Hummus, houmous, or humus; whatever you call it, the origins of this dish stretch back to pre-biblical times and is a staple of many a Middle Eastern meal. There is no question that fresh, home-made hummus is the best. Use this recipe as a guide and add in any extras you like; roasted peppers, avocado, anchovies, whatever you fancy or needs using up.

If you’d like to find out about the history of hummus, check out its Wikipedia page.

Serves 4 – 6

1 x 400g cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
Juice of 1 lemon (use another one if you like it lemony)
2 garlic cloves, crushed (quite garlicky, so use one if you’ve got a meeting or a date!
2-3 tablespoons tahini paste
2-3 tablespoons olive oil or rapeseeed oil
Pinch of ground cumin (optional)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of sumac, chilli powder, or paprika to dress

Drain the chickpeas and rinse. Place half of them in the food processor, along with a couple of tablespoons of water and pulse until a rough paste.

Add the remaining chickpeas, reserving a few for dressing. Then add the tahini paste, garlic, lemon juice, oil, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Blend until you get to the consistency you like. You’ll probably need more oil, so drizzle that into the mixture as you blend, and stop when it looks the way you want it.

Transfer to a bowl, sprinkle with the remaining chickpeas and your spice of choice, and serve with warmed pitta bread.

Bonus – there will be quite a bit of hummus in the processer that you can scrape out and eat, but be careful of the sharp blade!

Recently sitting down to a meeting with a colleague I opened the conversation something like this:

“I see that you had an awful journey into work today, recovered from it now?”
“How do you know that?”
“Facebook, that’s how I find out how lots of my friends are feeling and what they are up to at the moment.”
“I know what you mean. A friend said the other day that it is killing the art of conversation but my view? It enables you to get to what really matters a lot quicker.”

Getting to what matters quicker. How many time in our lives in broken conversations, arguments, nervousness about bringing something up…how many times have we wished that we got to what matters quicker? In my case far too many times have I skirted around the issue, or not really connected to somebody by asking them how they are, and properly listening to their response.

Facebook is many things but if one of them is something that enables us to have richer ‘offline’ conversations then that in itself is worth one status update a day.

I’ve just finished reading “Medium Raw” by Anthony Bourdain, the sequel to “Kitchen Confidential”.  It’s an excellent read if you love food and think it’s important.  There’s a passage I thought worth sharing in its entirety; its his (and now my) view on the basic techniques that everyone should master. If you don’t know how to do these things, or you a bit rusty, I’ve added some good links for each technique.  Enjoy the book and enjoy yourself in the kitchen.

“What specific tasks should every young man and woman know how to perform in order to feel complete?

What simple preparations, done well, should be particularly admired, skills seen as setting one apart as an unusually well-rounded, deceptively deep, and interesting individual?

In a shiny, happy, perfect world of the future, what should man, woman, and teenager know how to do?

They should know how to chop an onion. Basic knife skills should be a must. Without that, we are nothing, castaways with a can – but no can-opener. Useless. Everything begins with some baseline with a sharp-bladed object, enough familiarity with such a thing to get the job done without injury. So, basic knife handling, sharpening, and maintenance, along with rudimentary but effective dicing, mincing, and slicing. Nothing too serious. Just enough facility with a knife to be on par with any Sicilian grandmother.

Everyone should be able to make an omelette. Egg cookery is as good a beginning as any, as it’s the first meal of the day, and because the process of learning to make an omelette is, I believe, not just a technique but a builder of character. One learns, necessarily, to be gentle when acquiring omelette skills: a certain measure of sensitivity is needed to discern what’s going on in your pan – and what to do about it.

I have long believed that it is only right and appropriate that before one sleeps with someone, one should be able – if called upon to do so – to make them a proper omelette in the morning. Surely that kind of civility and selflessness would be both good manners and good for the world. Perhaps omelette skills should be learned at the same time you learn to fuck. Perhaps there should be an unspoken agreement that in the event of the loss of virginity, the more experienced of the partners should, afterward, make the other an omelette – passing along the skill at an important and presumably memorable moment.

