A post on The Vanilla Bean blog reminded me how easy it is to let the mind wander into territory of comfort and repetition, falling away for only a few moments from the project at hand.  Consequences inevitably arise.

The VB author posted about losing momentary focus when baking Chocolate Pots de Creme with Lavender & Sea Salt earlier this month.  It was a recipe she had made many times before and became lax when distracted by other activity.  We’ve all been there.

In a post a few months ago on The Essential Garden blog, I did a best-guess estimate on cooking time for Chocolate Souffle as I only had 3 oz ramekins and not the 8 oz souffle dishes called for in Robert Parks’ recipe that was posted on the Food Network blog.  Although experimentation is frequently necessary, it’s always a roll of the dice to alter cooking time.  The end result was a bit of “fall” when the souffles cooled.  Perhaps a few extra moments of attention in each stage of the recipe (including the baking) might have provided a different result.  The truth is that I know instinctively when I’ve glossed over a step in favor of speed or distraction.

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What I’ve come to realize is that mise en place isn’t just about assembling the requisite utensils and ingredients before starting to cook.  It’s really dedication to a lifestyle that gives weight to being fully present for each activity in our lives, including the prep, execution and completion of cooking.

I wouldn’t want to miss a moment of it.