Stirring Things Up

It has been hard to feel inspired lately. The onslaught of bad news eventually dispirits even the heartiest of souls. I’m determined to make the most of “this one wild and precious life,” as poet Mary Oliver urged, and not get emotionally snagged or dragged down. How can we keep hopeful and invigorated during such troubling times?  When problems loom large, we can shrink them by starting with small actions. Small changes can add up to make a big difference. There are numerous things I’m doing and exploring. But one small, specific way in which I’m trying to shift the energy around me is through cooking. I’m enlivening it with fresh inspiration. While I realize that’s not going to change the world, it does affect my perspective and mood. It’s a starting point. It’s immediately actionable.

I had grown bored with making the same meals. Sure, I changed them up here and there, but the general pattern had become repetitive. There’s upside in repeating the same dishes. Preparation becomes relatively mindless when the steps are familiar. Ingredients are on hand because I automatically know which ones to replenish. The outcomes are virtually guaranteed to be well received at the table. But it’s exactly this predictability that was contributing to a sense of stagnation and malaise. My cooking repertoire had grown dull. I’ve begun shaking things up.

I’m trying a slew of new recipes. I’ve had successes and duds. Among the successes I count chicken paprikash, roasted yams like the ones served at Gjelina in Venice Beach, confetti farro salad, and various kinds of pan-roasted fish.

Gjelina-style roasted yams and farro confetti salad

At the other end of the spectrum, clunkers included bean and tuna salad (not much flavor, texture, or color), chocolate chunk shortbread cookies (didn’t hold together), and squash soup (boh-ring).

one of the duds–squash soup with fried sage leaves and croutons

I expect a high failure rate, although in truth I don’t think of these as binary successes or failures. My main objective is to bring fresh energy into my life through what I’m eating. I’m thinking out of the (same ol’ recipe) box. The kick that comes from experimenting in the kitchen feeds my readiness for change in other areas of life. Even dishes that don’t pan out well are edible. And when a new dish succeeds, I tuck the recipe into a notebook binder of favorites where it will go into rotation whenever I return to that rhythm.

one of my recipe binders

In fact, I stay organized by keeping two binders in the kitchen. The one here bulges with recipes that I’ve annotated with hand-scribbled notes. They’re proven winners–the dishes that form my regular repertoire. My other binder is for recipes that intrigue me but I haven’t tried yet. I also keep an electronic folder on my computer that’s stuffed with a virtual heap of online recipes. Assorted cookbooks and dishes that I try to replicate after eating them in restaurants round out my sources for inspiration.

Since I enjoy the flavors of simple cooking, I’m drawn to recipes with a relatively short list of ingredients that let the basic flavors shine. I’m uninterested in making meals that require fancy equipment or kitchen tools. When I hanker for those, I go out to eat instead. In my own kitchen, a food processor and immersion blender are about the only pieces of machinery I own. I rely on wooden spoon technology and choose recipes accordingly. There’s no end to the wellspring that meets these parameters.

I’ve had some minor accidents during this period of experimentation. Splattering oil burned my hands. I grazed the tip of my index finger with a knife. These mishaps remind me that trying new dishes—trying new anything–requires focused attention. The more conscious awareness that I bring to the task, the better the results, the more meditative the process, and the safer I will be. That’s good practice regardless of how the food turns out.

Do you believe that there’s a relationship between what we eat and how that makes us feel? That something as simple as changing our diets and routines can help trigger the bigger changes that we seek? How do you keep your cooking fresh and what are your sources of culinary inspiration? I would love to hear from you. Meanwhile, I’m continuing my experimentation. Who knows what it might spice up, and where it will lead!

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