It's all about that baste, 'bout that baste

Hello you sensible shoe.

swedish chef.jpg


Okay friends: while I have really been enjoying the opportunity this newsletter affords me to publicly explore some of the ways we exist (or try to) as individual human beings and in communion with each other, this reflection journey is a long one and I am feeling a little road weary this week. So I wanted to lighten things up a little and talk about how awesome cooking can be as a breeding ground for inspiration when tackling larger creative pursuits.

So why cooking?  Well my book writing is coming along.... kinda.... but progress has slowed significantly as other projects and contracts have taken precedence (JEEZ writing/ finding time for writing is hard work!). My creative juices are feeling more cement-like than free flowing at present; but luckily for me, nothing helps unstick inspiration like a little creative culinary experimentation.

As a privileged woman living in Canada, I have never really had to worry about food security, and have the freedom every day if I so choose to approach cooking as a small daily creative pursuit. Even grocery shopping is fun to me-- the weird and wacky new produce, the intriguing possibilities of new ingredients (sorry Abe for gifting you the gross durian moochi--- but I am still waiting for you to use that cricket powder I got you), the on-the-spot planning based on what you see in front of you. It's all inspiring! I know some people love using the Good Food Box  or other meal prep service, but frankly, I enjoy creative cooking too much (and dislike being told what to do too much...) to have a box of preordained ingredients arrive at my door.

And when I say creative cooking, I do mean it... This is not a daily pursuit (more of a quarterly one), but have you ever checked out our Gourmet Club blog? Maintained by my sis Leah, and in operation since 2014 and with over 20 epic dinners now under our belts, this group has been at the heart of my joy of cooking these past few years-- and the planning and thinking about what to make is as fun as the dinners themselves. So I am lucky not only to have a daily habit of playing around with flavour, but also enjoy gathering with friends to do a deep dive and get creative with different themes, ingredients and techniques-- not everything works out (my early vodka milk experiment has gone down in club history as one of the most epic fails--- it could peel paint off the wall) but it is so much fun to try to surprise and delight each other whenever we gather! 

But Earnest Platypus, you ask: what are some of the creative principles hiding in this seemingly daily task of feeding oneself? Well here are some of the ones I think about:

COOKING AS PERFORMANCE ART: Much to my father's chagrin, I can rarely replicate something I have made that works really well. But part of what I like about cooking is that it is kind of like performance art-- whatever you create exists in the moment, and sometimes that moment is truly sublime (and sometimes it is vodka milk).  But if you make it again it will be something slightly different. Because the ingredients are slightly different. And the people eating it are slightly different. And you are slightly different. And that is all beautiful.

COOKING AS SCIENCE: If you do want to get precise and master something, while it is not so much my jam (pun intended), I recognize that there is also a joy to refining a skill, recipe or technique.  And while I don't love replicating for the purpose of perfection, I do love playing with molecular gastronomy which requires very specific measurements and ratios. Bring out your inner geek: there is something for everyone!

COOKING AS SKILL-BUILDING GRIND: We have to eat at least a couple of times a day, every day. And unless you have the means to have others prepare your food, you will have to get out the pots and pans and get your hands dirty at least once or twice every day too. This can be drudgery if you look at it as a chore (and I am definitely not above making 2-minute scrambled eggs for dinner sometimes), but with all of the many ways to transform raw ingredients into a meal, there is never-ending opportunity to try and fail and succeed and learn and try again or try something else entirely. This daily practice means that it is okay to be good and not great every time, but 'okay' gets the job done and you tried something; and when it is great, it is a true delight

Inspired to explore this idea further?

  • Given that it is now officially summer, it would be unfair of me not to share this awesome Gazpacho recipe from one of my fave cooking YouTube channels: FoodWishes

  • The food choices we make can also be powerful. I enjoyed this article about how tea almost destroyed the political fabric of Tunisia

  • And finally friends, if you didn't know (and likely none of you did), Weird Al just released a digitally remastered version of his classic song "My Bologna" Please enjoy on repeat. I know I am already.


But wait! Is all this talk of creative culinary experimentation a bit too ambitious on a sunny Sunday morning?  Then please enjoy checking out one of my fave weekend browses: PostSecret In case you don't know it, it is an art project that has been going on for many years now, where people anonymously send their deepest secrets on postcards for others to see. They update the blog every Saturday/Sunday with a new crop of secrets as well as sharing classic secrets every week. I love the humility and humanity in this project

Still too much realness?  Then check out this video of a guy playing "My Heart Will go On" with his bicycle tire pump. This is what the internet was made for.

From one semi-inspired person to another, I am glad that we can create and experiment together. I hope you enjoyed this dispatch, and have a delicious week!

Until next Sunday,
The Earnest Platypus

Earnest PlatypusAmy Bartlettlearning, cooking, reflectionComment