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Wednesday, July 15, 2020

Recipe reality check.

(I am still unable to access my photos after June - anyone else having trouble?)

Now that I am wading into zucchini season (oh, be still my heart!), I am constantly on the lookout for new recipes to keep the excitement going.  I ran across a humdinger recently and, after preparing it, decided that there should be a new standard of recipe-rating.

It should go thusly (based on totally random numbers)

Portions:  4 (#+ = three times that much if you are eat like a normal human)  (#- = less than 4 if you are not eating anything else)

Preparation: 30 minutes (XX = will take twice as long as you think) (XXX! = don't bother, unless you have a few days free)

Difficulty:  Easy/Intermediate/Culinary Institute Degree/Flaming Genius

Number of glasses of an adult beverage needed to make it through the recipe - 1= pleasant experience; 2 = slightly frustrating; 3 = you should have your head examined for even contemplating this recipe; 4 = you're drinking dinner tonight

Photo from How Sweet Eats
Now, when I look at this photo, I see a great and easy new way to fix zucchini.  When someone with a firmer grasp of reality looks at it, they may think, "hmm.  I would have to shave off thin, whole slices of multiple zucchini, which are never perfectly shaped, which would take special equipment to do it right, equipment that I don't have, and, even then, it would take at least an hour to achieve even some semblance of equally thin ribbons.  Then, let's think of the actual skewering.  Thousands of thin ribbons of fragile, uncooked vege, having to be painstakingly threaded onto wooden skewers (which you would have to remember to soak for an hour).  This threading process would be made quite a bit more difficult by the instructions to brush them all with the melted butter mixture first - ensuring that they slide all over the place, seldom get skewered in the center, break constantly, and a goodly amount will fall on the floor.  Where the dogs will lick off the butter, but not touch the vege.  You will then be forced to wash the floor, if you don't want a buttered surface to slide upon.  And never mind serving it as a side dish - you won't have any time or energy left to make anything else.

I did stick with it and am glad that I did, as it was delish.  However, the next time - giving myself enough time to forget how finicky it is - I will hire house elves and have them use the ribbon-maker part of my zoodler.



12 comments:

Debra She Who Seeks said...

I'm amazed at your perseverance. I would have quit at step one.

Susan said...

Same experience yesterday. I made muffins. Known for their simplicity of preparation and speedy completion right? These babies had 18 ingredients. A 100 different actions (this may be an exaggeration), it felt like a 100. Anyways-they are divine. They are for a small family gathering, the kids grown and un grown are going to love them and ask me to make more. I am preparing myself not to snap at anyone when they do. BTW it is seven months since our small family has been together.

ellen abbott said...

I made eggplant parmesan last summer. it was an involved recipe with many steps which should have taken just a couple of hours and took me all afternoon because instead of the regular big eggplants it called for I was using my many small skinny japanese eggplants from my garden. it was delicious but I will never use that recipe again even with the big eggplants.

Nancy In Boise said...

OMG that's funny. Prep shouldn't be that hard!

Steve Reed said...

Ha! I've been trapped in that oh-my-god-why-did-i-choose-this-recipe zone before! I wish we could see photos of your finished product!

Michelle said...

I have a finely honed ability to recognize recipes needing undue effort and AVOID THEM LIKE THE PLAGUE!

Carolyn said...

It's zucchini.....how can someone make something so "simple" so complicated?!? LOL I'm glad you trudged through the recipe, so the rest of us know NOT to have any plans other than making zuke spirals for the day.

tpals said...

I love it when your posts make me laugh. Thank you for taking one for the team.

Mama Pea said...

Frankly, I think the picture looks like someone dropped a few zucchinis in the grass and then ran over them with a lawn mower. I once made a stuffed zucchini recipe that took me about two hours to put together. Since then I'm a great one for zucchini bread. That I can handle.

www.self-sufficientsam.blogspot.com said...

I am with you girlfriend! And forget those Pinterest recipes! Many of them are by people who just make them up I think! To me, the perfect recipe is easy, cheap, quick, and delicious. If it doesn't meet those qualifications it doesn't make it into the recipe box!
We used to say "roll up your car windows, it's zucchini season"! LOL!

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

It looks good, but yeah, I like to roast mine in a pan on the grill. I hope it rains here today to help speed up my garden harvest. It's on the the slow side right now.

Retired Knitter said...

Ha! I buy my zucchini bread - not as good as home made - but it sides steps the making process. Of course, I don't have a garden producing veggies either.