Improv in the Kitchen
It’s days like this that remind me of my teenage years. Snowed in and nowhere to go. Granted today the car is in the shop and I have a doosy of a cold (thanks Jill!).
Well, back when I was 15-16 years old, school was out due to snow and we didn’t have a car to cruise around in (it’s amazing how well a 10-speed bike worked for transportation back then), so I’d hang out with a friend at his house (Hey Pete Ruzzo, where are you!) watching movies and scrounging through the cupboards for something to eat.
Pete’s Mom had lots of Campbell’s Soup. And a full spice cabinet. So we experimented. We started off doctoring up one can of soup. Made it WAAAAYYY too spicy. I think it was split pea and ham. We would then stretch the soup with a can of something else. Was it Pepper Pot? Can’t remember. We went so far as to finally mix in one last soup and not overdo the spices. By the time we finished we weren’t eating dinner that night. This scenario repeated itself probably half a dozen times over a few years. It was a blast.
And we got to catch up on a few movies too!
My moral for this story is don’t be afraid to experiment with herbs and spices in your kitchen. If you are following a new recipe and you’re not happy with the outcome, explore your spice cabinet. Put a little in at a time, stir, wait a few minutes for the flavors to meld and take a taste. You just may have made that recipe even better! Most of all, please your own tastes.
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