The Despair and The Hope of Another Culinary Endeavour

Lately I've been going through one of my culinary phases, usually brought on by one of the mouth-wateringly detailed stories my sister brings me from her own kitchen. It also might have had something to do with my recent voyage into Pinterest and the eye-catching recipes it holds. Either way, the other night I was captivated by the desire to pull out a particularly tempting recipe and give it a try.

The weather has been particularly grey and drizzly, so I was in the mood for soup. The recipe in question was for a Butternut Squash Soup with Bacon and Apple, the recipe for which can be found here. In the picture you'll notice the pretty, inviting orange colour of the thick, delicious looking soup.

Seems good, right? Unfortunately, mine did not turn out that way. Instead it was a sickly greenish brown sludge, too watery and lumpy. If I'd known I'd be bloggging about it, I would have taken a picture, but trust me when I say it did not look very appetizing. As for the taste, it wasn't horrible but it sure wasn't good. My husband, sweetheart that he is, ate the whole thing and tried to tell me it was good. But I'm just not that good at lying to myself. It was bad and the whole pot went in the trash.

Normally, a failure such as this would put an end to my culinary endeavours for a while, but this time I would not be dissuaded. The very next night, after hearing about a great homemade gnocchi recipe from a coworker (recipe can be found here), I decided to give it another try. I went home and made it, as well as some Acorn Squash to go on the side. (I don't know why I've been so into squash lately, perhaps all the cold and drizzle?) This time: success!! I did as the recipe suggested and pan fried the gnocchi with butter and garlic. Delicious. And my acorn squash? Equally successful.

The best part? After lamenting my failed soup on twitter (follow me @MelanieKCole), my friend Amy Jo Ehman sent me a link to one of her blog posts with her favourite Squash soup recipe. (Find it here). It seems there may be hope for me after all! I can't wait to try her soup recipe, not to mention trying to make the sweet potato gnocchi. If I can make regular gnocchi, sweet potato can't be that hard right? (Famous last words).