Swedish Chef-ing It

Not only did I make two soups today (not one, but two!), I am happy to report that I also coined a phrase. For when I decided to make soup, I didn't consult a cookbook. I didn't look online. I just opened the freezer, decided which things needed to go, and started filling a pot. Really.

It's not that I'm a great cook. I'm definitely NOT a great cook. But I wasn't in this to follow a recipe or cook like a gourmet. I just wanted to reduce the freezer inventory, warm us all up on a snowy day, and have a plan for dinner. And so, in that moment, I declared that, whatever the result might be, I was Swedish Chef-ing it.

Swedish Chef-ing it? Remember that Muppet with a mustache and basically no eyes? The one who bopped around in a chef hat, waving his wooden spoon and babbling in Swedish (well, Muppet Swedish). I don't know if he ever actually cooked anything, but he certainly made for a lot of fun in the kitchen. Did he have a plan? Maybe. A recipe? I doubt it. So, today, I Swedish Chef-ed it. A wooden spoon, a few pots, and a belief that it would all work out. And it did. Several hours later, the soups were a big success, even among the pickier members of my household.

I'll admit, my Swedish Chef-ing could have resulted in our needing to order pizza. Had I followed a recipe to the letter, I could have fairly well counted on a result that looked like the picture in the cookbook. I just couldn't do it. Instead, I chose to go the route of a chef with no eyes. Risky, but ever so much fun. Today, some pretty good soup came out of that. And on a daily basis, some of our best creations come out of our Swedish Chef-ing--our letting loose and letting things fall as they may.

I have a feeling I'll be using my new phrase on a regular basis, in the kitchen and elsewhere. It's incredibly freeing to be bound by nothing but a wooden spoon and a little jibberish. And the belief each time that the dish will cook just right.