Everyone should be able to roast a chicken. And they should be able to do it well.

Given the current woeful state of backyard grilling, a priority should be assigned to instructing people on the correct way to grill and rest a steak. We have, as a nation, suffered the tyranny of inept steak cookery for far too long. There’s no reason that generation after generation of families should continue to pass along a tradition of massacring perfectly good meat in their kitchens and backyards.

Cooking vegetables to a desired doneness is easy enough and reasonable to expect of any citizen of voting age.

A standard vinaigrette is something that anyone can and should be able to do.

The ability to shop for fresh produce and have at least some sense of what’s in season, to tell whether or not something is ripe or rotten might be acquired at the same time as one’s driving licence.

How to recognise a fish that’s fresh and how to clean and fillet it would seem a no-brainer as a basic survival skill in an ever more uncertain world.

Steaming a lobster or a crab – or a pot of mussels or clams – is something a fairly bright chimp could do without difficulty, so there’s no reason we all can’t.

Every citizen should know how to throw a piece of meat in the oven with the expectation that they might roast it to somewhere in the neighbourhood of desired doneness – and without a thermometer.

One should be able to roast and mash potatoes. And make rice – both steamed and the only slightly more difficult pilaf method.

The fundamentals of braising would serve all who learn them well – as simply learning how to make beef bourguignon opens the door to countless other preparations.

What to do with bones (namely, make stock) and how to make a few soups – as a means of making efficient use of leftovers – is a lesson in frugality many will very possibly to learn at some point in their lives. It would seem wise to learn earlier rather than later.

Everyone should be encouraged at every turn to develop their own modest yet unique repertoire – to find a few dishes they love and practice at preparing them until they are proud of the result. To either respect in this way their own past – or express through cooking their dreams for the future. Every citizen would thus have their own speciality.

Why can we not do this? There is no reason in the world.

Let us then go forward. With vigour.”

Buy “Medium Raw” by Anthony Bourdain; it’s a great read.

Techniques

Basic knife skills

How to make an omlette

How to grill a steak

How to roast a chicken

How to make a vinaigrette

What’s in season

How to fillet a fish

How to steam a crab

How to roast meat

How to roast potatoes

How to make mash

How to cook rice

How to braise

How to make stock

This blog post is never completely finished, there’s always a bit of polishing that can be done but today I decided not to polish to press publish and get on with the other things I would like to get done today.

I am a perfectionist, the kind of guy who when creating PowerPoint makes sure his boxes are always exactly lined up. I was brought up to do your best always, even if that is about making sure the boxes square off. Fairly recently I realised that always striving for perfection is often a waste of energy, energy which could be put to better use. I had become too concerned about meeting my high standards, which in most cases other people have no idea about. I had got too lost in the presentation and not focused enough on the ideas and actions.

Worse than all of this, in striving for perfection I was putting things off because they are not quite good enough; I’ll just think about it a little longer, delay pressing send for another day. And putting things off makes me less effective.

Get it out there, ship, send, post, call…

Reality is, most things are always in beta, always a work in progress, never quite done. A great idea sitting on your desktop or in your Moleskine is, quite frankly, no use to anyone. Get it out there – even if the boxes don’t quite line up.

It is within relatively human history that status and power are exerted by the accumulation of objects. In ancient history great rulers showed their authority by giving things away; they were so powerful they could afford to be very generous.

Some of the finest food I have ever eaten has been that given to me by strangers; people who just wanted to see the look of pleasure on my face as I enjoyed what they had to offer. People who understand that giving a gift creates powerful and genuine connection between the giver and the recipient.

