12b- Flavor

I wish I could get the right combination of flavors.  Or at the very least know the perfect combination of flavor that my tongue prefers.  I think that’s the worst part of the thing, knowing that a dish is missing something but not being able to put your finger on exactly what.

I was at lunch the other day with a friend, ingesting a particularly tasty dish while simultaneously being driven further down my path of crazy because I couldn’t figure out a spice that I was tasting.  I knew the flavor.  In between bites it would tease me- playing hide and seek with my tongue.

I feel like that when I am cooking some days.  I cook by smell and feel, not by recipe. Yes feel, as in- this feels right with that. That feels off.

I feel like that about my life some days.  I know the combination that I want. I can see it in my mind. I can feel and taste it but when I mix everything together something elusive, that is just beyond my scope of cognitive identification, is missing. I used to attribute that to a person, a relationship.  As I have began to mature I recognize that a ≠ b.

Then the question becomes am I really missing something?  Or do I need to just let the flavors of my life marinate for a bit? If I do will the complimentary ingredients mesh to create the exact perfect life dish? 

The great thing about cooking is that a smart chef also knows how to use the theory of balance to neutralize a flavor that’s gotten out of hand.  Too acidic?  Add sugar. Too thin? Beat in a fine measure of flour.  Not salty enough?  The right cheese will do.  So, of course, would salt but that’s too obvious (and no umami).

As is usual I am left with many more questions than answers.  One door always opens two.  Way leads to way... I’m sure there is a lesson in this.  Yet today, as with the flavors, I find it elusive.

And that’s that.

-Dewb