I have a poster hanging in my office that is a collection of funny and encouraging statements from “play a kazoo” to “champion the underdog” and “grow your community.” While all are particularly refreshing, my favorite is the small but bold black print that says “KEEP IT WONKY.” It’s a reminder to me that the world is naturally unbalanced and life (and work) should be a bit askew. Embracing irregularity instead of fighting it tends to work for me. But, the world was particularly off-balance this past week. Perhaps it was the full moon or just my turn to for chaos – but improvisation was my only survival method.

One story tells it best. On Wednesday night I had friends over for a small Lady Gaga concert reunion party. An hour before the party, while trying to sweep and straighten up, a squirrel bounced through my backdoor and landed on my kitchen counter. I turned around  and looked the squirrel straight in the eyes and panicked. I’m not sure if mentioning squirrel blood on white kitchen walls is appropriate for a food blog – but I’ve got to set the stage, right? With help from my neighbor Jim and a serious amount of clorox – all was put back together in the kitchen before my guests had arrived.

When it came to throwing appetizers together for the party I was glad that I had scaled back earlier in the week. I mixed up and broiled Bombay Turkey Sliders on frozen dinner rolls and assembled smoked salmon on salt and pepper potato chips with a bit of sour cream and chives. Others brought crab salad in cucumber cups and tuna tartar on crispy wontons. Considering the wonky-ness of the week, the party was hilariously fun and delicious. No one noticed that I never got around to making Banana’s Foster – which would have been perfect for a Lady Gaga themed evening. There is always next time. I’ll post some of the recipes this week.

Until then, keep it wonky.