My Midwest Kitchen: Life Lessons Come in Different Forms, Including Sandwich Spread

I was trying out a new recipe from a cookbook I recieved from my fiance for my birthday. Within the past year I learned I have a dairy allergy and he got me a totally dairy-free cookbook that has some really amazing things in it. I was so excited to try my first dish from it, especially since it involved making my own ranch dressing.

As I was putting together this dish I was distracted for sure. It had been a long day, and I was replaying everything going on in my life on a loop through my brain. I was trying to follow the ingredients list and whisk everything together, and I remember thinking “this seems like a lot of salt but that’s what the book says”.

It was what the book said, but for the recipe on the adjacent page.

As I poured in a teaspoon of paprika I snapped out of my daze. What did I just make? This wasn’t the dairy-free ranch I needed for my pasta salad. I had basically created some sort of oddly seasoned mayo.

I stood looking at my mayo mixture in defeat. This was just another “bad” thing that had been piled onto my plate (bowl), and another dish I had to wash. But after taking a moment to stare into oblivion, I decided I was going to make the most of it.

Instead of tossing it all out in anger, I made it into a sandwich spread. Another few scoops of mayo, and a few shakes of onion powder later I had a bowl of something that would be great on a sandwich the next day, or awesome as a dip for waffle fries.

Instead of dwelling on the mistakes, I realized I needed to make the most out of the dip I had in front of me. That kind of course correction can be applied to any bad situation. It’s super cliche but life truly is what you make of it.

Here is the recipe for what I am calling “distraction dip”:

• 1/2 cup of mayo
• 1/2 tsp of black pepper
• 1/2 tsp of paprika
• 1/2 tsp of garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp of onion powder
• 1/4 tsp of salt

Directions

1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, and chill. Use as a spread for sandwiches or dip for potato products. Store in air tight container for up to 1 week.
2. Try to think happy thoughts and make the most out of wherever you are at in life. 🙂