As I've mentioned in previous posts, this past week has been full of various cooking failures. It all started last weekend with a Lomo Saltado failure. Then there was a Banana Bread failure. Then there were a few other failures during the week. One night I wanted to make Tofu and Black Bean Chili for dinner, but the tofu I had was frozen. It wasn't in the freezer, mind you, it was just in the very back of the refrigerator and somehow it froze. So, hoping it would thaw by the next morning, I put the tofu on the top shelf and toward the front of the fridge, and decided to just have a frozen burrito for dinner that night. The next night I was ready to make the chili, but only part of the tofu had defrosted. When I cut into it, there were still ice crystals in the middle of the tofu. It wasn't completely thawed and it also looked like a sponge with all its nooks and crannies. So I put the tofu in Tupperware container and had another frozen burrito for dinner. The next night, after a busy day at work, I was feeling too tired to cook something, so I just made a roast beef sandwich and some french fries. (There wasn't much of a failure that night!) The following night I was tired after yet another busy day at work, so I decided to go to Noodles and Company to get some takeout. The restaurant is always wonderful and the people who work there are always wonderful, but the nice young man who took my order asked me so many questions that I forgot to order something important. I usually get some Parmesan Chicken to go with my pasta, but I forgot to ask them to add it. I only remembered it after I stepped out of line and sat down to wait for my food. The Parmesean chicken is what really makes the meal, and without it, I pretty much have a pasta that I could make on my own. The next night I was still full from our Food Club treats at work and I was, again, too tired to cook, so I made some nachos for dinner. Unfortunately I've had quite an unhealthy week this week.
Today I happened to run into my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew while I was shopping and we went to lunch and I had a decent meal for the first time in several days. And, fortunately, I also had enough leftovers for dinner tonight. While I was shopping today, I was browsing for a mixer that would (hopefully) improve some of my baking skills. I was torn between getting a hand mixer or a stand mixer. Stand mixers can be incredibly expensive. Some of the best models are typically $200 or $300. Because I'm trying to be careful with my money, I wasn't quite ready to spend that much money on a mixer. Plus, I'm still a very amateur baker and didn't want to spend a lot of money until I know what I'm doing. I also bake occasionally and really just need something that would do the job maybe once or twice a month. I settled on a Sunbeam stand mixer that was really inexpensive when compared to other stand mixers. Sunbeam has always had a good reputation in the past, so I'm hoping I can get some good use out of it for the next few years, and tonight I decided to give it a try.
My first experiment with the new mixer was Oatmeal Cookies. Just plain oatmeal cookies. No raisins, no nuts, just plain oatmeal. I found a recipe in Mark Bittman's cookbook, How to Cook Everything, that seemed simple enough to follow. The cookies turned out OK, and I was pretty pleased. A few things seemed a bit off—the bottoms were a little too brown (and burned on a few), the cookies were a bit thick (not flat), and a few had a bit of a cakelike texture on the inside. But they tasted pretty good for a first try. I think there are probably just a few adjustments I need to make before I perfect them. I didn't really change anything to compensate for the Colorado altitude, but I'm sure I could improve things by lowering the temperature a bit or moving the oven racks to a higher position. And then I just need to keep an eye on them and take them out when they look ready.
So I'm feeling somewhat redeemed. The mixer seemed to work just fine and I can't wait to keep trying a few more things with it.
Current mood: getting sleepy
Current drink: Jameson whiskey (the cause of any spelling or grammatical errors in this post)
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