Recipe by Giada de Laurentiis courtesy of food.com
I did it again! I accumulate crap like no one else. Not like those hoarders on TV but I can hold my own with “normal” people. (Definition of normal person: Someone like me.)
I was cleaning off the top of my desk. I do that monthly (ok, maybe not monthly). I have piles of stuff I want to read or spend more time looking at or want to keep. This is a good time to I revisit and act or discard.
It’s funny how time changes things.
This round I had a group of recipes. What was I thinking? At this stage my cooking is freestyle with what I have on hand. When you know the basics, you don’t need recipes except for baking.
One was for some desert thing where you used three processed products to create a wonderful (yes, it said so) dessert. I looked at it and wondered why I kept it. I’d never make it. The beloved husband wouldn’t eat it and if I wanted a cherry turnover I would buy ONE at a bakery.
The next one said “Healthy Shrimp Fried Rice.” Do I really need a recipe for that? Nope!
There was one for chicken piccata. That dish is always my downfall. I love it when I go out to an Italian restaurant but I can’t duplicate it at home.
All the recipes call for way too much butter so I cut back. The lemon makes it too tart so I add some sugar. In the end it doesn’t taste the way I want it. I keep printing recipes hoping to find a miracle answer somewhere. Never happens.
At the bottom of my “read more” pile was an ad for a local play that is over. That one won’t need a decision. I should check the reviews. Maybe it wasn’t so good anyway.
I found some reminders so I made appointments to get my car inspected, get a mammogram and make restaurant reservations.
It was a worthwhile adventure (except for the chicken piccata). I promised myself that I wouldn’t wait so long next time. We all know that won’t happen. Then again it’s almost tax time. Gotta start taxes with a clean desk top.
Views and Mews by Coffee Kat 
Kate … I know what you mean. I am crestfallen when I stumble across a great coupon I saved only to discover that it expired long ago. Sigh. 😉
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You must have REALLY needed that item!
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I had to smile about the recipes – my biped looks at recipes but rarely follows them.
She did recently try making the so-called banana pancakes that are everywhere on social media. You just mix bananas and eggs. If you’re careful you can make it look like a pancake when you cook it, but when she tasted it she said, “Big mistake! It tastes like banana omelette.”
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It doesn’t sound good but I’m not a big banana person. Maybe throwing a banana in pancake batter would work. On Facebook I have found that if it sounds too easy, it probably won’t work.
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I can relate! I very seldom use recipes ~ but then, I very seldom cook any more. And there’s a big, mysterious pile of papers on my desk. I have no idea what’s really lurking in there.
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As long as it’s not overdue bills, you’re good. I find most of my lurkers are junk items disguised as something interesting.
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Yeah, what were we thinking!!?
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Throwing away stuff you saved is like what George Carlin said about Leftovers, something like “Leftovers make you feel good twice. You feel smart when you save them. And you feel smart when they are covered with mold and you throw them away.” So congrats of being smart twice (and congrats on getting on WP “Discover” – I got there too – right near you!”
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I did? I couldn’t find either one of us on it. I just “discovered” it this week when I was looking for Freshly Pressed which I guess is gone. I don’t remember seeing a notice on it but then again I seem to always be behind on WP news. Maybe there are different versions?
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Oh, so sorry! I was on the wrong page.. I was on Followed Sites and not Discover! But hey, you get my vote for “Discovered!”
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Well thanks!
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I just was sent an email that I was going to be on the Discover page. But now I see that it hasn’t happened yet. I wrote about being fearful of dementia in my later years… well it appears it has already happened!
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Congrats! Then Discover is the new Freshly Pressed!
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Yes, it appears to be…. we’ll see, I guess
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My desktop is always cluttered. That’s the only way I can find things. Put items in files and they’re gone forever. Clearly I’m not a disciple of KonMari.
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There are black holes in my office. Maybe my whole house. My husband lost socks in the fall he is still mourning.
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I love going through my piles and realizing things have expired or taken place like your play. At first I’m disappointed, then I sell myself the story that I must not have needed it.
Maybe your recipes were reminders to make dinner reservations and hit that bakery!
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That’s a very positive attitude. I like it!
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Wow – that is an old habit Kate! I haven’t cut out recipes since the last century….or cleared out my desk either. At least I know there wont be recipes there. 👀
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Most are printed versions of recipes from the internet although I do cut one occasionally.
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Nothing like tax time to remind us to clear the clutter off our desks. I did a deep clean of my desk area about a month ago, and I’ve been trying to be diligent about not letting the piles creep back, but like you, (does that make me normal?), I also tend to clip recipes, even though the chances of me actually making them are slim to none. I clipped one for a cinnamon strudel, which made me hungry for cinnamon strudel for at least a month, but nope, never did get around to trying out the recipe. My sister came for a visit, and I talked her into making homemade cinnamon buns, which was better than any recipe I had gathering dust on my desk, that’s for sure! So I suppose you could say the recipe was the inspiration, even though it never made it off my desk. 🙂
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With a non-sweet eating husband, things don’t get eaten. I find if I’m hungry for something like that, I’ll go buy it at a high quality bakery. However, there is nothing like fresh cinnamon buns coming out of the oven. I remember the time that my Mom and I made donuts. OMG! They were so good. I think I ate close to a dozen! (They were small…no really!) Taxes, boogers! Can they make it anymore complicated?