In a recent edition of the Evening Standard magazine I came across an article by the war correspondent Wendell Steavenson. Here’s an excerpt:

“Ultimately, of course, what you learn on the road, shacked up with strangers and refugees, is that bread must be shared, that one is blessed to be able to offer hospitality, and honoured to receive it. I remember one stinking-hot dusty afternoon in Baghdad in 2004 when I went to see the aftermath of a small mortar attack on a quiet residential street. A couple of Humvees were parked on the corner and the American soldiers, red and sweaty under their helmets, were making a pretence of investigation. I watched a young girl come out from one of the houses carrying a tray of glasses of water which she offered to the soldiers. Not one had the courtesy to accept. I watched this little failure of hospitality, a failure of communication, and knew that the Americans were never going to win Iraqi hearts and minds.”

I find that themes tend to keep bouncing around getting bigger and bigger until you finally take notice, and a couple of days after reading that article I came across Krulak’s Law and, funnily enough he’s a US soldier. 10 years ago Krulak recognised that in this hyper-connected world (even before Facebook and twitter!) that those on the front line have a tremendous impact:

“The closer you get to the front, the more power you have over the brand.”

The young girl who took out the tray of water was welcoming those soldiers; seeing how hot they were she was being genuinely caring. Those US soldiers were literally on the front line but didn’t realise the powerful role they had in representing Brand USA.

Winning hearts and minds – a glass of water or a simple bowl of rice can do that.

We are hooked on not missing out. We incessantly check our email, Facebook, twitter, texts and the multiple other ways we communicate and keep in touch. Friend just popped to the bar? Get your phone out and see what’s going on. We all do it, every day, and far too often.

In his recent book, Linchpin, Seth Godin sums up very neatly what is driving this incessant checking in – anxiety.

“Anxiety is needless and imaginary. It’s fear about fear, fear that means nothing. “Neeedless anxiety” is redundant, because anxiety is always needless. Anxiety doesn’t protect you from danger, but from doing great things. It keeps you awake at night and foretells a future that’s not going to happen.”

We are anxious about missing out, anxious because we don’t know what lurks in our inbox: an invite to a great party, a problem about to explode, or a great photo of a duck wearing a nappy.

How often does an email or a status update really hurt you? Email does cause stress at work but that’s usually because we place too much importance on it, and we so we often replace reading and sending emails with actually making things happen.

I did receive an email once that really upset me and changed my life forever. It was an email from my mother telling me she had cancer. Although the news was among the worst you can get, that email did give me the information to do something, to get prepared for the worst: to help her, my father and my family through her last days. So, when she died weeks after, we were as prepared as we could be.

Perhaps the worst thing about all this checking in? It means that we are not really present in the moment, a little bit of us is elsewhere, looking for something better, different, more exciting. And in that moment how often does that better thing come up? You’ll never know because you’re hunched over your phone, looking at a duck in a nappy whilst opportunity walks right by.

“Just give me an effing break” I exclaimed walking up the stairs to my flat so loudly that I suspect my neighbours heard (and possibly sympathised).  Another day, another 18 waking hours of having to motivate myself, keep my composure, and remain optimistic as I balance the often competing objectives of: getting married in 3 weeks; starting an entirely new business launching this May, and (it usually feels like) ‘foraging’ for consultancy and coaching income.

Sometimes you just want some invisible hand to come along and give you a leg up; just give you a rest for one day.

And that’s exactly the last thing that you need. The hand one day (if it comes) will only become “just one more time pretty please” and if it happens you won’t stretch yourself. By not stretching yourself you’ll miss out on being amazed by how much you can achieve. That means you will be less inclined to strive to achieve even more. Getting what you ask for is usually the worst thing that can happen. What you don’t ask for but successfully deal with; now that’s how you can achieve even more than you dreamed.

And yesterday – the day of my tired exclamation – I saw that absolutely clearly.  Why?

Because I made two things happen by confronting a couple of difficult situations, situations that if they didn’t go my way would make my life unbelievably difficult, and so ones I had been avoiding.  And what a surprise – with the right preparation and approached in an open non-judgemental manner; the results were even better than I could have imagined.

