Hey Friends! How’s it goin?
I don’t have a new recipe for you today because I’ve been having a hell of a time coming up with recipes I want to share. My imagination is still going strong but execution has been a little meh. I’ve had some good, not so good and even great things come out of the kitchen but one thing or another has left me without a recipe I actually I want to share.
But never fear, I’ve still got some pictures of yummy-looking, if not yummy, foods for you too stare at, while I vent about my lack of kitchen prowess for the last week.
What I Ate Wednesday (but didn’t always enjoy)
First up we’ve got the pumpkin-chocolate muffins that failed not once, but twice. This is the recipe I was trying to perfect way back when I went on my pumpkin strike. I’d just gotten some new silicone muffin liners and was excited to try them out but the muffins were a flop. I ended up with gooey muffins that tasted okay, but had the weirdest texture ever. I’m blamed the liners and haven’t used them since.
Then there was last week when I remade these double chocolate chip cookies to update the images but of course, I forgot to add the baking powder and baking soda. They actually tasted pretty good – I had three people tell me they preferred them that way – but by then the cookies were done I hadn’t done a proper photo shoot. Oh well.
My second attempt at a recipe for last week was these still unnamed apple-pear-donut-cake-cookie-fritter things. Taste: amazing. Texture: strange but not bad. Aesthetics: failure. They were flat and weirdly shaped and I couldn’t actually name them so into my belly they went, and the Brown Rice Pudding was born.
And now this week. The final straw that broke this camel ExSloth’s back.
Over the weekend I attempted to make roasted pumpkin and finally knocked cooking with an actual pumpkin off my fall bucket list! The happiness was short lived, though, because I paired the pumpkin with cauliflower rice. I hate cauliflower. But, I picked up the most beautiful purple cauliflower at the farmers’ market two weekends ago because purple is my favourite colour. I had high hopes that the cauliflower would magically taste amazing because it was purple. Cliff Notes Version: My roommates loved it, I thought it was horrible and I’m once again hating on pumpkin by association.
Finally, the recipe that almost made the cut. The taste and texture of these breakfast biscuits were amazing. They literally tasted just like a variation of the buttermilk biscuits my mother used to make and I could. not. stop. eating. them. I even did a full photo shoot before I thought of some changes that might make them rise a little more. So I decided to wait before sharing.
Not pictured are the chocolate breakfast cookies that were soft and chewy but left me craving a sugar injection, and the ah-freaking-mazing brownies that were just begging to be shared. Unfortunately, we ate most of them the night I made them and there wasn’t enough left to take pictures of the next day. I can’t even be mad about that because they were so damn good.
The good news is: I’ve had loads and loads of opportunities to practice my food photography…
What about you?
Any share-worthy stories of recipe failures recently? Do you get discouraged from baking and/or cooking when you have one too many failures in the kitchen? Which one of these do you wish had made the cut?
Share in the comments below!
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Linking up with: WIAW, Thinking out Loud
Too funny! I have not been baking too much lately so not many fails there. But I made spagetti squash my usual way last week and it was terrible! Everything was just off and it did not taste very good.
Lauren @ The Bikini Experiment recently posted…Weekly Grocery List for Two
Spaghetti squash is always a hit and miss for me. I got two at the farmers’ market last weekend and I’m praying they turn out right!!
I love that you shared this! We all have our flops now and then. That is the life of a food blogger!
Hannah @ CleanEatingVeggieGirl recently posted…WIAW: November 12, 2014
I took me a while to stop taking it as a failure and start looking at it as a learning experience. I wouldn’t exactly say I’m thankful for the flops, but I don’t get too angered by them anymore haha
I can totally relate! Some weeks it seems like all I have are recipe failures! Just last week I made an orange baked tofu that I expected to turn out amazing, but it just tasted bland. I don’t even know if I want to try to fix it or if I should just give up and move onto something else.
Those breakfast biscuits look like they have some serious potential. Can’t wait for the recipe!
Chelsea @ Chelsea’s Healthy Kitchen recently posted…Apple butter granola
Deciding whether to keep trying at the same recipe or move on is hard for me as well. I don’t want to admit defeat, but sometimes two flavours just shouldn’t go together LOL
So true. :[ I tried making mini Dutch babies the other day, and they basically turned out looking nothing like it. Definitely gonna have to tweak that recipe around [by a lot]. ;_;
Farrah recently posted…Biscoff Twix Popcorn
Oh don’t even get me started on the recipes that don’t LOOK like what they’re supposed to. That’s a whole other post haha
Good luck with the Dutch babies!
I REFUSE to ever let my recipes “die”! I always some how save a recipe. Failure is not an option 😉
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine recently posted…Sweet Pumpkin & Bell Pepper Sprouted Black Eyed Peas
Well when your muffins or cupcakes come out the oven hard enough to break teeth, there’s nothing you can really do about it lol But good for you!
There was this one time I tried to make pancakes for my friend.. and burnt them. Followed by waffles… and burnt them, then french toast (burnt). Yeah, that actually happened. It’s because I was using this awfully dense spelt/hemp flour.
