In this episode, we explore how changing the way we think can be even more powerful that reframing what we think about. And to showcase the impact of that shift, we will prepare a delicious recipe that came together when we reconsidered our approach, taking inspiration from the wise words of a celebrated great thinker.
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Feed Your Fire Podcast Episode Transcript:
Hello, and welcome to Feed Your Fire. I'm your host, Kim Baker.
Are you a thinker or a feeler? In today's episode, we don't want you to choose. In fact, in today's episode, we're gonna transform the way we think and be moved by both our head and our heart while we prepare an amazing dish that was created when I let go of overthinking, and you will not be disappointed in the result.
I had to think hard about today's episode—quite literally. And what's interesting is that the more I thought about it, the less attainable the storyline was. I was having analysis paralysis, stuck in my own head, and that's when I knew two things had to change.
One was that I had to change the way I was thinking, not just what I was thinking about, but the actual mental framework that I was using. And secondly, I had to invite in my feelings. And as soon as I did that, the words started to come to me. It was like a drain being unclogged of my own bullshit.
Did you know that the average person has about 45 thoughts per minute, with some research showing that we have 60,000 to 70,000 thoughts per day? And when we think about this volume of mental activity, it's just inherent in our wiring and subconscious. The majority of those ideas that flicker through our mind are not even constructive. And I don't know about you, but I refuse to be controlled by a mindless master.
This coming week represents the 15th anniversary of my brother's passing. He used to have this lettered sign, and it read, Think. And it now sits on the shelves in my living room. A reminder not only of him, but also of my intention, my beliefs, and possibility.
Now, Nick was in fact a thinker. He was exceptionally bright, and his influence in my life has lasted long beyond the length of his. One of my mental checks when I'm faced with a challenge is to consider what Nick would be thinking. And that's not just because of his intellect. It's because our own patterns of thinking can get in our way.
In just the beginning of my initial research, I identified 18 types of thinking. These mental models range from critical thinking to lateral thinking, first principles thinking, reflective thinking, associative thinking. Each one of these represent a process that enables us to analyze, to create, to make decisions. And while we may be drawn to one type or another, we kind of need all of them in our toolkit to manage and solve all of the things that come at us in life.
One of the interesting things about cooking is that it draws on several of these methods. It's both formulaic and imaginative.
A few weeks back, I was meeting my boyfriend's mother for the first time, and I was having trouble thinking of what to bring. I'm sure you've been in that situation before, where you're on the hamster wheel, wondering what you should make. I sifted through recipes, my refrigerator was stocked with ingredients, and my mind was managing all of the permutations of those things. It was a maze of my own making, and getting out of it required that same two-step process. I had to switch from brainstorm mode to dialing in on a single idea, and I had to get to the heart of what was keeping me in this loop.
I took the pressure off and focused on what I already knew. I got out a tart pan, baked up a crust, filled it with an abundance of sauteed mushrooms, added in a cream and egg mixture, topped it with Gruyere, and a smattering of purple color from sauteed red onions. And in that simplicity, something beautiful was created. And that's what we're going to share together in today's episode. A masterpiece built on a timeless model that's made more memorable by simplicity than complexity.
For this recipe, I made a pastry crust, which is a pâte brisée. It's similar to a pie crust, but it has a pinch of sugar, and the butter's broken down a bit more finely. You can absolutely just use a frozen pie crust from the store. I do like to make this recipe in a tart pan that has one of those removable bottoms.
Preheat your oven to about 350 degrees, and place your rolled out dough centered in that pan. Using your fingers, gently press it around the periphery of the pan, being a bit generous with the dough along the sides. Then you could just roll a rolling pin over top to trim the edges. The crust will shrink a bit when it cooks. Before we put it in the oven, we're going to dock it, so that the air can escape. They sell a tool for this, but I just use a fork and poke holes around the bottom and sides of the crust. And place a piece of parchment on top. If you have weights, you can add them to the pan. I usually just use some dried beans, and this will help hold the shape of the pie crust as it cooks. Let that cook for about 20-25 minutes. Remove the parchment with the weights, and let it cook for another five. You should have a nice golden crust at the end of it.
While that's cooking, we're going to saute some mushrooms. We want at least a quart of mushrooms here, and you can feel free to use a variety of kinds. You'll want to work in batches, heating oil in a pan, and adding a handful or two of the sliced mushrooms to cook down and get slightly brown. After you've cooked all of the mushrooms, put them back into the pan, season them with the leaves of a few sprigs of thyme and salt and pepper, and remove them from the pan and let them cool.
In that same pan, we're going to prepare our onions. Heat some olive oil in the pan, and add a half of very thinly sliced red onion. Cook them over medium heat so they get a little bit of color, and then season them with salt and pepper. Set them aside.
Thinly grate between 2 to 4 ounces of Gruyere cheese.
In a separate bowl, combine 2 eggs, a cup of cream, and season that with salt and pepper.
When the crust comes out of the oven, let it cool a bit, and then you could start assembling. Keep your oven on, because we're going to place this back in to all cook together. We're going to start by layering half of the cheese on the bottom of the tart pan, and add in the mushrooms. This is a mushroom-heavy dish, so let them fill the pan. Add in your cream mixture. The rest of the shredded gruyere. Sprinkle the onions on top. We want this to be in layers. Pop it in the oven and bake it for about 30-35 minutes. The eggs will have set. The cheese will have melted. The onions on top will not only add flavor, but this beautiful burst of deep purple color on top.
And this, my friends, is the result of changing your thinking, of getting in touch with your feelings, and creating something masterful. If anyone's wondering, it was a hit. I've since met my boyfriend's mother several times, where we've shifted from food exchange to connection.
Now, thinking about how we think is very meta. In fact, it's actually called meta cognition. It's not something that we often talk about. We often judge thinking for quality or clarity, and we try to measure it by outcomes. But thoughtfulness is a process, not a result. And if results are what we're really after, we might need to change the type of thinking that we engage in, than simply what we think about or how much time we spend doing that.
Before my brother died, he called me into his hospital room. He ushered everyone else out, and I sat with him laying on the bed, memorizing that moment. And he started to tell me about a story from when I was a child. I was having difficulty solving this math problem. As he's telling me the story, he says that I just needed to focus, and that I had taken that advice, and I went upstairs, and I came down so excited because I had figured it out.
He knew that it wasn't an aptitude issue or a lack of understanding. It was that I needed to switch gears in my thinking. And that advice has stayed with me for the last 15 years, guiding me at every moment of uncertainty.
I always sort of believed that he wasn't speaking from the past, and instead he was guiding me from the future. And every time I navigate my way through new challenges in life, I lean on his voice. And now, so can you.
Until our next episode, I say so long. Feed Your Fire, where food nourishes growth.