The eureka effect, also known as the aha! moment, light bulb moment, insight or epiphany, refers to the common human experience of suddenly understanding a previously incomprehensible problem or concept. I describe it as an experience of sudden and striking realization. The Eureka effect is named after the myth that the Greek polymath Archimedes, having discovered how to measure the volume of an irregular object, leaped out of a public bath, and ran home naked shouting “eureka” (I found it).
Recently, I had one of these moments. Something Oprah calls the Aha! moments. I was reading Four Hour Chef by Tim Ferris which I now consider one of my most influential books. In the tome Tim wrote, “Simple combinations of 2-3 herbs and spices can help you create the flavors you associate with dining out. To jump from one ethnicity to another often requires one simple substitution.”
For the next seven pages Tim Ferriss instructs the reader on his method of cooking scrambled eggs based on a table inspired by the book Ethnic Cuisine by Elisabeth Rozin. In this table are 44 flavor combinations that can be used to produce a wide range of different ethnic cuisines from 35 different countries or regions.
For instance Tim says if you add lime and chile to your scambled eggs, that is the way they eat them in Mexico. Feeling like scrambled eggs like they have in Japan? Just add tamari, sake and sugar instead. Thailand? That calls for ginger, scallions and cilantro. North East Africa? Garlic, cumin and mint.
For me in the past I had always made scrambled eggs the same boring way. In this lesson Tim not only inspires us with various spice and herb combinations but also teaches the key to perfect scrambled eggs- using twice as many yolks as whites. What? You can do that? Who knew?
So I tried a couple of his recipes and that is when it hit me. I realized then in that eureka moment that eating could be fun and that one does not have to resort to the same old boring food. With very little effort I could have a whole new experience.
And then again something new came to mind. If I could do that with eggs, I could do it with any type of food. And if I could do it with food perhaps I could do it with painting. I could do it with fashion. I could do it with anything. Just a little tweek can make all the difference.
What is your Eureka Moment? Let me know in the comments.