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I’m sure I have recipes on my desk that I’ll never use, too. Mostly because they’re under all the clutter.
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Here I thought all the clutter was in your attic!
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Oh its spreading. 😀
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Once a month?! For me, that would be a miracle. You’re right, it’s funny how time changes things. Why didn’t I throw out that piece of paper immediately? I should have known I’d never do anything with it or have time to read it. Long ago my sister-in-law passed on a bit of advice she learned when getting her MBA: Handle each piece of paper only once. Her house looks like she follows that advice. I’ve never been able to do it.
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Yes I got that advice too. I do it with mail but not with things that take time. As an example, I kept out my car insurance info because I want to revisit it. I hate doing that kind of stuff because it means phone work with real people. Yuk!
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I just need a bigger desk. That’s all.
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Yes and then a bigger moving truck!
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Don’t mention taxes. They are still in the back of my mind! Right this minute I’m going through old fabric scraps wondering what I was thinking. Some are only big enough for Barbie clothes and we all know I’m not going there! Like you, I’ve thrown out numerous recipes. We all have crazy thoughts at times Kate! ~Elle
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Sometimes I wonder if I know myself…
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My desk is clean as a whistle!
For now, anyway.
I love it when decisions are made via pro-crastination.
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My desk will be good for at least 2 weeks because I won’t want anything on it. Then a paper will get pushed to the corner and another put on top. It’s a slippery slope.
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You have inspired me – need to clean off my desk too. I confess I am a recipe hoarder too and can’t resist a cook book but usually prefer freestyle most of the time.
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I used to collect recipe books. Several years ago during one of my early cleaning out sessions, I donated all but about 30 of my favorites (which I rarely use). I love cooking (mostly) and like learning new things but I stopped buying special ingredients that I use for one dish and some ethnic dishes are easier to get as take-out than to make.
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I did a massive clean-up in January. I’ve kept so many magazine articles and clippings and old to-do lists and even recipes. I’ll never catch up. I’ve decided to stop trying.
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I used to save recipes big time. I would clip and put in a box. Eventually I threw the whole box out because it was too much to go through. With the wonder of the internet, if I want something I can google it. Also threw out all my “saved” magazines too. Now I deal with my desk which gets that clutter pile periodically.
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There are a few crazies out there that can keep a desk clean from clutter but I don’t know them and not sure I want to. Normal sounds good to me just the way you describe it.
There is only one way to duplicate restaurant recipes….drop a stick or more of butter into the equation and it will be delicious.
Then you can schedule your blood work…:)
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I don’t like people with clean desks either. It’s not normal. Butter? That’s the answer? It probably is. It’s better when I don’t see it all go in. I used to enjoy fried rice a lot more. Then I got it at a hibachi place where they put a big wad of butter (or some other grease) in it. Totally freaked me out.
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Yeah, butter is the secret ingredient for taste and calories…lots of calories…:)
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You are right. A friend of mine cooks for a local church’s functions. I asked her about a recipe and she uses dried potatoes for it. I asked about the taste and she said it depended on the butter. You need to use a lot to disguise the not fresh potato taste.
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Wow, did same I taped recepies to a notebook, than gave everything to VA, clean out closets!
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Starting with a clean area is always rewarding. I need to stop collecting!
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My TBR piles of magazines and articles are taking over. I’ll never catch up.
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My magazines and article to read are in another room. Fortunately I’m better about that or maybe it’s that we go through these periods of good TV drought. I’ll catch up on my reading with some dorky show as the backdrop.
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Your desk sounds like my desk! 🙂
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And it probably is. Be proud!
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I still collect recipes, but mostly on Pinterest and other apps. Not that I actually use them… when we need a recipe, we normally just search on a cooking website. I wish I was a better freestyler. Other than stirfrys, which we make quite a bit, I like to have a recipe as a guide. Good for you for cleaning the top of your desk. I should do mine too… but we are having some really great weather and I’ll probably just go outside and play.
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Sigh! It’s snowing here. Can’t get over your last sentence….
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You write really well and obviously cook the same. I want to eat that photo,
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Not if you count that very tart chicken piccata I made last week.
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Other than baking, I’ve never followed a recipe in my life. Like you I “freestyle” especially because I’m such a picky eater. As a vegetarian I substitute all kinds of things for meat. And not to brag, but…my tax worksheets are done and ready for the CPA. Just sayin’
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I need a CPA. I do them myself. It gives me a reason to whine and I usually can crank a blog post out of it. And yes, you are bragging. Have you found a good substitute for bacon. I just love that smokey taste.
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Morningstar Farms. You have to cook it carefully just to the point that it’s done. I use it to make BLTs and it’s pretty decent.
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Hmmmm….I do like Morningstar Farms stuff. I am really only one steak or burger away from being vegetarian and I crave them less and less. If it wasn’t for my husband we would have meat once a week.
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My desk is always a wreck…house not so good either. At 60, I don’t think my ways will change. Oh well.
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At 60 there is no need to change. You’ve managed nicely all these years.
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Amen, sister!
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I collect very few recipes.
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I cut them out then throw them out. I’m not sure that counts as collecting.
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