It’s been a dicey few weeks here at Soupalooza. Burned beef. Exploding eggplants. Sticky stovetops. Messes galore!
A few observations about cooking when tired:
- Soup needs liquid. Yes, that seems pretty obvious, but I couldn’t , for the life of me, understand why I was burning the beef in the Vegetable Beef Soup I was making until I realized I forgot to add the water!
- When blending hot soup, make sure to hang on to the top of the blender (with a dishcloth firmly in hand). Know what happens when you don’t? You might be scraping Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Soup from the ceiling.
- It might be best to make one soup at a time. I was trying to make a vegan version of Curried Butternut Squash Soup and a non-vegan version of Curried Cream of Pumpkin Soup with Apples at the same time. It took two hours to clean the sticky orange residue off the stove.
I only bring up my latest disasters as a cautionary tale. Even seasoned cooks can make mistakes. In all three cases, I was cooking when I was tired, distracted and generally out of sorts.
In other words, I was not being mindful. If there’s one thing that’s required in the kitchen, it’s mindfulness.
First off, it’s a dangerous place full of sharp edges, intense heat and glass objects! The potential for catastrophe is high. This is no place to be day dreaming!
More importantly, cooking soup should be a labor of love. You are creating something warm and soulful to be shared with others.
If that doesn’t call for your complete attention, then nothing does.