A few years ago I experienced a rather epic cooking fail and I was reminded of it last week when I accidentally made exploding falafels.
You know those moments when despite all of your best laid plans and well executed ideas, your dinner somehow ends up looking perfect for the dog, or the bin? Well on this occasion it was not even suitable for either of those options.
I was cooking a recipe from one of George Colombaris’ recipe books using risoni. It was a little bit like this recipe here. I had a baby, a toddler and a young child.
I ended up with a burn, face full of tears and one less saucepan in my cupboard. After becoming distracted at a crucial stage in the recipe I burnt that risoni so firmly onto the bottom of the pan that nothing was going to remove it. The pan was eventually taken to the trash which is also where all reference to the incident was sent with one glaring tear stained dirty look.
These days I sagely assume that such disasters are bound to happen occasionally when one sleep deprived Mum is outnumbered by three children. This is also the excuse I used for that time I decided it would be a good idea to eat cake for lunch and I am sticking with it.
But with five mouths to feed what is the best way to recover when your dinner plans go very wrong?
Well I recently put the question to my Facebook group which started a great discussion about what to eat when your dinner plans fail. Here they are for your reading pleasure and to perhaps save you from crying behind the couch (as my daughter recently told a stranger is what I sometimes do) next time things go wrong.
So next time you are cooking and things take a dramatic turn for the worst, don’t panic, don’t hide from your children behind the couch and don’t have a tantrum and throw your saucepan in the bin. Get it together and remember these great ideas
D Dumplings. Golden syrup dumplings to be exact, but any fast, filling food already in your fridge will do. Feel free to add a piece of fruit and a sliced cucumber to give the air of healthy eating. Warning: this approach is not endorsed by any dietitian anywhere. Ever.
O Order In. Take-away, of any kind. Pizza, Thai, Indian. Just someone who is kind enough to bring their goods to your house. Best to have this number somewhere easy to find. Sit on the couch and watch celebrities eat weird things in the jungle while you wait. No matter how big your mistake was, at least you didn’t end up with compost juice. I assume….
Baked Beans. They were good enough for the Australian Cricket team and they are good enough for you too. Add random bits of salad from your fridge to make the meal look more exciting. Bulk it up with bread for growing teenagers.
Brinner, otherwise known as breakfast for dinner. A timeless, classic, genius approach.Cereal, toast, yoghurt with fruit, bacon and eggs. Turn your meals upside down and anything goes. “It’s kind of hard to beat brinner.”
Eggs. In all honesty, the most sensible and wholesome option. Be it fried, boiled, scrambled or made into an omelette this seemed to be the number one idea of what to eat when all else fails. Eggs are a great and inexpensive source of protein and contain vitamin B2, selenium, vitamin D, B6, B12, zinc, iron and copper among other things. So I guess you really cannot go wrong eating eggs for dinner on occasion.
So what is your solution to a cooking disaster?
Here is a little recipe is cooked up during my most recent recipe fail which is affectionately known as the day of the exploding falafel.
Softly boil your eggs for 4-6 minutes depending upon size. You will want them to be cooked through but with a soft yolk.
Cover the base of a good sized pan with hot water and add some brocillini. Cook until just tender. This should take about 3-5 minutes and a lot of the water will cook off during this time (but don’t let it dry out completely).
Add some chilli flakes or fresh chilli toward the end of the cooking time and then 1-2 tablespoons of Oyster sauce. Heat through.
Serve on a plate of salad with sauce drizzled over the top and your eggs on top.
Enjoy.
Dani xx