Reflections and Authenticity

There has been a ton of press on people wanting to be authentically themselves at work; feeling that they can’t be authentically themselves and efforts to make professional environments more welcoming and open. I want to call out the massively huge benefit that it is for a company to have a culture where employees can show up and be themselves.

I had an extremely challenging few days between Wednesday 9/4 and Monday 9/9. My favorite cat, the first pet I ever adopted as an adult, my baby took a turn for the worst – and the vet confirmed that our time with him is…limited. I couldn’t write, so there was no post, and I had a hard time not crying Friday to Monday, so there was minimal focus. While I’m not yet OK, or even accepting of the situation yet, I’m working and grateful for the distraction.

See, when I reached out to my lead to let her know what was going on, I was met with empathy. And when we had our one-on-one just a few hours ago, her first question wasn’t where I was on my KPIs, it was about my cat. Being seen made it easy to focus my mind and bring her up to speed on the different projects I have going on. Being acknowledged allowed me to communicate the progress I’ve made and the challenges I’m facing, knowing that I can ask for and receive assistance. Our discussion wasn’t (and to be clear – has never been) one way or anything less than collaborative. This wasn’t our first one-on-one by any means, but this time was different; it’s the 1st time I’ve been hurting, the 1st time that I haven’t felt 100%, and the 1st time that I’ve felt truly vulnerable and raw at work in over a decade.

The amazing thing, the 45 minutes we spent together, talking cats, family and work, reenergized me in ways I never could have imagined had I not just experienced it. I “knew” I could be myself at work, but that check-in confirmed it. My lead sees me as a person, beyond the numbers and is supportive of the whole me, not just the work me. And that is powerful. I work hard, because I’m a hard worker. For her, I’ll work hard to make sure I don’t let her down.

See, the wonderful thing about building a culture where you see the person beyond the employee, is the employee appreciates the acknowledgement. And when you appreciate something, you show gratitude. Allowing an employee to be themselves pays in spades.

It’s almost serendipitous that this whole experience happened just a few days before Hispanic Heritage Month. I’ve always loved celebrating during HHM and this year is no different. What is new, is this is the 1st time we’re hosting a cooking class in my house! My wonderful Colleague Resource Group, Colores, thought that having an Abuelita’s Cooking Class would be a good idea. I happen to have an Abuelita living with me, and she graciously agreed to participate. I probably won’t end up painting my face like a Catrina this year, but I am so excited to be able to share one of my favorite meals, chili verde, with my colleagues. Most of you aren’t colleagues though. And I definitely don’t want you to miss out. ???

Happy Hispanic Heritage Month!

Chili Verde is a stew made with tomatillos, cilantro, oregano, thyme, garlic and onions. You serve it over rice with tortillas and avocado (the creaminess of the avo cuts the spiciness). Be gentle, this is an adapted version of a recipe handed down a few generations now and the 1st time this has ever been written. I hope you enjoy it. This is probably a weekend cook, or something you start at 2pm during the week so it can simmer away while you work.

Chili Verde

Your tools:

Big pot

Blender

Knife

Cutting board(s)

?

Ingredients:

12 tomatillos

Serrano chilis and chili de arbol (dried thai peppers)

5 or 6 bay leaves

2 onions

2 heads of garlic

1 bunch of cilantro

Thyme

Oregano

Salt

6 – 7 lbs of meat. You want a mix of bone with marrow, muscle and fat. We use beef, but you can also use pork. Pot roast, chuck, short ribs all work. Don’t trim the fat. It flavors the sauce and renders during the cooking process.

For the meat:

This is the longest part of the cook – but it’s vitally important. Follow the steps and you’ll be overjoyed you did.

First things first, wash the meat. Once cleaned of the excess blood, put it in the pot with a quartered onion and 1 head of garlic. For this cook, just peel of the top layer of the garlic’s skin and use a sharp paring knife to pierce each clove. Don’t add any spices or salt at this point. If you do, you’ll make your meat tough, and the spices will lose all their potency.

About 20 minutes in, you’ll start to see scum come to the top of the pot. You’ve got to watch the pot and skim off everything that comes up that is brown or pink. Discard all of it, and it’s a really good idea to just keep a bowl next to you. With the blood, marrow and fat in the pot there will be tons of gross stuff you want to skim.

You’re going to find yourself boiling meat for at least 60 minutes. You can cover periodically, to assist in the cooking process, but remember to skim. You’re in the home stretch once your onions are falling apart and become transparent. The garlic will most likely melt, you can remove the transparent onion, you’ll have gotten all of the good stuff out of it and into your broth and meat.? (use the cooking time to make rice and your sauce – a margarita doesn’t go amiss with this meal, you can test a batch too ??)

We’re looking for fork tender at the end of the cook, so about 10 minutes before that, when you can get the tines of a form in, but still have to work a bit, add salt. Give the meat another 8-10 minutes until a fork slides in easily and then add 1 heaping tablespoon of oregano and 1 normal tablespoon of thyme. Pour in your sauce and simmer for 15 minutes.

To make the sauce:

Peel and wash your tomatillos. Once clean, blister them in a separate pan until they’re golden on all sides. You’ll need a little bit of olive oil to prevent burning. Don’t char them, tomatillos are naturally sour, and a char will make that stronger where blistering them tempers it.

Add the tomatillos to a blender with half an onion, half the cilantro, the 2nd head of garlic (at least 10 cloves peeled) and (for mild-ish sauce) 2 serrano peppers. Blend until liquid and add to the pot once the meat is cooked.

A note to spiciness: If your house is like mine, odds are there are levels of spice tolerance. For those who want spicier – no problem. Remove enough sauce and meat for the people who want a spicier plate. Add serranos and chilis de arbol (these are dried thai peppers) to a blender with a little bit of water. Blend the chilis, then add to the 2nd pot and simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Our spicy batch was the regular sauce using the recipe above + 3 serrano peppers and 5 chilis de arbol.?

Serve with rice, tortillas and avocado. Like most long cooks, this meal will be better on day 2.

Don’t toss your sauce when you run out of meat! Use it on top of eggs or just heat it up and snack with tortilla chips.

Abuelita's tip: This recipe calls for lots of meat and for washing it prior to cooking. You could easily spread bacteria all over during this process. To kill the bacteria - without using harsh chemicals, add water and white vinegar to a spray bottle in a 1:1 ratio with dish soap. Spray all over and wipe down with a clean towel. The vinegar and soap will kill anything that might be lingering on your counters or in your sink.