Hahahaha
Jo @ Living Mint Green recently posted…I’m in love!
Ugh I hate learning to cook with new flours. Coconut flour is the WORST for me. It took me forever to figure it out, and just when I thought I got it, I messed it up. We’re on a break right now.
When all else fails, I slather it in almond butter and call it good
But in all seriousness, I know what you mean about getting discouraged over flops. The last one that comes to mind is an oatmeal cookie recipe that I failed at multiple times and had multiple meltdowns over. The way I see it… flops teach you the ins and outs of what works and what doesn’t, and just give you a better outcome in the end. Or at least that’s what I try to tell myself when I’m ready to throw my baking pans out the window…
Amanda @ .running with spoons. recently posted…. four foods i won’t eat… and other nonsense .
Girl, you hit the nail on the head with the throwing the baking pans out the window thing. The only thing that saved mine was the mesh y’all love to cover windows with here in Canada LOL
But seriously, failures are definitely a learning experience, but it does get really trying after the 2nd and 3rd time.
All of that definitely qualified for yummy looking! Also, I just followed you on social medias and you immediately followed back so way to be on your game! Hahaha. I’m not a huge baker, and I think baking is where most “failures” can occur in the kitchen. Cooking/grilling doesn’t seem to involve as much precision. I can’t think of a kitchen failure I’ve had lately… and with it being soup season now, it’s really hard to mess up soup!
Chris recently posted…I’m Getting Stronger
haha I’m good at being on top of SM cuz I can do it from my phone, but blog comments are another ball game. Takes me ages to get to those…
And you’re right about soup being easy to fixif you go wrong somewhere. Yay for winter & soup season? lol
I’m glad I’m not the only one who’s had recipes fail! They do look good, as a matter of fact. I think I’m going to whip up some muffins.
Leslie recently posted…Stella’s Roo Stew Doggy Dinner
Hope your muffins turned out better than mine did, Leslie! lol
haha yes, happens to me daily! but i still eat it, or turn it into a healthy bite.. it works, yes?
Lindsay recently posted…3 Ways to REINVENT Yourself
Glad I’m not alone! And I still manage to eat most of my failed recipes but sharing them on the blog is another matter lol
I ALWAYS make my failed recipes work, LOL!!!! I will eat anything and everything because I hate wasting food! lol
GiGi Eats recently posted…Mean Girls Is Quite The Holiday Movie
Oh I definitely eat most of my failed recipes (except for this one time my cupcakes literally turned out like rocks stuck to the bottom of the pan) but I wouldn’t share them on the blog.
I hate cauliflower too! I thought I was the only one, lol! I made coconut flour pancakes this weekend. I’m pretty good in the kitchen, but pancakes are my kryptonite. The ones I didn’t burn tasted great, but I cannot flip a pancake to save my life. #fail
Ree recently posted…truffles are just so yummy!
FINALLY someone else who understands my plight! My roommates think I’m crazy for not eating the cauliflower rice haha
And I hardly ever make traditional pancakes cuz my flipping skills are the worst. Pancake loaves and pancake muffins are my friends these days lol
I love seeing that a food blogger messes up too! Makes me feel a lot better when my cookies turn into hockey pucks. ha ha
Jen @ Pretty Little Grub recently posted…Amazing race audition & all the peanut butter
LOL you’re welcome Jen 😀
Well good to know that about the silicone muffin pans. I really have been wanting to try them out. The breakfast biscuits look really good and I’ve got to hear more about these brownies! 🙂
I mean, I like ugly food, so, disclaimer. But those apple pear donut cake idk what anymore things look pretty good.
Love seeing all the duds. Makes the good recipes even more worth it. 🙂
Kay @ Kay Bueno recently posted…Sweat Republic Surf Set Review
This is fab! So refreshing to know I’m not alone in fails 🙂
Oh Giselle, this made me laugh so much – as I mentioned to you on twitter the first time I read it! And the synchronicity was amazing. I was writing a blog post about my own failures and yours popped up on my Twitter feed. I am truly glad I’m not the only one who has disasters in the kitchen. 😀
I’ve had a lot of failed recipes. Probably more than successful ones:)
Laina Turner recently posted…Gems & Gunshots – a cozy mystery
I used to get so upset over baking fails, but now I just kind of giggle and move on. It has taken me months to make a vegan mugcake that wasn’t super dense or mush, but I finally did it! All the fails are always worth it when something turns out!
Leah recently posted…Coconut Chai Ice Cream
You’re not alone in the failed recipe story!! I’ve botched quite a few recipes…some simultaneously while the smoke alarm is going off…yeah, that was last week:) But it’s all part of the learning experience, right?!
Faith VanderMolen recently posted…Chocolate Oat Milk
This was great. I still want to make those apple fritter cookies… they look delicious to me.
Silicon liners are tricky. You have to bake things a little longer and let them totally cool before taking them out 🙂
Cassie recently posted…Cuban Black Bean and Quinoa Veggie Burger
I am a bad baker, but a good cook lolzzz