There are no recipes for harmony.
I love to cook…
I love to cook because I love to eat…
And, cooking is such a personal and intimate expression of me.
I was talking to a couple of CEOs at a networking event recently,
And we were discussing a speaker who came in to discuss Accountability.
The topic was awesome, but I was taken back by his style because he was VERY prescriptive…
I viscerally reject prescriptive instruction of all types.
I believe in the vast majority of circumstances,
we need general direction,
we need guidance,
we need inspiration…
And, then, each of us can decide how to “cook our own meal”.
As we talked, I said…
“In life, give me some sense of the key ingredients, suggest some proportions and some sequence, and let me cook my own meals…”
Nobody knows exactly what we like, better than we do…
Each of us has a unique palate.
The concept of harmony plays out in all aspects of my life,
And perhaps none better than in cooking.
People used to say that my mother could cook something out of nothing. She somehow took whatever was in the fridge and made delicious meals… often tasting the same with different ingredients.
I thought that was a great compliment.
Cooking is such an expression of love, for me.
It’s an intimate act… preparing your meal.
And, it’s a place where I feel confident to let my creativity run free…
I look at cookbooks for the pictures.
I look at cookbooks for inspiration.
And, for some specific ideas as to ingredients.
And, then, I typically shut it.
Whether I am making a paella borrowing from the “Arroz con Mariscos” that I had growing up, and combining them with paella recipes I have seen through the years, and adding an inspiration of jambalaya and some Maryland old bay…
I think about cooking in detail. In greater detail than many things.
I think that if I cook the meat in the stew it often tastes dry and overcooked.
I think that adding garlic at the end keeps its flavor.
I know it is important for the water or stew to boil before putting in the rice, to maintain the integrity of the rice.
I know that any carb I cook in water, will taste better if I cook it in stew.
I love making seared tuna…
I am getting better at vegetables… I know I have to massage my kale.
Seared duck breast in raspberry sauce…
Steamed pike with ginger and scallions…
Shrimp and sun-dried tomatoes on pasta…
Pasta with pesto and alfredo (never be afraid to mix the two…)
Locks with avocado, fresh tomato and capers… the bagel and cheese are almost unnecessary.
Pancakes with peanut butter and Nutella… or cooked berries of any kind…
Good pasta is a special thing. I remember my grandmother making fresh pasta…
Making gnocchi from scratch is simple and delicious, and the other day someone ata restaurant suggested that I add ricotta to the pasta while making it… it makes it dissolve in your mouth.
I love making curries though its been awhile since we tried that… and making the traditional Peruvian dishes.
I am never constrained by the way things have been cooked in the past,
Nor by what the recipes say.
To me, recipes are starting points, not final destinations.
When you cook with a recipe you can either be “right” or “wrong”.
I have never wanted to be judged while cooking.
I don’t want to think is it “right” or “wrong”… I want to be thinking will it be DELICIOUS.
If you cook with a recipe you are always comparing your meal to what it “should have tasted like”, often without knowing. When you don’t use a recipe, you can only compare it to your expectations… and those are so often easy to exceed.
HARMONY – Understand the “IS” of what you have… (the ingredients and tools)
Define the “WANT”… (the vision of the dish and the eating experience you are trying to create)…
And, then head there… staying away from “WISHING”… that you had different ingredients, different tools, or an easier to follow recipe.
I love to cook… because I love to eat.
And, I love to cook… because I love to live…
I want my dishes and my life to have a unique flavor,
And I want to enjoy creating something special.
Now, let me be clear… if you are BAKING, where the exact proportions impact not only taste, but also chemical composition and structure, you must be extremely careful with creative liberties… just as if you are a neurosurgeon or an airplane pilot… you need to follow the directions!
This is part of the reason why I never became a neurosurgeon nor an airline pilot. I would have screwed some stuff up!
Whether you are cooking up a culture of accountability or a special Saturday breakfast or dinner... allow yourself the room to create your own experience... you know best the palate of your company, your family, your friends.
And, even in those strict professions or when baking a cake… someone has to stray from the recipe and create a new and better way… you just need to be more careful.
But, in the dishes of life where all that matters is taste…
In the dishes of life where all that matters is experiencing it and enjoying it…
Look at the pictures for inspiration…
Get a sense for the key ingredients…
And, then… let yourself go, explore, create…
Don’t look for right or wrong…
Look for absolutely delicious… in the way that only you could have made possible!
And, then sit at the table with those you love, raise a glass of good wine, and watch the smiles grow on their faces… and the laughter and silence fill the room… “Salud”…
No one knows exactly how to "cook" the right meal for you, your friends, or your company... not quite like you do.
In harmony,
Nestor