Re-define perfection based on your ideals rather than those dictated by society~April
I once read somewhere that the kitchen is a window to a woman’s soul. If that’s true, what these botched cookies say about me is a little offensive (laugh).
Despite my efforts to create distance between me and the ‘perfection trap,’ when I recently flubbed some chocolate chip cookies, I found myself acting like a mad Betty Crocker.
I blamed the oven. The ingredients. The humidity. I kept reminding everyone that I really could cook. I even cited the last time I baked them and how beautifully they came out.
But that wasn’t enough. I tried to get my husband to confirm that I had baked them ‘perfectly’ many times before, by prompting him to tell everyone how good they were.
Why?
Because on a subconscious level I don’t want to be labeled a bad baker or cook. I don’t want anyone peering into “the kitchen window of my soul” and seeing anything but perfection. No one wants a mess, do you?
The odds are, you can relate.
Without a thought (and clearly forgetting my promise to myself to live life unfiltered) I walked over to the trash intending to toss the cookies, and start over. And that’s when it hit me that I had fallen off the wagon. I wanted my guests to believe that I don’t make mistakes.
While I am a good cook, I didn’t get to that place without botching recipes. And as you can see, I still have my bad days in the kitchen. So did our mother’s and grandmother’s. That’s why generational recipes are so good–someone has already worked out the kinks for us.
Instead of starting over I plated the cookies, served vanilla ice cream and told everyone they could eat them or move on.
The truth is, most chose to pass on the cookies. But for the first time in my life, I was okay with it. I didn’t obsess over it or get my feelings hurt when the cookies were still there or when some teased me. It was freeing!
Maybe it’s just me, but I think those ruined cookies look just as beautiful on that white plate as the perfectly baked.
End of post.
Do you think the kitchen is a window to your soul?
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