Transition Lab Curriculum Part 3: Entrepreneurship

This is part three in my series explaining the five core aspects of Transition Lab's curriculum.  Last time, I talked about housing, which you can read about HERE, and before that, I explained how we're meeting our food needs, which you can read HERE.  This time I'm talking about how Transition Lab fosters entrepreneurship.  I'll end the post with an awesome recipe for custard tarts that you seriously don't want to miss.  You can skip to that by clicking HERE.

Some of you may remember that my plan was to wrap up this series in one week...and I was almost comically unsuccessful.  I managed two, not five, posts in one week.  And then, obviously, nothing for months.  I want to be very transparent about what's been going on for several reasons.  First, most of you reading this are close friends and family, who I want to keep in the loop anyway, and secondly, because I feel that I did not honor my commitment to write blog posts during my time here, and I want to make it right by at least explaining why.  Besides that, I think what I have to say is applicable to why I've been dreading and procrastinating writing this particular post.

Still relying heavily on the natural
antidepressants though.

For one reason or another, my time here at Transition Lab has been really hard.  My experience started with feelings of loneliness and isolation in a new place, followed by a prolonged period of insecurity about my place here and my ability to effect the kind of change that this program is all about.  These two problems compounded, feeding off each other and causing me to miss deadlines, arrive late to class, and often outright skip our group meditation practice.  This contributed to a rising anxiety, which quickly became all-consuming.  Anxiety began to turn into depression, which begat more anxiety and so on.  By the time things finally came to a head, and my instructor called me out and scheduled a counseling appointment, I was pretty far in the hole in terms of my credibility with others, my self-esteem, and my mental health.  The hardest part has been, even though I have made tremendous progress in overcoming my feelings of isolation, my insecurity, and my doubt in my self-efficacy, the depression and anxiety have persisted.  After a month of trying unsuccessfully to free myself, I have decided to try a short-term round of antidepressants.  It's too early to say if they're having any effect, but I wanted to keep you all appraised of the situation.  Hopefully the Andrea that returns from Transition Lab is ready to tackle new challenges and proactively create the meaningful life I want to lead.

Entrepreneurship is what the little blue guy with the shovel stands for.  In a general sense, the entrepreneurship goal of Transition Lab students is to start small businesses, using a model of minimal upfront capital, which are capable of sustaining us into the future.  Honestly, this is the aspect of Transition Lab that has puzzled and frustrated me the most.  I think the reason for this is pretty simple: I have never really thought about what I want to do.  Our school system makes it easy to simply pass through, especially for good students, and I did just that through junior high, high school, and college, without having any sense of direction whatsoever.  Expectations in school are very clear, and I imagined that after graduation, they would continue to be so.  This was an inaccurate assumption.  There are a lot of big decisions to be made, and the bigger the decisions get, the less clear the guidelines become.

Transition Lab hasn't offered me any "guidelines," so to speak, but it has given me tools to look at my passions, at my talents, and at what serves the world, and decide what kind of livelihood supports all three of those needs.  Although this hasn't come to fruition in terms of a great idea yet, I'm not rushing myself.

I came to Transition Lab with the goal of creating a Farm Dinner business here in Montrose, but I quickly learned that I didn't want to do that.  I've changed a lot out here and will continue to change, and I think it's okay if my goals and plans have changed significantly too.  But the problem is, rather than moving from plan to plan, I've gone from plan to no plan.  This was paralyzing for a long time, and it was unbelievably painful to watch the plans of others progress and yield tangible results.

The lesson that I feel the universe is trying with increasing ferocity to drill into my head is this: it's okay to take small steps in the right direction, even and sometimes especially if the way ahead isn't clear.

Me learning to weld, practicing on a small piece before
moving on to larger projects

This is where Transition Lab has really helped me.  I've taken hundreds of steps in the right direction, learning skills that will eventually empower me to pursue my gifts and decide what my life is going to look like.  For example, I can weld, enabling me to create structure or beauty or both.  I can cook dinners for 30 people.  I can preserve food to reduce my dependency on non-local sources.  I can mediate conflict with others.  I can keep a garden alive.  I can participate in local politics.  I can take responsibility for my mental health while maintaining an attitude of self-compassion and patience.

