Pretzel philosophies Filosofias pretzelianas

I practice yoga. And one of the interesting things about it is that it teaches you not to be competitive with others and with yourself. That means that it's ok, for example, not be able to get into a pose in a certain class, even though you may have done it countless times before. You shouldn't feel frustrated or ashamed, just be present with what's going on with your body and mind at that particular moment.

And what's that got to do with cooking?

Well, it is a fact that somethings that you try to make will simply not come out good, or will not come out at all. This just happened to me now. I had made wonderful bagels that came out even better than expected the very first time I tried, then again the second time. By the third, I was pretty sure I had totally mastered it. And the fourth time, well...I got this:

Obviously, these pitiful little hard gum-like rings weren't going anywhere except the trash can. When things like this happen, my first thought is "why do I even bother?". But then the teachings of that other pretzel-making science kick in and I realize this was just an opportunity for me to learn what works and what doesn't and refine my path in kitchen skills. Hooray!

I had a whole other post planned for today, with an actual recipe, but thought it was important to share these thoughts. The recipe for this really amazing bagels will be posted soon too!