Talking it Out

I have a solution for every time I misplace something, be it keys, cell phone or a book. I have found that if I tell someone about it then I seem to find it soon after. I am not sure why this works but perhaps in some deep recess of the mind an electrical impulse is triggered and you are led to where the item is. At any rate I use this method of locating lost items. I even called my sister Ruth in Ohio once to tell her I had lost something. She just laughed. But really, one morning I was ready to leave for an appointment and I could not find my keys. I was getting desperate. I called my friend Bob and told him not to leave his house until I found my keys, as I had locked myself in. Fortunately it was not necessary for after the call I found the keys and could exit the house and drive to my destination. That was when I had multiple keys made. One was kept in my purse and the other near my door.

This habit of telling someone has some merit, I believe. Here is a twist on the idea. Yesterday I made a peach cobbler to take to a church dinner. I had offered to do this and it was expected. After I had put it in the oven, I had a mental tugging of the brain and went back to look at the recipe to be sure I had put in all of the ingredients. I know it sounds really crazy, but I did look and my inner warning was correct. I had left out the leavening for the topping. Oh dear, what to do. I called my neighbor and told her what had happened. She was not much help, but while talking to her I began to wonder if I could use a slotted spoon and remove the topping which had no leavening and replace it with a new topping. I had never done that sort of thing before but I could not let my friends down on the cobbler. So, out of the oven came the cobbler. I quickly mixed a new topping of flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and butter. The trick is to add 1/4 cup of boiling water, mix and spoon it over the hot peaches. Being in a hurry I used my hands and applied the batter in blobs all over the peaches. As per the instructions I added sugar and cinnamon over the top. Then back into the over for 35 minutes, not 30 as instructed. I wanted to be sure the batter had fully baked.

Well, let me tell you that this peach cobbler was a definite favorite at the dinner. People came over to my table to tell me how wonderful it was. I just smiled and said thank you. No need to go into the saga of the missing ingredient, especially when it had been corrected.

I learn from my mistakes. The next time I follow a recipe I will be absolutely sure that I am wearing my glasses. Before I started to make this dish, I told myself I needed to go upstairs, retrieve my glasses to wear while cooking. That way I would be seeing very clearly what I needed to be doing.

Just in case you are wondering where this great recipe came from, I found it on allrecipes.com.,