Attempts, valiant and vain

The other day, I was going through my kitchen drawers, taking stock of what I have versus what I've lost in the move. By some great fortune, I found my candy thermometer! I had just been flipping through my Halloween cookbook and read a recipe for pumpkin fudge. It sounded good so after a quick jaunt to the store, I had everything I needed to get started. I followed the instructions (I thought) to the letter, and soon I had a bubbling pot of orange goo ready to turn into yummy treats. I took it off the heat, stirred in the butter, and waited for it to cool before the final mix and panning. As the hours passed and the pot remained molten-lava hot, and was taking on the consistency of cement, I figured something had gone awry, the word crystallized sprung readily to mind. Growling to myself the whole time, I poured the mess into the pan anyway, figuring it'll be easier to throw away when it's hardened rather than dumping culinary napalm in the garbage or down the sink. I tried, I failed. But I'll try again.

I've been getting better at my various positions at work. When I first started working salads, my initial prep (chopping heads of lettuce for the day) took me two hours. The past few times, it's only taken 45 minutes, and that's to chop, clean, spin, and tray up several pounds of lettuce. My speed has been improving, as well as my multitasking. I can face a sudden slew of tickets that would've had me from a month ago run screaming into the night. And now, I've been made their primary day salad station person! Hard work pays off!

...as does getting along with my coworkers. There was one who at first didn't like me, distinctly. His name is Jos`e and he had very little patience with "la gringa". Then we worked together one night, he was on saute, right next to the salads, and we just started talking. Food, life in general, condensed backstories, that kind of thing. It totally turned it around. I even gave him one of my favorite recipes, written from memory on the back of a ticket, and we've gotten along great ever since.

I'm visiting my parents today, and my mom just told me about an hour ago that she's in the mood to try some new recipes. We've spent a fun evening going through a few cookbooks together, picking out ones that have potential to go over well. We've found several that sound like something she could do. I can't wait to hear if she enjoys it as much as I do! I love spreading the love of food. She already loves food, but I think the actual cooking part leaves her a bit intimidated. I'm glad she's trying to break out of her comfort levels and try something new.