Everything In Its Place

The practice of mise en place (MEEZ - ahn - PLAHS), or everything in its place, is quite a handy tool. It streamlines baking by having all ingredients ready to be rapidly assembled. It may appear to be a flashy gimmick on cooking shows, but it turns out to be matter-of-fact solid practice. Attending to each component, and thereby thinking about its role to play, brings a conscientiousness to the process.

So is there a way to 'mise en place' our days? A way to steady and account for all of the comings and goings that will yield success? The assurance of speedy progress producing in mouth-watering results without the annoyance of dropping everything to run to the store or yanking all the wrong tools out of the drawer?

It does seem somewhat plausible. Yet, isn't some of the enchantment of our human experience the guffaw that comes with mismatched components? Don't we become a bit enlivened with the warmth of synchronicity? What about the veneer of boldness that becomes part of our true nature when we venture into the unknown and come out on top?

Mise en place is very satisfying, but it seems we'll just have to be in the flow for best results.