Sometimes I wish that I could go back in time and discover the roots of perfection. I’d really like to understand why human kind has a burning desire to do everything perfectly. I know that doing a job well is important for a sense of self-achievement and an overall positive self esteem, but for crying out loud…is it necessary to make such a large fuss when things aren’t done perfectly?! I did a Google search for “fail proof” and “fool proof”. Care to guess how many millions of hits the search returned?
- How to “Fail Proof” Your Day and Your Life – I suppose this one could be renamed, “How to become an overachieving perfectionist”
- 9 Fail Proof Tips for Eating Healthy at Social Gatherings – Please don’t get me started on the mass hysteria surrounding perfect weight loss!
The need to be fail-proof kicks in very early in life. Personally, I remember the panic over art class in the 4th grade. I just knew that my origami wouldn’t look as perfect as Heather’s did. She was the preteen equivalent of Ansel Adams…gifted beyond extraordinary. I think the need for perfection continues throughout our late adolescence and early adulthood because of blog posts like this one: Fail Proof Your 20’s; One Simple Step to a Freaking Fail-Proof Life
Good grief, Charlie Brown! What’s wrong with a little failure?
Here’s another example:
I eavesdropped on overheard a conversation between two food bloggers on Twitter a few days ago. One was telling the other that she had spent 3 days perfecting her cake so that it would be perfect for her blog. I’m sorry, but if it takes you three days to get a dish “perfect” enough for presentation, you are trying WAY too hard. Never mind the fact that a perfectionist will never make it in the food industry where everything is about speed of production. So your fondant had a dimple… big deal… I happen to love dimples! Look how cute they are:
Besides, failure can actually be healthy. If we didn’t fail now and then, we’d never learn from our misteaks umm…. Misstakes… oh crap…
“Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, only this time more wisely.”
~ Henry Ford
In perfect culinary form, here are a couple of incredibly easy recipes, which I hope you make and enjoy. When you’re finished, please go out and have a perfectly wonderful weekend!
Photo and recipe courtesy of 10 Buck Dinners
Photo and recipe courtesy of Taste of Home
A Fox In The Kitchen 