C – I think being mindful is challenging.
It takes a lot of being human to become mindful. Mistakes happen. No one is perfect. It’s really hard, since I am a perfectionist. Jim is more of a perfectionist than I am. We can sometimes kick ourselves really hard for the mistakes or errors we make.
One of our favorite sayings at Be Mindful. Be Human. is “We’re only human.” Yeah, those high-fives when we are mindful are great. When we find great tasting food, that’s also great. But, when we make mistakes. We are only human.
There are a few things that we have to do to be mindful. We work on balance and not seeing something that is just not there. We try not to give up or put ourselves down. We examine what we did wrong. We try multiple times, until we get it right. One great thing about working with a team is that you get different perspectives. Critical viewpoints and taste buds are different in each of us. One person can really like it. Another one could really hate it. We really have to make sure that we all align with each other … before we can post a recipe.
A Hard Apple Pie Crust Lesson
My favorite story about being human has to be making apple pies. I tried a recipe from a famous TV chef. It turned out horribly. The crust was hard as a rock. I thought it was just me. That I didn’t follow the steps correctly. So, I tried the same recipe again, carefully reading it. Doing it as directed. It didn’t work out that time either.
Jessica had to save the day with the most amazing apple pie. It was delicious. I guess sometimes you just have to ask for help and not trust famous TV chefs.
Jim Is Not A Baker
Jim experienced his human side when he wanted to try baking an apple cake. It didn’t turn out as well as he expected. Baking isn’t about throwing everything into a bowl, mixing it and baking it. There is a mindful process to go through. For example, if you are not careful mixing it, you may get some clumps of flour or sugar along the way.
Not rushing and carefully mixing well, without over mixing, is key. Once he figured that out, the second cake was great.
Strange Mustard
Luke has also experienced issues with cooking. Chefs know a lot of short cuts for cooking. They are professionals. You expect them to do things quickly and right. But, professional chefs are human too. Luke experienced this with making mustard. It was a strange-tasting mustard he made. We couldn’t put our finger on what was wrong. After plenty of research, I figured out that we shouldn’t heat up mustard seeds because it leaves a weird taste.
We ended up making great mustard after that. We haven’t bought mustard from the store ever since.
We Just Eat Our Mistakes … Mostly
We are all human. We try to show you when we make errors. But, sometimes our errors are just so big, we can’t share with you. We don’t want to waste your time. They are funny. We do bring them up in meetings all the time. But, we couldn’t put out something that we don’t like and are not proud of.
So, what do we do with stuff “on the cutting-room floor.” Sometimes, we re-purpose it. Other times, we just eat it. If it’s really bad, we cringe and throw it away. Luckily, that doesn’t happen often.