I love to cook but baking has never been a strength of mine. It might go hand in hand with my fear of numbers, (as I wrote about in yesterday's post) but mostly I think it has to do with the attention to detail and exact measurements required to be a great baker. Anyone who has ever received or asked for a recipe from me will know that it goes a little like this:
put some of that in to this, add a hint of this and perhaps a dash that, and top it with just a smidge of that.
Ok, that may be a little bit of an exaggeration but in all seriousness, I hardly ever follow directions as they are written. Can you tell I am not very type A? When a recipe calls for a cup of one ingredient and a half cup of another I just use the cup and only fill it half way. That is half a cup, right? If it calls for a teaspoon I sprinkle some into my hand (washed and cleaned of course) and toss it in. This might be why my recipes never turn out the same twice, or why I hardly ever volunteer to bring dessert to any dinner party. Put me down for an appetizer or a main course, but please don't ask me to bring dessert.
Because of my inability to make delicious desserts I found myself victim to making boxed cakes, breads, and cookies. I mean, if I add a banana it is homemade banana bread, correct? This is what I always assumed and I always liked it. Aaron never complained and when I made it for guests they always ate it too. Life is good, all is well.
Last fall when we relocated to Virgina from New York I was unemployed for about 6 weeks It was during this time I began to go stir crazy and also it was at this time that I discovered Pinterest. I felt a little like Amy Adam's character in Julie and Julia, but instead of learning the art of french cooking, I was cooking and baking my way through Pinterest.
This is when I learned that boxed breads lack some serious flavor. In a pinch they will due, (and I would still eat them if made for me) but I vow to always make banana bread from scratch. The difference is amazing! I promise you, grab your flour, eggs, sugar and whatever else you need and make a homemade, from scratch, banana bread. Oh, and just to make it even more moist and delicious, add half a cup of sour cream. Trust me, this is advice you want to take.
That is exactly how I cook too Courtney! Nothing is measured and nothing is ever made the same way twice as a result. I have been thinking about learning how to bake but the attention to detail is scary. Maybe I'll try the banana bread...
ReplyDelete