A recent question in one of my online course assignments got me thinking today.
"Can you think of an example from your own life where a person had another way of accomplishing a task, different from the way that you would have done it, but equally effective?"
I spent a lot of time (probably too much) pondering this question, trying to think of a task I had accomplished, and coming up with nothing. This isn't to say people have done things differently than I, I'm sure that's happened often throughout my life, but I wanted to give an example where it truly affected me.
And then, I thought back to the year I took off before college.
"Can you think of an example from your own life where a person had another way of accomplishing a task, different from the way that you would have done it, but equally effective?"
I spent a lot of time (probably too much) pondering this question, trying to think of a task I had accomplished, and coming up with nothing. This isn't to say people have done things differently than I, I'm sure that's happened often throughout my life, but I wanted to give an example where it truly affected me.
And then, I thought back to the year I took off before college.
When I was 18, I spent a lot of time traveling with my dad to my grandparent’s house to help them with some work that needed to be done. While my Dad and Pop mended and renovated around the house, Grammy and I spent time in the kitchen.
Perhaps my greatest passion is cooking, and I share that passion with my grandmother. One of her signature foods is poppy seed and nut roll, a baked confection with sweet filling, rolled up in a soft dough, and baked. Grammy hoped to teach me how to make nut roll, so that I would be able to make them for my family.
I browsed over her recipe, with directions such as “5-8 cups of flour” and “bake until done”, I was convinced this recipe would never turn outI set out all of the ingredients.
“Grammy, where are your measuring cups?” I asked her. She didn’t have one. She had a patterned teacup she used for all her measuring. Measuring spoons were no where to be found, the palm of her hand worked just as well.
I remained dubious, but having tasted her nut rolls, I knew somehow this recipe had to work. She showed me how she measured using the cup, carefully scooping out the flour. Shortening was measured using water and a liquid measuring glass, no fancy adjustable cup needed. Flour was added bit by bit, until it felt just right. The nuts were ground in an ancient metal grinder, certainly years older than I.
We mixed and kneaded, stirred and chopped, until 7 beautiful rolls emerged steaming from the oven. They smelled amazing, nutty and sweet. How did they turn out?
Pretty delicious.
Perhaps my greatest passion is cooking, and I share that passion with my grandmother. One of her signature foods is poppy seed and nut roll, a baked confection with sweet filling, rolled up in a soft dough, and baked. Grammy hoped to teach me how to make nut roll, so that I would be able to make them for my family.
I browsed over her recipe, with directions such as “5-8 cups of flour” and “bake until done”, I was convinced this recipe would never turn outI set out all of the ingredients.
“Grammy, where are your measuring cups?” I asked her. She didn’t have one. She had a patterned teacup she used for all her measuring. Measuring spoons were no where to be found, the palm of her hand worked just as well.
I remained dubious, but having tasted her nut rolls, I knew somehow this recipe had to work. She showed me how she measured using the cup, carefully scooping out the flour. Shortening was measured using water and a liquid measuring glass, no fancy adjustable cup needed. Flour was added bit by bit, until it felt just right. The nuts were ground in an ancient metal grinder, certainly years older than I.
We mixed and kneaded, stirred and chopped, until 7 beautiful rolls emerged steaming from the oven. They smelled amazing, nutty and sweet. How did they turn out?
Pretty delicious.
Thank you Grammy, for not only teaching me how to make nut roll, but teaching me how to see things through a different set of eyes. I will always think of your teacup when I make nut roll.