After feeding my menagerie of adopted barnyard animals this morning, I
gathered the fresh eggs and trotted to the kitchen to make Nonie’s Swiss
hotcake. First I brewed myself a steaming cup of caffe latte, then set
about the task of cracking the eggs. My mind was preoccupied with other
thoughts when I realized I had dumped the eggs into my coffee mug
instead of the bowl! Not one to let anything go to waste, I decided to
create a new recipe by making mocha crepes! I added more cream and eggs
to the mixture, heated the pan, and started cooking. Then I chuckled as
I heard a familiar voice in my head lovingly announce-"Mal fatti"!

Growing up on the farm with our Swiss Italian heritage, our Mom always
made homemade everything-from hotcakes to ravioli’s. When a mistake was
made, it was called a "mal fatti". The mal fatti’s were our favorite food.

We all make mistakes. We all have failures. It’s not what happens to us
in life but how we respond to our challenges that matter. We can be
bitter or we can be better. Life offers us choices. Choose better.

At this time of holiday hoopla, take a moment to reflect upon the year.
How have you handled your mal fatti’s? Have you turned your lemons into
lemonade? Have you thrown the baby out with the bath warer?

Life is too short to be perfect. Just do the best you can and that’s enough.
Make delicious mal fatti's!

Cynthia Brian is the author of Be the Star You Are! and Chicken Soup for the Gardener's Soul. See photos of her chickens at www.cynthiabrian,.com and if you live in N. California and want fresh eggs, contact her!