How many people who work in an office 40 hours per week would only accept 30 hours' worth of pay? So, why is it that people expect someone who is self-employed (particularly in the area of construction, like we are) to work for free?
For instance, Big Daddy completed a job for a client. We'll call her Madame X. Madame X promptly found another item that needed attention that was adjacent to the area that Big Daddy just repaired. When Big Daddy calmly explained to her that said repair was not in the original contract and would be at an additional charge, she actually responded, "Do you think I'm made of money?! I have to work for a living!" Um ... what did she think Big Daddy had been doing at her house for the past two days?
I like blogging, because it forces me to find the humor in my daily life. Humor has been a little hard to come by this past week. Clients, subcontractors - sheesh!
But, Big Daddy got a good laugh last night in the midst of this neverending week of misery. I like to cook. It's a nice, creative outlet, and I love food - the perfect combination. I am, however, one of those people that relies exclusively on cookbooks. I don't have that intuition, like Big Daddy, to just know what tastes good together. Anyway, I was feeling pretty adventurous this week, cuisine-wise, and needed to reduce some stress. So, I took some recipes that I was pretty comfortable with and tried to, you know, "make them my own." Apparently, my family has been suffering in silence through my cooking creations. Last night, Big Daddy finally broke down and, amidst tears of laughter, proceeded to explain why I need to keep using cookbooks. Here is the rundown:
1. Zucchini, squash, white, vegetarian lasagna: Okay, so there was about a cup of liquid that had to be drained from the serving dish. And I forgot to add the garlic. Or any other spices. Which basically left us with noodles, cheese, and vegetables. And liquid.
2. Chocolate zucchini cake: I know. Sounds doomed from the start. But, I've thoroughly studied both The Sneaky Chef and Deceptively Delicious; their recipes are wonderful! I thought I could successfully disguise zucchini in a chocolate cake. I was wrong. Even Pioneer Woman's extremely unhealthy and delightfully delicious chocolate frosting didn't help.
3. Big Daddy's bag lunch: Aunt Tracy made chicken parmesan the night before. I didn't eat any of it, so I had no idea that it was about as tasty as my aforementioned dishes. So, I thought it would be a great idea to make Big Daddy lunch out of the chicken. I didn't want the sandwich to get soggy, so I didn't put any of the sauce on it. Apparently, I also left out the cheese, which is a vital component of chicken parmesan. So, I guess the sandwich was a little dry, being composed of healthy, whole grain bread, and dry chicken tenderloins. And, I thought a large container of sliced cucumbers soaked in balsamic vinegar would be a wonderful accompaniment to the sandwich, but Big Daddy begged to differ.
I'm glad he was able to have a good laugh, even if it was at my expense.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
i love that you find the humor because i laughed my butt off at that one! major laughing. i am one of those intuitive cooks but that has come with time and eating LOTS of calories which i am not complaining one bit about until i look at my belly roll...enough about me, the madame sounds like a pain in the you know what. people are truly selfish aren't they?
Oh, we've had days like this. Or weeks, rather. :) Rick is always nice about it though, yOu know, me being the intolerably sensitive person that I am. He'll say something like "YOu wanna go to Barnes & Noble? Maybe you could get a new cookbook or two!" or the cryptic "Can I cook tonight?" Translation: "Let's have take-out. PLEASE."
Haha!!! That is really funny. I'm so glad you have a sense of humor about it.
I think this kind of thing happens to all chefs, honestly. It is part of the learning process. How else are you supposed to know?
Keep trying! :)
Oh my gosh, I'm laughing so hard WITH you because I totally find out after the fact that Jeff hates some of the things I think are going to be great.I love to cook too and try new recipes and sometimes...YIKES. But it is even worse when I found out something that I make often is something he doesn't like all that much. We have different tastes I guess. I love PW chocolate frosting...bring on that butter.
You poor things, it sounds like a crazy week over there!
Oh yes I've been there, but it's good to laugh. Hubby and I keep thinking of starting our own business but I'm not sure I would have the patience with people like Madame X!!
Post a Comment