Where creativity is born

and a recipe for kimchi avocado toast that’s truly inspired

There are countless things we do that require only muscle memory.

Taking a walk, making a salad, doing the laundry, watering the plants, all may be spurred on by some degree of motivation, but ultimately we can get the job done on auto pilot. These are the small, necessary moments that move us through time, refresh, organize and nourish us.

But creativity on a schedule is a more demanding mistress. She can blithely ignore entreaties for inspiration, assure us that social media is tantalizingly important, make doing that laundry seem paramount. Her real trick is co-opting any form of distraction to her bidding.

The question is - who’s really in control?

“What you are aware of you are in control of; what you are not aware of is in control of you.”

—Anthony de Mello, Awareness

When the week rolls around to Friday, and I start to think about writing this post, I wade into a jungle of jumbled thoughts. Things I’ve read, done, seen, make a stew of ideas so thick that’s it’s hard to extract a predominant flavour. I know what you’re thinking: why not plan ahead, do several posts at once, rest easy on a Sunday morning instead of staring at a blank screen?

But through the muddle, there is a deep core of awareness that is whispering very softly. If I am still enough, the voice doesn’t get louder; my hearing simply becomes sharper. Call it the slow braise of an idea.

When I wake up early of a Sunday morning these days, the birds have already been busy at work. The spring sun creates a different kind of light and there’s an undercurrent of expectancy, hope, joy in the air. The blank page waits expectantly.

And I write.

Avocado and kimchi toast

Julia Turshen, Small Victories

serves 2-4

Inspiration comes in many forms, and can often start with a single idea that gets amplified.

Enter Small Victories by Julia Turshen. Dealing creatively with leftovers is just one of the many brilliant aspects of this cookbook. A book that’s perfect for both the novice chef and the kitchen veteran, Turshen is a kitchen genie who generously shares tips and techniques - “small victories” - to make cooking for family and friends a joyful experience.⁣
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Small victories that accompany each recipe might include the best way to pit an avocado; the difference between baking powder and soda and when to use each; why you should always toss oats before using them, even for oatmeal, and more. The book also includes seven lists that are genius: seven things to do with a can of chickpeas; seven things to do with leftover roast chicken; seven ways with mussels. You get the idea.⁣
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One of the easiest recipes is a favourite breakfast or late morning go-to for me: avocado and kimchi toast. It’s a simple twist on a classic that demonstrates best how from simplicity, new ideas are born.
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⁣Ingredients

2 tablespoons of juice from a jar of any type of kimchi, plus 1 cup drained kimchi, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
Maldon or other flaky salt
1 ripe avocado, halved, pitted, peeled and sliced
4 slices thick country bread, toasted
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
a small handful of roughly chopped fresh coriander, optional

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the kimchi juice and mayonnaise. Season to taste with salt.

2. Place ¼ of the avocado slices on top of each slice of toast and mash the avocado into the toasts with a fork. Sprinkle each one with a generous pinch of salt.

3. Divide the chopped kimchi evenly among the toasts and drizzle each with ¼ of the mayonnaise mixture. Sprinkle the sesame seeds and coriander evenly over the toasts, and slice each one in half. Serve immediately.