Then as I kicked back watching Gordon Ramsey on television, I realised again that you don’t achieve greatness by getting a “leg up”.  After touring India Gordon was cooking a dish for an audience of India’s elite.  His goal was to encapsulate in one plate all of the regional flavours he had come across in his travels.  He achieved it.  Not by taking the easy route but by stretching himself, putting himself out there to be judged, and also by adding his personality to the dish so that it became his particular take on Indian food.  My second realisation that day.  Gordon has been awarded 12 Michelin stars and is worth around £60m because he continually does the tough stuff and sets the bar for himself ever-and-ever higher.

So, every day and throughout the day you should:

1. Be honest about the situation you are in.
2. Establish clear goals.
3. Goals which are a stretch and which make you feel uncomfortable.
4. Put your all your passion and energy effectively into making them happen.

Should?  Yes you should if you want to make a difference in your life and  in the world.

Make things tough on yourself. Face up to those difficult situations, go a lot further than makes you feel comfortable.  Then reap the rewards of being yourself, being more creative, and creating a bigger impact.  Or just wallow around and moan about how other people’s lives are easier, better, yawn, yawn, yawn….

Turns out that I did get a break after all.  But I made that break, I moved things on for myself.  And that’s what made it all the more powerful.

I am massive advocate of finding your purpose in life – the one thing that is unique to you and which is your lasting legacy to the world.  Bring that passion into every aspect of your life and live your purpose.  That’s what I tell everyone: family, friends, coaching clients and everyone who reads my blog.  Passion is the fuel of achieving your purpose.  But being passionate without being realistic; then that’s road to penury and chaos.

Sounds harsh?

Example 1.  Watching some chefs on television the other day, their passion for great cooking was so evident.  However it was clear (even without Gordon Ramsey pointing it out) that this passion was not enough.  These chefs weren’t being realistic about the impact that they were having on their co-workers.  Frankly many in their brigades just didn’t like working with them; so limiting their potential.  Or, they were too focused on the food and not thinking enough about the whole experience for their diners; poor service was keeping the customers away.  Again, limiting their potential.  They were getting increasingly frustrated that they weren’t fulfilling the potential they knew they had, and so their behaviour became more ineffective in a downward spiral.  Chaos.

Example 2.  “But the money is SO good” even though I will hate every day of it.  Or, the “Second Life Plan” otherwise known as “I hate this job but when X happens…”  And X never happens.  Actually it’s usually Z, and you lose your job.  Penury.

Chase your passion not money but always be realistic about where you are and how you are doing.

If you are chasing money, you are simply someone who is “doing this job because it pays” or “I’ll bear with this for a bit because they’re bound to recognise my efforts”, and a whole host of other situations you will recognise.  Chase money, and not your passion, and you put an automatic ceiling on what you can earn and the opportunities that will come your way.  Why?  Because you will only ever be someone who can fill a role – and there are plenty of people who can do that.  You won’t be someone who brings their passion to their work, and so who is unique, who shines through, and so who has a value far in excess of most others.

Live your passion every day, love what you are doing.  But if you have no heed of how effective you are being and what your real impact is on the people and the environment around you; that’s where chaos lies.  That’s where co-workers find you impossible to work with, where you delude yourself about how much impact you are making, where you think you’re worth X but they would struggle to pay you Y.  Frustration, unfulfilled dreams, and generally thrashing around to ‘make things work’; simply because you’re not being realistic about how effectively you are bringing that passion to life.

If you are lucky enough to have worked out what it is – follow your passion; always believe that you will find a way to express that passion to the fullest of your potential and make your mark on the world.  But, be absolutely realistic about where you are now; and how you need to BE, and what you need to DO to fulfil your passion.  Do that, and you avoid the chaos.

A personal example:

PASSION
I am absolutely passionate about the transforming power of creativity, and view it as my purpose in life to enrich the world by empowering its creativity.

