When I first heard the term "mango salsa", I fell in love. I absolutely love mangoes and salsa can be quite fun. What better way to learn to enjoy cooking than find something fun AND good? So I got myself all worked up about it; told everyone I knew I was going to attempt to make mango salsa and even envisioned what I could serve with it.
Everything came to a screeching halt when I read the recipe (NEVER forget to read that recipe). Jalepenos? JALEPENOS? Yuch. As much as I love mangoes, I detest jalepenos. Call me a wimp, if you will. I cannot use spicy. Oh, some will be needed for certain foods. I do understand that. Maybe some red pepper flakes or even possible the JUICE of a jalepeno but the whole pepper?
But then I looked it up and realized that the very term "salsa" means "spicy sauce". Hmm....now what? My first guess was to just give up the idea of making any kind of salsa; which is sad, in a way since mango salsa still sounds like fun. But then my friend and "cooking guru/guinea pig" mentioned that I didn't HAVE to put in jalepenos. I could try a different spice or something slightly less "volcanic".
Wow. Ingredient switching? At my level? Preposterous! But definitely worth a try. Now I get to experiment with different things to find out which tastes best. Wish me luck and I'll let you know how it goes!
PS: Coming soon: Olive-stuffed pastries!
Where's the Fun?
Cooking should be fun, right? That's pretty much the whole point of what I'm doing. Learning to enjoy cooking so it's not so much of a chore.
My first dinner the other night went well; better than I had expected. And while there were some parts that were intense (trust me; for a non-cook like myself, boiling noodles successfully is intense) it wasn't fun.
Hmm. What can I do to make it more fun; thereby making me WANT to do it?
I was watching "Worst Cooks in America" last night on the Food Network channel and their first challenge was to create a hamburger with anything they wanted. This made me sit up. I've cooked hamburgers before; a means to an end as I've said previously. But to CREATE my own signature burger? Wow....the endless possibilities!
And if I can create my own burger, what next? Couldn't I create pretty much anything? No, I still don't know enough about flavors to know what would and wouldn't work but I'm pretty sure that's what most cooks enjoy. Making it their own.
Sure, I'm still going to use recipes. There are quite a few I've seen that seem a tad difficult but might be worth trying at least once. But I'm going to learn to be brave and try flavors that I normally wouldn't put together. Sort of like finger-painting as a child. Just let it flow!
So, as soon as I come up with a recipe, I will post and let everyone know. Wish me luck!
My first dinner the other night went well; better than I had expected. And while there were some parts that were intense (trust me; for a non-cook like myself, boiling noodles successfully is intense) it wasn't fun.
Hmm. What can I do to make it more fun; thereby making me WANT to do it?
I was watching "Worst Cooks in America" last night on the Food Network channel and their first challenge was to create a hamburger with anything they wanted. This made me sit up. I've cooked hamburgers before; a means to an end as I've said previously. But to CREATE my own signature burger? Wow....the endless possibilities!
And if I can create my own burger, what next? Couldn't I create pretty much anything? No, I still don't know enough about flavors to know what would and wouldn't work but I'm pretty sure that's what most cooks enjoy. Making it their own.
Sure, I'm still going to use recipes. There are quite a few I've seen that seem a tad difficult but might be worth trying at least once. But I'm going to learn to be brave and try flavors that I normally wouldn't put together. Sort of like finger-painting as a child. Just let it flow!
So, as soon as I come up with a recipe, I will post and let everyone know. Wish me luck!
The Results Are In....
....And it didn't turn out too badly. Not for a first effort, anyway. The sauce turned out rather well but the pork chops were slightly overcooked. But all in all, my guinea pig (er, roommate/friend) said it tasted pretty good.
First of all, I'd like to thank her for being there with support and helpful advice (She's good at this whole kitchen thing) and second of all, READ the whole recipe. I read the recipe probably about 15 times. Read through the ingredients, read through the instructions...the whole enchilada. It wasn't until I was cooking the pork chops and wondering what was taking so long that I realized that the recipe called for BONELESS pork chops. Mine were thick and definitely still had the bone.
Don't know how I missed that but I did. That'll teach me to "skim" over what I'm reading.
And for those of you that would like to try this recipe, the sauce came out a little thin; add a little corn starch to thicken it if you'd like (The house cooking guru says don't forget to mix the corn starch with cold water first BEFORE adding it to the sauce and add while sauce is boiling)
Thanks to everyone for their support. It helps a lot to have people that believe in you even if you're not so sure yourself. I'm adding a pic or two to show you how it turned out. Let me know what you think!
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