Guatemala, marriage, and creativity
What do Guatemala, creativity, and my marriage have in common?
This spring will be 24 years that Tom and I have been together. In June, we’ll celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. For as long as I can remember, Friday nights have been date night in our house. It’s nothing fancy–usually take-out of some sort and a movie that we have borrowed from the library. It’s the one night of the week that is non-negotiable. No running. No hosting people. No random meet-ups with friends for dinner. It’s our night and it’s pretty damned sacred. Truth be told, we spend a lot of time together– because we’re lucky and after almost a quarter century together, we still like each other! Now that Tom is working remotely and I only have a seven-minute commute, there is a greater chance that we’ll actually cook something fun rather than just picking up food. Just depends on what we are in the mood for and what kind of week we have had. This week I was planning to cash in some extra hours I had and cut out of work early. I was super excited to have even more time to do something special.
Thursday night, I grabbed a stack of cookbooks and started flipping through them looking for that special recipe I knew was waiting to be discovered. After a half hour or so, I was completely stymied. I had absolutely no idea which one to choose. This NEVER happens to me. I love trying new recipes. I don’t care if I have to hunt down the ingredients or if I or the kitchen are going to get a bit messy. That’s how I roll…So I was beyond flummoxed by what essentially was the writer’s block equivalent for a chef/cook. Maybe I was just tired and I need to walk away from it. Surely tomorrow I would wake up with some genius idea!
I told Tom on Friday morning that I would be home around 2:30 and that I was going to spend the afternoon in the kitchen. But when I got home, I still had no idea what I was going to make. I asked him if he was craving anything that might give me some direction. He wasn’t craving anything, but he did have an idea for how we could pick a recipe. He asked me which cookbook had the best pictures. Without hesitation, I answered The World Central Kitchen Cookbook by José Andrés. I gave him the book and he started flipping through it. He quickly said I could make anything out of that book and it would be amazing. Yes, but which recipe to pick! Because my husband is an engineer and a nerd, he quickly opened excel and created a random number generator for us to pick a recipe. BAM! Page 67 Pepián de Pollo– a Guatemalan dish that is heralded as part of their nation’s cultural heritage. I had all but a few ingredients that I could easily get at the Mexican supermarket near our house. Off to the store I went.
The switch in my brain had been flipped back on. I was in cooking heaven. Music blaring. In one pan, I had chicken thighs, onions, and tomatoes simmering. Pumpkin seeds, cloves, allspice, and sesame seeds were sizzling in a skillet. The scents wafting around the house were amazing. After a few hours, we sat down to what was an incredible dinner–not because I am some amazing cook, but because the recipe was just plain marvelous–flavors and combinations of ingredients that we had never experienced. With content smiles on our face, we struck the adventure up as a date night win!
What did I learn?
A fellow creative writes about what she learns each week when she completes her 52Frames challenge submission. I love the idea of refocusing myself on having a creative mindset. With that in mind, here is what I learned from our date night culinary adventure:
- Putting constraints on your creativity is sometimes exactly what you need. 52Frames does this often with the extra credit challenges and it’s a powerful tool.
- Start wherever you are.
- Try a new “ingredient.” Maybe it’s a new medium. Maybe it’s a new technique. Maybe it’s a new store. Try something new. For us, we have never tried Guatemalan cuisine. Wowza. It was SO good (and we got another pin for our map.)
- Rituals and habits are important. You prioritize what’s important in your life. Are you prioritizing your creativity? Is it a habit or just an obligation that you sometimes (or more often than not) blow off?
- Turning the music on loud and singing at the top of your lungs will at the very least relax you.
- I wasn’t afraid of failing with a recipe, but I was paralyzed by my inability to choose one. The random page number generator took that decision away from me. You can use something like this Wheel of Names Spinner when you need help selecting from a bunch of options.
Until next time, I hope that you pick up a copy of the World Central Kitchen Cookbook. Even if you don’t love to cook, it is a testimony to the human spirit and people’s drive to make a difference in this world. It’s an inspiration to me as I try to figure out what direction to go in my life. And, be brave in your creative pursuits!
Oodle on my friends!
