The Making of a Dinner

Some days one of my favorite parts of the day is when I get to make dinner. I can't say this is everyday because many times I like to just eat out. On those other days though, I can treat dinner just like I might treat a painting. You start out with a blank canvas, and slowly you add some color until your picture is formed. It's obviously best if you have an idea of what you are making before you begin. Many times, I just have my base figured out. Tonight, for example, I felt like having chili. Now Ryan really doesn't like normal chili so I had to think outside of the box. I got out the chili basics: the ground beef, chili beans, and the tomatoes. From there, I had to use a little more creativity. I noticed I had leftover spaghetti noodles in the fridge. In college they would sometimes add spaghetti to chili. So, I fried up my onions and beef in the pan, added my chili and tomatoes and spices. We'll call that the base coat on the canvas. I noticed, my chili was pretty sparse having only used a can of each and a small quantity of beef. I remembered that I had leftover V-8 from my tomato craving time. I added some of that for liquid, some sugar to sweeten it all up and cut the spice a little, and then the spaghetti. Before I was done, additions of salt and seasonings, a little more juice, etc had to be made, but that's the way it is with any work of art before it can be said to be "done". It's not that I find recipes to be out of the question. I do use them, but let's say more often than not, I renew them. Next time you make dinner, don't think of it as a chore (I do this at times). Think of it as creating a work of art. Prep your canvas, and see where you go from there.