Hey friend, how’s your day? Strangely warm in these parts, supposedly heating up to chinook temperatures in a couple of days. Which is all well and good when one lives in Calgary, but here in the cradle of the great lakes it’s a bit strange. I hope things are okay where you are, and you’re getting a bit of goodness accomplished on your own behalf. Things are moving along here, and I seem to be sneaking up on baking again. Gingersnaps the other day, and my mum’s scone recipe today. I used to have the process down, but today I needed to consult the book of rules. And of course I forgot that half the recipe is more than enough for one. But as a first go they weren’t bad. I think I’ll try again later in the week and see if I can get things a little more dependable. I don’t mind using a recipe, especially for baking, but I have to admit some of my favourite cooking moments have come from improvisation. Being willing to fail has its advantages, sometimes when you least expect it.
I remember I had decided to enjoy the tortellini and went looking for a sauce. Ah, I discover my roommates have used up the last of the tomato sauce I put in the freezer. No problem, I’ll improvise a cream sauce. I start, as many good things do, by melting a little butter. Now I had just been watching my mum using her microwave for gravies and custards and such, so I figured it was time that I got with the program. So, butter in a bowl and into the microwave. Melted nicely, I decide to throw in a little organic flour just to give it a bit of body, then a bit of cream, and maybe a bit more flour because it’s looking a bit thin and there’s no parmesan. I put my attention to the pasta and get the tortellini started, then back to the sauce. I’m not quite getting the hang of this microwave thing, it doesn’t look quite right yet, so I decide to add a little more flour, just a bit. Ah, that’s looking more useful. Okay, nuke it for a couple of minutes and turn my attention to the pasta. Hey, this is all working out, the pasta’s ready and drained and onto the plate just as the microwave beeps. Feeling a bit pleased with myself, I open the door to get the sauce… and suddenly I’m looking at the most perfect, bowl-sized dumpling you have ever seen in your entire life. This is so unexpected, it’s like some bizarre magic act. For a moment my brain seizes totally. I look at the pasta, then at the dumpling, then back to the pasta. All that’s going through my mind is ‘Dumpling?!? Who ordered this?’ No, try as I may I can’t see a way of making this work. But of course I can’t make myself throw it out. It is after all the perfect dumpling. And it’s butter and organic flour and heavy cream. Well, first things first. Tortellini are very close to chinese dumplings, so a bit of soy will do for the sauce. Yes, this is nice, if unexpected, so I sit down and enjoy it.
And the dumpling? Not really thinking, I put a frying pan onto the hot burner, take the dumpling, flatten it onto the pan and keep an eye on things while I do the cleanup. Looks like it might be okay on one side, so I flip it over and repeat. I’m done the last of the dishes and have a look at my… er, dumpling. Except now it’s flat, and thin, and golden brown and beautifully crispy on the outside, and warm and a perfectly cooked cake-ish inside. Oh look, there’s a tiny bit of sugar to sprinkle on top. And so I follow my noodle main course with a desert you’d be happy to enjoy at a restaurant somewhere. I have no idea what it was. And could I do it again? Absolutely not. But it sure was good.
The saying is that if it’s not a good time chances are it’s a good story. However sometimes it is both. And sometimes, when you least expect it, there may well be dumplings.
Ask me how I know.