Sometimes I'm amazed at what I used to be able to do-- the things I've learned and done that I couldn't even consider doing once again. The list is considerable when it comes to physical abilities but the other night I was reminded of my mental capacity in particular-- after putting together what turned out to be an amazing vegetarian stew.
Key word there is "after." I love to cook and I seem to have no problem grabbing this and reaching for that, a dash of this, a splash of that. To my good fortune, more often than not, I do a pretty good job in getting the right mix of substance and flavor.
And so it was the other evening as I sat down to a bowl of this hearty and flavorful vegetable stew. It was sweet with a little heat and seemed to perfectly blend the many flavors into a new delicious whole. Viola! When I sat down to enjoy my wonderful creation I started to think about how I'd concocted this dish. I knew there was white wine, mushroom soup, vegetable stock, potato, yam, corn, green beans, (are you getting this down??) pinto beans, smoked chipolte chili powder, onion and some garlic powder. I think. It was then my mind went back to good old Willamette U and my organic chemistry lab with Dr. Hudak. So many milliliters of this and so many grams of that heated to precisely this temp for precisely this length of time. Looking at that bowl of delicious vegetable stew and thinking back all those years to organic chemistry it's a wonder I ever made it to out of college. My current kitchen methods employed in a chemistry lab would be as likely to get a visit from the FBI or Drug Enforcement Agency as it would the approval of my professor.
Oh well, I must have learned something. I guess that's how it is as you go through life: You take it all in, learn what you must, retain what is needed and, in the end, hopefully you end up with a bowl of killer vegetable stew. Bon appetit!
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