 The Mystery Ingredient
My husband and I, plus five other newbie Boy Scout parents, competed with our scouts in their troop’s 2012 Iron Chef Competition. The senior scout started the event by rambling off a long list of rules including: each of the six teams would receive a unique mystery food; 45 minutes to complete an entrée and a dessert and clean up; points for taste and creativity.
Our team’s mystery food: a can of Spam. Before selecting our other ingredients, we had to devise a menu in less than five minutes. We started brainstorming. Spam burgers? Spam fajitas? Spam stir fry? Yuk, I said to myself, how can anything with Spam taste great? Our menu: Spam breakfast burritos and apple crepes.
Armed with ten ingredients, we went outdoors to whip up our culinary creations on the Coleman stove. It was an exercise in improvising and resourcefulness. No electric mixer? We took turns whipping the cream using a miniature whisk and cup. Everyone helped wherever needed. And we had a blast.
We made extra portions to eat with our “newest” parent community while our entries were being judged. To my surprise, everything tasted great. We lost track of time though and had points deducted for not cleaning up by the deadline. But our Spam burritos and apple crepes topped with real whipped cream and cinnamon won first place!
Blessings,
Mary Darr
Editor, MOMSnext ezine
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