We Are Conditioned.

Last week I wrote about “cutting corners.” All week I have been thinking about that personality trait I had. It has inspired me to try new things. Mr. Bird has been patient with this new trend of mine. Yesterday I felt particularity apt to trying something new in the kitchen. During #clotts last date night we spotted a Zupas and decided it would be better to go into debt then pass this up (just kidding, but almost). We tried a few of the soups and I fell in love with the Mushroom Bisque. I decided I would one day master this soup and make it dairy free. After I finished work yesterday I went to the beloved Winco and picked up the ingredients I needed to make the soup. The recipe looked a little advanced for someone who still burns Ramen Noodles, but that didn’t scare me. When I got home, the mess, I mean cooking, began. I spent an hour and twenty minutes putting together this gourmet soup. I soaked the mushrooms in a separate bowl and used the left over mushroom juice as an ingredient just like the recipe said. I was so proud of myself for following the recipe thus far… I melted the butter, mixed it in with the garlic and onion and poured in the chicken broth. I heard Mr. Bird yell from the other room that it smelled delightful. In my mind I thought, what a cute husband, he took a break out of his super busy study schedule to tell me that my cooking smelt good. I think he has picked up on the fact I need compliments if he wants me to keep feeding him.

While the soup was simmering, I broke out the tomatoes and basil and began making some brushetta for a side dish, because men like multiple dishes of food for a meal. Last night I learned that you make side dishes to feed your husband when the main dish fails. After the soup had simmered for 30 minutes it was time to stir in my homemade dairy free whipping cream. This is where things got a little experimental. I had used my 2% lactose free milk, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla as a substitute. It didn’t change the taste too much, but it was lacking the thick consistency. I thought oh well, Mr Bird can handle soup that’s a little runny. He came into the kitchen as I was trying to clean up some of the dishes so we could play Yahtzee (a dinner tradition) through dinner without me being distracted. Mr. Bird tasted the soup and said it needed a little more salt. I gave him the go ahead to add a little to the pot. About 45 seconds later, he turned around and said “Well I ruined it.” He had poured in about a cup of salt… I just started laughing. I tasted it too and it was ruined. He looked at me and asked if I was mad. I will say that for about 2 seconds I was and then I realized it was just food. We had a good laugh for about 20 minutes. We had cereal and brushetta for dinner. Throughout the night we continued to laugh about the whole ordeal.

There are many life lessons I could get out of this event, like the stomach pain might be worth the dairy, don’t pick recipes with too many directions, and life is too short to be upset, especially when it comes to your marriage or partner. He kept asking all night if I was mad at him. We are a people who are conditioned to think that when something goes wrong that someone has to be MAD. It is okay to make mistakes, that is how we learn. If we become too afraid to try something new because we fear a mistake is at the end, we will no longer try. This event didn’t scare me away from trying new things, it only made me want to try more.

(C)LVB-2014