Master and Commander of the Stove

When disasters in the kitchen happen many things occur.

1. defeat by the person cooking

2. defeat by the person(s) who will be eating

3. loss of monetary value

4. Distress by the person cooking

5. Reassurance to the person cooking by those who will be eating

6. Reconciliation between the food and the person cooking --AKA: trying to fix the mess

7. Learning from mistakes

Number 7 is probably the most important of the things that can happen from a kitchen disaster.

Recently I learned to ALWAYS look at the top of a "shaker" before shaking. I opened the "spoon" side instead of the "sprinkle" side....that was fun, trying to recoup from that one. Most likely, 6 months from now, I'll have to "learn" that lesson again.

As Master and Commander of the stove, I forget that the rest of the family is held hostage to my cooking success or failure. They're at the mercy of my kitchen prowess. When my husband cooks for us I get a sense of what thats like. He then, becomes the Master and Commander of the stove. I know what its like for someone to come peering over my shoulder and asking this or that. Its especially difficult in the middle of a cooking disaster getting a "whats going on?" or "What happened?" or "why did you do that?" For me to give any advice while he's cooking, would almost be an insult. As if I'm saying I don't trust you, I can do it better...

I love it when others cook for me, eventhough I have to relinquish "My Power". I can relax and let the cook do their "thang". Being Master and Commander is fun but its also nice to be a deckhand....