As we step into the new year, we're contemplating the person we need to become to build the life we want. You are the architect of your life, building your portfolio of experiences and capabilities with each step forward. Join us as we step into the next version of ourselves and shed what holds us back.
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Feed Your Fire Podcast Episode Transcript:
Hello and welcome to Feed Your Fire, I'm your host, Kim Baker. This episode launches our third season—that's over 50 meals and meaningful conversations. Gathering around this table every other week is a highlight, and I truly couldn't be more proud or honored than to have these breakthrough conversations with each of you. Welcome, my friends, to 2026.
Let's be clear, today's discussion is not about New Year's resolutions. It's not about changing behaviors, or even self-improvement. What we're focused on is turning the knob to opening ourselves to new possibilities, to recognizing that who we are is not static, nor should it be, and to allow ourselves to conceive that there's more.
We respect your comfort zones. Hell, I've been wearing the same clothes for three days. The difference is recognizing when our patterns are holding us back.
Only you can decide if that's the case. A tenet of today's discussion is that the person who got you to where you are may not be the person to take you forward. You have to first identify that gap.
Knowing what's required of you in this future state is like putting a pin on a map. Now, this depiction can certainly start at the outermost layer, the circumstances, the status, the relationships. But the real work involves fleshing that out to understand who the person in that scenario actually is.
A few years back, I had been in this relationship that was fraught. At one evening, we reached a crossroad, and I had this kind of epiphany. I realized I was looking into a mirror, and the only way to change the patterns I was finding myself in was for me to move beyond myself, to recast my identity, my perspective, and my choices.
The new version of who I am was created like a Rubik's Cube, one pivot and shift after another. Stepping in to a new version of yourself means being willing to run counterculture. The environment that you've been operating in has created a set of norms, and you have to be willing to buck that trend. Saying yes to the possibility of yourself often requires saying no to the expectations of others. And that can be a tough one.
And even though growth is natural and overwhelmingly positive, there can be a grief associated with it. I would choose the person I am today a hundred times over the person I once was. But there are parts of her that I miss, that there is no way to get back. But the net benefit is unquestionable, and that makes the payoff worth whatever had to be left behind.
Now, as I thought about the food for today's recipe, it had to be an adaptation of something with familiar roots. And yet I wanted that apple to fall far from the tree, something I hadn't made before. But one that I knew my experience would support.
So today we're making a Georgian cheese bread called khachapuri that's made from essentially pizza dough, but the origins are thousands of miles apart. Now, my quest to make pizza dough really well has been a lifelong journey, and I'm still very much en route. It started as a child with my grandmother.
She called it bizza, and I swear she made it in rich dough with egg, which is entirely non-traditional. As I got older, I started making it more on my own, with countless failures in between. My son still remembers and does an imitation of this one time when I dropped the pizza, taking it out of the oven, after what felt like an entire day of work.
I'm still not quite ready to open up a pizzeria, but I've come a long way. And today's recipe takes it another level further, setting the goalpost a bit farther, while leveraging what I've already learned. Now, if you've had khachapuri in the past, you know that this is a worthwhile goal.
It's this boat-shaped, cheese-filled, pizza-like bread that comes in a lot of variations. The one that we're going to make has a center filled with a yogi egg. You can certainly start this recipe with store-bought pizza dough.
We're going to start ours by blooming yeast. Putting a packet of active dry yeast into a quarter cup of water, 110 degrees. You want to feed that yeast with about a teaspoon of sugar, and then let it rest for about 15 minutes.
You'll see it expand in volume and get all frothy. Now, in a mixing bowl fitted with the hook attachment, place about three cups of flour and a pinch of salt in the bowl. Once your yeast has bloomed, add it to the flour mixture as you slowly add in about a cup of warm water. The mixer should be at about medium speed. The dough should not be sticky, but it shouldn't be dry. Let it knead for a minute with the dough hook, and then smooth it out on the countertop with your hands. Place it in a bowl that's been coated with some olive oil, and let it rest in a warm place covered with a towel for about two hours. Now, what comes next is what changes this from would-be pizza to khachapuri.
I'm going to bake this outside on my grill. We're only going to use half the dough today. You can freeze the remainder and use it for pizza night. To make today's recipe, I'm going to stretch out the dough into a rectangular shape that's about a quarter inch thick.
We're making this the size of like a personal pizza. It should not be huge. Then place shredded mozzarella in two thin rows at the top and bottom of the dough, folding the dough over with the cheese inside to essentially create a stuffed crust. The country of Georgia was clearly where Pizza Hut got its inspiration. Now pinch the sides of the dough together to form a boat-like shape, and let it rest while we make the filling. We're sort of making like a calzone mixture here.
We're going to use some shredded mozzarella, crumbled feta, and ricotta cheese. I'm also going to add in a little bit of chopped garlic and some parsley, and then place it in the center of your dough. Bake it on the grill for about 10 minutes. Then brush the crust with melted butter, and then I'm going to break the rolls by sprinkling the edges with some toasted sesame seeds. Let it cook for another five minutes until it's nice and crispy. While it's still on the grill, make a little well in the center of the cheese with a spoon, and drop in the yolk of one egg. Remove it from the heat, and add a few pats of butter. And feel free to sprinkle on some Parmesan cheese. You'll want to use a fork to stir that egg and butter into the cheese mixture, and rip off pieces of that bread to dip inside. It's like a self-contained chip and dip plate that was dropped from heaven and is entirely edible.
Growing into a new version of ourselves doesn't always mean turning away from something bad. But in every case, it should mean turning towards something that's good.
I'm sure many of you have experienced this professionally, where maybe you moved from the person who got everything done to the person who knew what needed to happen.
As the architects of our lives, we've constructed and refined our approach to life countless times. You have learned how to navigate all types of situations. And essentially, that's left us with a portfolio of our own creations. And if you were to flip through that portfolio, you would see that Rubik's Cube turning, the pattern shifting. And in the collective, this work would create sort of a self-portrait, a work of art that would embody who you are, who you've been, and who you are becoming. With each part of that body of work reliant on what came before it, and the discipline of your practice. And so it's with a hundred percent confidence that I know that the future version of yourself that you're creating will be the best that it's yet to be. And that too will be true of the version that comes thereafter.
What better time than now to explore that possibility, to give yourself the most reps possible, the most opportunities to do your best work. And so perhaps as you enter the new year, rather than creating a specific goal, establish a clear vision, and then find the courage to do a SWOT analysis of what you need to become to achieve that vision. And every day, practice your craft. Practice stepping into that role. Practice adopting that mindset. If it's anything like the exploration we've had today, it's certain to be fulfilling.
Until our next episode, I say so long. Feed your fire, where food nourishes growth.