Horseshoes and Hand Grenades

When I was first starting in restaurants, my first boss used to tell me, "Almost doesn't count except in horseshoes and hand grenades... and not always in horseshoes, but ALWAYS in hand grenades." It took me years to even get a basic idea of what that meant, but the older I get, the more sense it makes.
I recently got dumped. And to be fair, it was for the best. He and I had very different life goals, and we each discovered deal breakers about the other that we can't get past. We're still cordial. But it still stings. I was willing to go ALL in, and the realization he wasn't even nearly that close to my level hurt. I play with hand grenades. He plays with horseshoes. I do wish him the best in life, but this really solidified what my goals are in life, and the dating arena. Almost is never going to be good enough for me. I might be able to tell myself that I'd be fine with less than I deserve, and I probably could be. But what the fuck would the point be?
I am old enough to realize that I would much rather be single, and spend my days alone, than be with someone who will make me feel lonely. I am a fascinating, complicated human being, and I deserve every single happiness on my terms. I don't need much, I'm pretty uncomplicated. But being more familiar with what my dealbreakers are is going to do wonders for me.
I have a lot of plans ahead. A lot of wonderful adventures in the works. I will never have time for a halfassed game of horseshoes. I've got to be ready and willing to pull the pin, and let my hand grenade fly.

~Poof~

Fine dining is a lot like a magic show- if you know nothing about the inner working of the restaurant, it is very easy to get dazzled by the show. And a lot of classic menu items are easy to get swept away by, even if they are the simplest thing in the world.

This is a huge reason of why I like studying food trends- while some is intensely impractical for a home cook, like some of the more complex French cooking (looking at you, Paté en Croute!); some items take minimal effort. One of my favorite comfort foods is mussels steamed in wine. It oozes sex and sophistication, while being incredibly versatile and adaptable to whatever is in your refrigerator.

It's literally as simple as throwing mussels into a pot with wine, butter, broth (or other liquid), and other aromatics. You can do whatever you want with steamed mussels. They're fantastic. Just get the liquid bubbling, throw the cleaned mussels into the pot, cover it, and walk away for 15min. Badabing badaboom, pot o' delicious.

I suppose I could also use the mussels as a metaphor. Occasionally you gotta take the random shit in your life, toss it together, and walk away for a bit to see what happens.  Most of the time? It is going to be far better than expected.