiment gone awry.
“Our achievements speak for themselves. What we have to keep track of are our failures, discouragements, and doubts. We tend to forget the past difficulties, the many false starts, and the painful groping. We see our past achievements as the end result of a clean forward thrust, and our present difficulties as signs of decline and decay.”
~ Eric Hoffer
LOVE that quote!
Aw what a bummer! I hate when I take time to make dinner and it flops. But oh well, you live and learn! :)
Oh, well! :) Better luck next time!
That pudding looks amazing!!!
No worries, I make flops all the time. It’s just annoying when you use good expensive ingredients and it doesn’t work out!
I’ve never heard of avocado cooked in anything… maybe that was part of the problem?
Oh memories: “The distinguishing mark of graduate research is an original contribution to knowledge. The thesis is a formal document whose sole purpose is to prove that you have made an original contribution to knowledge. Failure to prove that you have made such a contribution generally leads to failure.” It still sends shivers down my spine when I think about it!!!
Talking about flops in the kitchen: lentil rice (Mujadarrah) that I made last night was just shy of a disaster! My fiancé had a bite and simply said: ah, different than usual honey… and didn’t eat the rest! hahaha…
Mistakes happen. The burgers sound great in theory though – the mix of sweet potato and avocado..yuumm!!
I really think we learn the MOST from mistakes. Or things that don’t go quite as planned. It’s a hard lesson to learn sometimes though.
P.S. I’m so going to go try the original recipe now…