10 cooking lessons that you can use in daily life
I recently stumbled upon this quote by Paul Theroux:
“Cooking requires confident guesswork and improvisation — experimentation and substitution, dealing with failure and uncertainty in a creative way.”
I also listened to THIS episode of the Unmistakable Creative.
And I love to cook. (And eat.)
So it made a perfect sense for me to write how the lessons from the kitchen apply to day-to-day life.
1. Good preparation is the half of the job.
Great chefs get the tools ready ahead of time, they prepare, cut and proportion ingredients before they start, which makes the cooking quicker and easier. Big lesson: plan ahead. Get your clothes ready the night before to save some time in the morning. Create the meal plan and grocery list according to it. Put things on your calendar. Think about what can go wrong and prepare the plan B.
2. Slow down. Rushing makes things worse.
Cooking is an art and meditative practice when you’re present and focused and loving. Hence there is no need to rush. Every step is important. When we try to multitask or do too much at once, something usually burns. Or you experience a burnout. Doing things slowly and one by one is oftentimes the most efficient way to get things done.
3. Respect the process. It takes however long it takes.
I recently made a banana bread and I was in shock that the recipe wrote how it needs to be baked for more than an hour. However when I checked it after 30, 45 minutes and an hour, I realized that the recipe was right, my banana bread was definitely not ready. In baking, you definitely have to go with the recipe. And yes, you have to respect the process. We would love everything to be done faster, we feel the need to push and speed things us, but it is often not the best idea. The process is what matters and we have to trust it.
4. Try new things.
Trying out a new recipe can boost my happiness for a week. I know, there are some people who don’t share my level of excitement, but I bet you’re not one of them since you’re reading this post. We all have signature dishes and favorites, but trying new stuff can be surprisingly awesome. Besides, I fell in love with Sarah Von Bargen’s practice of trying new things. She claims (and scientists confirm) that the time slows down when we’re trying new things because we’re present while we’re savoring the experience. So let’s start on wrapping the time. Try something new today. Feel alive.
5. Love is the secret ingredient of everything.
It may sound like a cliche, but love is one of the most important and universal ingredients of good food and…all other good things. The practice of cooking with love teaches us to do everything with love. In “A Year of Miracles”, Marianne Williamson suggests: “ What appears like a problem is merely a place where a miracle awaits. Shower your problems with love.” How cool is that?
6. Good tools make the work easy and enjoyable.
One good sharp knife can change an entire cooking experience, plus make everything you do quicker and better. Invest in good tools in your kitchen. Here is the summary of kitchen essentials by Jamie Oliver and by Dana from Minimalist Baker. (Because it’s also easy to become an over buyer.) Here’s what Danielle Laporte says about tools you’re using for doing your job or creating your art:
“Invest in the best tools. High-resolution computer monitor and ergonomic chair, membership associations, leading-edge conferences, well-cut clothes, the best cordless drill that money can buy. Take really good care of those tools. You can compromise on other stuff, but don’t compromise on the essential gear that helps you to be great.”
7. It is best to cook whatever is in the season.
Seasonal produce is the most fresh, delicious, and the most affordable option. (Read more HERE.) In life, there are also different seasons. And yes, we would love to always be in speed and motion, but some seasons are for rest, reflection and recovery. It’s the best if we respect the season we’re in, without trying to push ourselves to get out of it. (I wrote a whole post about it.)
8. Food is the topic using which you can connect practically with everyone.
At the dinner table avoid talking about politics, religion, issues with the digestion, gossip, reality TV. What you can talk about is food! As long as you’re not talking about the animal slaughtering (please, don’t), you can connect to anyone from anywhere on the topic of food. Ask what is the traditional food like in his or her part of the world, or what is his favorite dish, or what he always order in Chinese restaurant or pizza place. Food is typically producing the emotions of love, comfort and it help us connect with one another. In the above mentioned Unmistakable Creative episode, I learned that the word companion originally meant “the one that eats the bread (pane) together with you.”
9. Just by using what you have at hand, you will often be able to create something great.
This is one of my favorite challenges. Make a good meal with the ingredients you already have. And every time, and I mean EVERY time, I am able to make something good and I realize that shopping can wait. In life, we are too often focused on what we don’t have and how it is impossible to do what we want. But when we decide to use what we have, to do what we can and take the first little initiative, it’s often enough to make things going.
10. Share the food/inspiration/ideas/experiences with people you love.
A psychologist from Yale, Erica Boothby, found out from her experiment that the people enjoyed the chocolate more when they tasted it at the same time with another person. Erica also found out that, when given a bitter chocolate, people rated the experience as much worse when they were tasting it together with another person. Empathy, I guess. The main idea is: when you share a nice meal with someone, the pleasure is increased. Get into the practice of sharing. Share your ideas, your art, encouragement, joy. Share the food. Experiences. Love. Leave the world in better condition that you found it.
Now it’s your turn. Please share (idea #10) your favorite ideas about cooking, recipes and juicy photos in comments below.
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