We’ve all had this happen. You are in the middle of baking or cooking, or maybe even have already finished and you realized you forgot to add one of the ingredients. Now what do you do? Obviously, you should first panic for at least a minute. Throw your arms up and lament at how no one will ever want to eat anything you made ever again and everyone will think you are a terrible cook or baker. Frantically contemplate what other ingredients you have in the house and try to come up with a new plan for what to make to replace what you just ruined. Now that you have done that (I know all about this, having use this technique myself over the years), it is time for the next step.
Step two is quite simple and speedy. Take a deep breath. In and out. Repeat at least two times. Great job.
Now you can proceed to step three. In step three, you have three choices and directions you can take. Option one is to pick a new recipe and make it, carefully following every ingredient and step. Option two is to try to come up with a plan on your own for salvaging the dish you created. Contemplate everything you know about baking and cooking and try to come up with a solution. You could also call a friend for help with this, in case they know more about the subject than you do. You can even contact me through my forum, my website, or my social media accounts and I will try to assist. Option three is the boldest and most daring option. Taste it. Depending on what you left out and how far along in the cooking or baking process you are, you can choose to finish making your dish and try it out. At least half the time, it will taste great. It might be different than it was supposed to be; different texture, different look, different aroma. But different isn’t always bad and sometimes you discover a new and tasty dish when failing to create the first one correctly. I know this too, as I have definitely used option three on more than one occasion.
So, if you ruined your soup or cookies by not following the directions correctly, at least you now have a blueprint for what to do next. And remember, if you were so bold as to choose option three and it tastes good, make sure to write down what you did so you can mess up your recipe again in just the same way in the future. Bon Appetit!
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