La Buena Vida Episode 5 Creating & Acceptance
“The more you like yourself, the less you are like anyone else, which makes you unique.”
Walt disney
How I once defined my worth and value was not always simple or true to my hearts’ call.
I would always demand more of myself, I would ask myself how I could be tougher so I would be taken more seriously, I criticized myself If I was to vulnerable or wore my heart on my sleeve to much…..BUT then I realised I was betraying myself, I was compromising my own unique parts that made a whole person who was creative, dared to dream and love.
I was created perfect for MY life journey. I’m in a race of MY own. So are you.
I love to create from joy and the adventure of making something amazing from simple ideas or elements into a piece of my own art… Imagine a new desk from forgotten wood behind a shed or a delicious meal from just 2 ingredients.
Accepting that ‘incredible’ can simply be making something with all your heart and soul, means you are no longer locked into the spiral of asking for others permission to be seen or approved of. Do you think Einstein or Thomas Edison or Marie Curie polled their friends for popularity votes, they simply got on with being themselves.
You are the truest bravest person you know because in spite of your perceived inadequecies and failures and mismatched loves, YOU are still standing with limitless possibilities, yes limitless. Because until you pass over to the next world, you should be making every second in this one count. Accept you are beautifully flawed, accept that you can choose how you perceive each day and accept that you, your hands, your mind are the tools of the gods – perfect to create and give.
‘Where the spirit does not work with the hand, there is no art.’
That is the point of life, crafting, building a story in which each chapter sees you gently become yourself. A life in which, making a desk can be the most joyous time, because it means something to you or making lunch that brings back childhood nostalgia warms your heart.
Today’s dish I’m cooking for you, does just that…Spanish Tortilla de patata.
It is a favourite family dish across Spain and I’m always gently nervous making it because my mums' is the best. My version today, has no onion but it usually does include it..but my kids like it without and that’s the beauty of tortilla de patata, it’s simple but can be modified to your taste.
First, peel the potatoes.
Then cut it in slivers, making sure they aren’t too thin.
Heat up the oil in a frying pan. The oil has to cover the bottom of the frying pan.
Place the potatoes slivers in and let it brown. Move it regularly so all the slices can be cooked.
In a bowl, crack some eggs and mix them with two or three pinches of salt.
When the potatoes are cooked, drain most of the oil from your pan, then pour the egg mixture over the potatoes. Making sure that all potatos are covered. Now some people like to take the patatas out and mix the eggs with them in a bowl, but this Is how I learnt.
Let it cook slowly. Be careful, the tortilla should not stick to the edges, use a fork to keep it from sticking.
When the tortilla is cooked underneath, put a plate on the frying pan. Be careful! This is the most perilous moment of the recipe! In a fast and precise movement, turn over the frying pan so the tortilla is now well flat in the plate
After that, make the tortilla slide in the frying pan to cook the other part.
Be careful, a good tortilla de patatas has to be slightly runny, not too dry, so you have to cook it, but not too much…then enjoy!
With a simple salad and some warm bread, this dish will satisfy and taste so good.
It’s a share around a table of laughter and humble joy kinda meal. My favourite.
Now is the time to re evaluate what you really believe about yourself. Do you accept all or none of the nuances that make you YOU? Or are you still beating yourself up when you aren’t measuring up to someone else?
Please be mindful of the power you have within to build yourself a strong base or crumble it with harsh words and criticism, now is the time to go inward and accept YOU. Because when you accept YOU others feel safe to do that for themselves.
Let’s be creative now, let’s be playful, let’s craft an era where we weren’t just 'stuck inside' but instead found a calm cove for breathing out all the built up stresses of life & perhaps for the first time, liked who we saw in the mirror.
“I would rather entertain and hope that people learned something than educate people and hope they were entertained.”
Walt Disney
Tortilla de Patatas Recipe (for approx 4 people)
1 kilogram of potatoes
Salt to taste
8 large eggs (free range if possible)
1 onion (optional)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil