Manufacturing guy-at-large.

what it's like to cook with me

Added on by Spencer Wright.

man, i *fuck* with cooking.

in business, my experience has tended towards large projects - endeavors that span years, where progress from week to week can, at times, be hard to distinguish.  i find these to be highly rewarding.  one begins with a mental construct which is necessarily incomplete, and which develops in ways that are impossible to predict.  in ways, this is psychologically challenging; my concept of myself has been deeply entwined with the projects i've been involved in, and the inevitable fact that i will be proven so deeply *wrong* about what i'm working for is troubling.  but the experience is also exciting.  moments come in which one feels he has a complete - fleeting, but complete - view of what he's doing.  it's an exhilarating feeling.

times are, from time to time, that once i get home i want nothing to do with managing any project (read: sitcoms are kinda awesome).  but more frequently, i find myself craving something that i can experiment with in a low-stakes setting.  

as a result, i tend to go a bit overboard.  i will go against specific orders to keep shit simple.  i'll make noodles-and-butter into a dish with a dozen ingredients.  i become a parody of myself at the grocery store; i fiend for complexity:

me: shit, fiddlehead ferns are in season. 

companion: what are fiddlehead ferns? 

me: uh, i mean, i think they're just fern heads.  they grow wild... i think they're good.  i've never had them. 

companion: how do you cook them? 

me: i don't really know. [grabs bag, reaches for ferns] 

companion: wait-

me: no, this'll be good.  i've always wanted to cook fiddlehead ferns. 

companion: but-

me: [tosses bag of ferns into basket] oh, they have ramps too... 

companion: wait - uh, what are ramps?

me: i think they're like garlic. [grabs ramps] i've never had them. 

etc.

it's kind of the best.   cooking is fun.