Turn Your Brain On, Damnit

Being Curious Starts in the Kitchen

Cooking was my hobby long before it was my job. I loved dreaming up something I wanted to eat and then trying my hardest to make it real. I wasn’t a natural in the kitchen. It took years for me to be any good, but relentlessly curiosity kept me going. It’s similar to needing to know how airplanes fly and how the body works. I am permanently interested in everything, starting with dinner. Do I want to try this new recipe? Yes please. Do I want to read that book? Of course. Will I go to that boring lecture with you? Hell yeah, and I’ll take notes. Gimme that knowledge. But right now, it feels like there are less of us lifelong learners out there. Too many people just spit out other people’s thoughts and when pressed, they have nothing to add but defensiveness at being found out. They stopped thinking about stuff years ago. Who has the time? Please don’t be so boring. You do have the time. No one is more responsible for your continued education than you. Fuck Chat GPT. Don’t let your mind turn to mush. Start by cooking.

this is how I imagine people when they tell me they asked Chat GPT. just fuck the robot already.

I learned how to cook out of pure curiosity. When I wasn’t working or in school, I filled my days with learning to cook something new and complicated, just for the pleasure of it. Lots of meals turned out rough as hell. I’d misread measurements, make horrific substitutions, and go rogue–abandoning the recipe at exactly the right moment to ruin the whole dish. But I had no money, so those mistakes were dinner, even if they were somehow both under and over seasoned. Being curious means making lots of mistakes. I’d pour back over the recipes to see exactly where I went wrong, then I would try it again the next chance I got. I needed to know how it worked.

you always remember lessons you learned the hard way

People tell me all the time that they just aren’t good cooks. They’ll say that they burn toast and overcook pasta, as though that’s a reason to stop. It’s not; that’s the reason to keep going. You aren’t going to become a worse cook by practicing. That’s not how experience works. The same goes for reading, writing, gardening, understanding history and politics—whatever you’re into. How are you ever going to learn anything if you don’t try? Regurgitating what people tell you, using AI, or sticking your head in the sand are no ways to treat a brain. Irish novelist and poet Jame Stephen said, “Curiosity will conquer fear more than bravery will.” Take that to heart. You don’t have to be brave; you just have to be interested. The rest will take care of itself.

I never would have become a good cook without these years of fucking up. I would have never cultivated the skills I needed to write five cookbooks without ruining so many meals. Failure led me to victory. Whatever talent I may have was meaningless without practice and the curiosity to keep going. I think a lot about this lyric from Jay Z, “People look at you strange, saying you changed, like you worked that hard to stay the same.” Staying the same is a waste of your years. Boring people are ruining the world. I worked hard to make this weird little personality of mine and this meal. Go ahead and eat both up.

yeah i’m weird, what’s new?

My curiosity about food and cooking turned into a career and a skill to get me through these dark, expensive days. I want that for you too. As groceries continue to climb in price, knowing how to cook means you will be able to do more with less. Get curious about your food, recipes, and the world around you. Your life will be better for it. Please don’t let your brain go to waste.

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At Stir the Pot I share recipes for all skill levels. You can’t get better without effort, but I promise I will be here to hold your hand and answer questions along the way. Hopefully all my ruined dishes in the past will mean a few less mistakes in your kitchen. Let’s cook our asses off this year. We all need wins right now, why not start with dinner?

Tomorrow, paid subscribers are getting a recipe for a full meal winter salad that’s perfect for recovering from holidays. As I once said many, many years ago, go eat a salad, your asshole will thank you. True now as it ever was.

Want to get two, brand new recipes a month plus access to the Stir the Pot group chat? Get on that list baby.

Where is your curiosity taking you these days? Any new hobbies or fascinations that you want to share? I’m interested, always.

xoxo,

Michelle