REALITY
I am not making the impact I could on the world because I am not in regular enough work to bring it to work every day, and my reach beyond work to a broader universe could be far larger.

CHAOS
I wasted months last year just chasing income, trying to find work that I was qualified for; rather than work out strategies and tactics to get the work that only I, uniquely, could do and that people would value enough to pay for even in these difficult times.  I’m avoiding that chaos by focusing on how I add more value than others, and how I can spread my impact (e.g. this post).

Always be passionate, always be realistic, and only create chaos to create something better.

Still chasing money and hoping?

2009 was a tough year.  I was made redundant and haven’t secured full-time paid employment yet.  Despite appearing negative, all times of change are an opportunity for growth and I, like a great many others have been reassessing how to make a living.

Recently I came across the story of R. Buckminster Fuller, the inventor of the geodesic dome, inventor of the word “synergy”, and general modern-day Renaissance Man.  In 1927 He was facing tough times; really tough times; a daughter dead at four, five businesses failed, bankruptcy was imminent and his wife had just given birth.  He had decided he couldn’t take it any more and went to the shores of Lake Michigan to drown himself.  Before doing so he sat on the bank and asked himself a question: was there a God, a greater intelligence operating in the Universe?  Yes, he decided, on the basis of “the exquisite design of everything, from the microcosm of atoms to the macromagnitudes of the galaxies”.

Given there must be a God, some form of higher intelligence, he then asked “Do I know best or does God know best whether I may be of any value to the universe?” He concluded that his very existence meant that he had some purpose in life, some value to bring.  But what?  He asked a third question:

“What does my experience tell me needs to be attended to, which if attended to completely will bring advantage to all humanity, and which if left unattended can very readily have all of humanity in great trouble?”

He didn’t drown himself that day, instead he decided to dedicate his life to answering that question; to focusing all of his energies on his one thing that would change the world for the better.

Nearly 50 years later R. Buckminster Fuller had earned the description of ‘a twentieth-century DaVinci’, and it was estimated that one-quarter of a billion people had come into contact with some aspect of his work.

This story brought home to me again the vital importance of discovering and living your purpose in life – ‘your one thing’.  Everyone has a purpose, a unique contribution to the world.  We are all utterly unique, and what also makes us unique also mean that we can all have our own individual profound impact on the world that enriches it every day.  There are three jobs we all have in life: 1. Find your unique purpose 2. Live it every day 3. Enrich the world with your unique talents.

Your life purpose is the reason why you are here in the world.  It’s the impact that the uniqueness that is you can have on the world.  Your life purpose is ongoing and a way of being.  Your life purpose informs every area of your life.  It gives you direction. Because your life purpose is unique to you, it is your source of power.

There are as many different types of life purpose as there are definitions of success.  Some people’s purpose will be centred on the achievement of something physical – winning, buying or building something – which in effect amounts to having.  Others will be centred on their work, project or career – or what they are doing.  Our prime or first purpose, however, is always who we are being. It is who we are being that leads to achieving our life purpose. Your life purpose may not be directly centred on your work but you can always be passionate about your work because it is a vehicle to help you live your life purpose.

Finding your life purpose is about finding the answer to a simple, yet powerful question:
What is the one way of your being that makes you special, that you will be known for, and will be the legacy you leave?

2009 personally was a tough year but I have realised that the way to thrive in 2010 is by adding my unique value to the world in all aspects for my life – my career, family, relationships everything.  My unique purpose is my source of value and power.  And what is it?

My life purpose is to enrich the world by empowering its creativity.  I help create personal and business change for creative people.  I do this as a personal mentor and communications strategist. As a personal mentor I help people to create balance in their lives and achieve their dreams. As a strategist I inspire creativity that generates business results.

I intend to make 2010 the ‘year of my one thing’.  What is your unique contribution to the world and how will that manifest itself in 2010?