All of these skills are works in progress, but they are steps along a path which I can feel and sense is worth treading, even though I have no idea where I'm going.  And one day, I will find I have all the tools to create a life for myself that empowers me, fills me with joy, and creates a more beautiful world.

Tarts Two Ways with Berries, Currants, and Coconut

Frosting-filled tarts, topped with berries and currants

Lucky readers, you get two recipes for the price of one!  Kind of.  Really it's a recipe for amazing tart shells, which you can fill with either a delicious cream cheese frosting (as in the picture above) or you can bake a tasty egg custard into them.  I discovered this recipe when I was trying to satisfy a craving for these incredible custard tarts my friend Kendra and I used to eat with embarrassing frequency from a grocery store in Scotland called Roots and Fruits.  This recipe is close enough.  You should probably make them today.  They aren't even difficult.

If you're making the egg custard, you need to make that first so it can cool.  If you're doing the cream cheese frosting, skip to the part where you make the tart shells.  Add the following to a saucepan:

 Egg custard tart, topped with blueberries, lavender,
and a drizzle of amazing local honey

• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 5 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• Pinch of salt

Cook the custard over low heat, stirring with a whisk, until all the sugar is dissolved.  This will take about three minutes.  Resist the urge to whip the eggs up into a frothy, foamy confection, fun as that is.  That's a surefire way to end up with annoying air bubbles in your tarts.  Very unposh.  If there are any lumps floating around, fish them out with a slotted spoon or a small handheld sieve.  Let this cool while you make your shortbread dough for the shells.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

For the shells, I'd recommend using a big stand mixer, but  I'm sure you can use a hand mixer, or mix by hand if you love pain.  Put all the following in your mixing bowl:

• 1 stick + 2 Tbsp butter (at room temperature, but NOT melted)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp salt

Beat these together for about a minute, then add: 

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3 Tbsp sugar

Continue mixing until the dough comes together.  You'll know when it happens.  If you aren't sure, it hasn't happened.  This stuff will come together and bang around in a big wad in the mixing bowl.  Dump the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap and form it into a long log.  If the dough is sticky, flour your hands and the plastic wrap.

Cut the log into 15 pieces.  I'd do thirds and then cut each third in five.  Take each piece and flatten it out with your hands into a circle, then press the dough into a muffin pan.  You want the dough to come up about 3/4 of the way.  Make sure there aren't any holes, or your custard will leak in there and turn this from easy clean-up to pain-in-the-ass.

At this point, if you're doing the frosting filling, prick the bottom a few times with a fork, and place the shells in the oven for 15-20 minutes.  The shells will turn light golden brown.

If you're doing the egg custard filling, fill each tart shell with egg mixture, leaving just a tiny bit of room.  Put them in the oven (carefully - don't spill that custard, or if you do, wipe it off before baking) for 20 minutes.  At this time, jiggle the pans to see if the custard is set.  If they're liquidy, turn the oven down to 375 degrees, and check again every 2-3 minutes.

Egg custard tarts topped with blueberries

For the cream cheese frosting, mix together the following:

• 1 8oz. package cream cheese (you can use reduced fat, but your frosting might have a slightly different texture)
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Mix until well blended, then switch to a whisk attachment to your stand or hand mixer.  Here's the secret to luscious, fluffy, pipable cream cheese frosting that doesn't melt or lose shape.  While the mixer is running at medium high speed, add COLD heavy cream in a steady stream until the frosting is as thick as you want it.

• 1 - 1/3 cup COLD heavy cream

Scoop or pipe (if you want to be extra fancy) frosting into the finished tart shells.

Whichever filling you choose, you'll want to top these with tart berries, currants, and coconut flakes.  Or with whatever you want!