 Pepi’s perfect eggs I had perfect scrambled eggs once. I was in my twenties and staying with a friend of my parents who lived in Birmingham, England. Pepi was a wonderful cook, but the meal I remember most vividly is those scrambled eggs. They were soft and creamy, but not runny, and cooked just enough. […]  Bad hair days Most people have hair, and like to talk about it, but, can we talk about my hair? Currently, it’s badly in need of a cut and color, but as hardly anyone sees me, does it matter? No need to mention the skinny ponytail bobbing foolishly at the back of my head. This […]
 It’s everywhere, and in everything and I’m going to give you one more reason to love cauliflower. This shrimp and cauliflower grits will give the traditional recipe made with corn grits some serious competition. If you’ve riced cauliflower then you’re familiar with this method of preparation, but to make a smooth, creamy grits-like iteration you’re […]  It’s just a dream In the dream, I’m running from my house—not my house, but a familiar house which is on fire, and I’m grabbing only what is necessary. I’m grabbing things in a mad rush. I stop running, I freeze, paralyzed. What do I take, what is it I can’t live without, and what […]
 The days are mostly the same as each other as are the hours of the day. My meals, like my days, are essentially stuck on repeat.
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Ana - I love that you compared cooking with a performance. I immediately pictured the cook as the conductor, and each ingredient as an instrument.
The description of those scrambled eggs is spot on, I could almost taste them.
Melony - I am so glad to see you on the grids this week, Nancy! It’s been too long. 🙂 Loved this piece. It’s so true! Cooking is most certainly a performance. I like how you talked about the variables that make a perfect meal. I have made many a perfect meal that I cannot replicate the next time. Hubby is always sad when a meal isn’t quite as nice as the previous time, because I forgot to write down “replaced Worcestershire sauce with Balsamic Vinegar” or something else less overt like that, like letting the pot boil an extra few minutes. I also appreciated the message that chasing perfection is foolish.
soapie - i am just beginning to learn what that means, how a real cook doesn’t use recipe. i never realized that until recently. but now it makes sense.. no wonder my parents never have measurements and just go by taste and sense. thank you for clarifying this!! its eye opening really.
at first i was a little confused when you started off talking about live concerts. but then as you explained it, i understood your metaphor more clearly. and actually it makes more sense to me because i’ve played more concerts than i have cooked meals… and yeah.. sometimes a performance just doesnt execute the way you practiced hundreds of times. so if you’re saying cooking is like that- then now, i get it. =) thank you! enjoy your use of metaphor and connecting two different concepts.