The Baked Beans Parable

posted on February 22, 2012

Yesterday, my life and kitchen were filled with excitement as I made my family’s recipe for homemade baked beans.

I was nervous when starting out because my grandmother and my father had made these for years and everyone loved and desired them. There hasn’t been a church supper or family gathering where these beans have not made an appearance to be praised and then promptly devoured.

With recipe in hand and all the ingredients for success at my finger tips, would I be able to accomplish my goal for dinner?

I followed the recipe closely and even called my father for guidance to fill in some instructions that I knew he had hidden knowledge about, yet had not written it down. There are always nuances and subtle bits of importance that rarely are written down.

The house smelled great all day. The recipe was simple and straight forward and I thought success was going to be easy to obtain since I had followed it strictly and everything seemed (and smelled) to be going as planned.

The family sat down for dinner. My heart was filled with anticipation and nervousness all mixed together.

We ate in silence as the first few spoonfuls entered our mouths.

“They are good, but they are not your Dad,” my wife politely stated.

I agreed. They were good, but they were not great.

What seemed so straight forward and easy really needed years of trial and error to be a success. Following a recipe, guide or instruction manual only gets you so far. Putting in the time and doing something over and over is the only way to really master anything.

I was discouraged. I had let myself down.

Guess what though? If I gave up after the first time I tried everything, I’d never learn how to truly do anything.

This of course is about more than baked beans. Read it again. Take it to heart. Think about it.

And no, you can’t have our family recipe.

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Categories: Rambles

http://www.jasonkonopinski.com/ Jason Konopinski

I love this post, C.C! Working through family recipes like this are humbling indeed, because you slowly begin to recognize the nuances, the ingredients of ‘place’ and ‘time’ and ‘memory’ in creating something truly special.

http://www.cc-chapman.com/ C.C. Chapman

Amen to that. There are a lot more ingredients to everything in life than what is written down and you can buy at the store.

http://www.jasonkonopinski.com/ Jason Konopinski

Absolutely! Some of my favorite recipes were taught by doing – thanks to my Polish grandmothers (both sides). Measurements? Forget those.

CC’s DAD

My grandmothers both “made beans”. When I got the recipes, I tweaked them to please my taste buds and have found that others were equally impressed.

The question is, “Did this help satisfy CC’s desire to “do something with his hands”?

http://www.cc-chapman.com/ C.C. Chapman

The answer to that question is a simple no.

Cooking is in my blood and I love doing it, but I got more satisfaction towards that goal chopping woods a few weeks back.

Thanks for sharing and chiming in Dad.

http://www.ChristopherSPenn.com Christopher S. Penn

Welcome to the essence of good martial arts. In the beginning we copy the recipe exactly until we master it verbatim. Then we adapt it. Finally we transcend it and make something artful and new while keeping the spirit of it alive.

http://www.cc-chapman.com/ C.C. Chapman

I had a feeling as I was writing this that you would be able to relate to exactly what I was trying to say.

http://www.jasonkonopinski.com/ Jason Konopinski

@cc_chapman:disqus @cspenn:disqus It’s very similar in the world of traditional (world) music. I’ve studied traditional-style didjeridu for the past six years. There’s an uncomfortable tension between getting locked into the ‘past’ and building upon those traditions, particularly amongst Aboriginal youth. Elders often complain that young people aren’t respecting the old ways.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jane-Quigley/631111974 Jane Quigley

I love this post – especially, “There are always nuances and subtle bits of importance that rarely are written down.” The decisions that go into making a recipe your own is what makes it special and not just an echo of a great memory.

http://www.cc-chapman.com/ C.C. Chapman

EXACTLY!!!

http://twitter.com/stevegarfield Steve Garfield

Hey CC,
Nice post.

It’s interesting that you say you were discouraged, because it really seems that you were encouraged. I think you might have been more disappointed than discouraged.

On a second note, why wouldn’t you share the family recipe? Family recipes are meant to be shared, aren’t they?
–Steve

http://www.cc-chapman.com/ C.C. Chapman

It was a parable Steve, but you read it right that discouragement quickly turns into encouragement when someone is living their life the right way.

As for the recipe, it took me 38 years to get it myself, so I don’t think I’ll be sharing anytime soon.

Plus, the point of the parable is that it isn’t about the recipe, but about what you cook.

http://twitter.com/stevegarfield Steve Garfield

I had to look up ‘parable’. Shoot! I missed the title where it said it was a parable. I think I get it now. Now I need to try one on my blog.
http://www.cc-chapman.com/ C.C. Chapman

*laugh*

Don’t worry, you were not alone and the thing about a good parable is that it can be read as a straight story (as you read it) or as a lesson. Looks like I succeeded.