Baking makes me happy

I've been doing an exceptional amount of cooking lately (recipe links below). I couldn't be happier about it. I get to share a kitchen with one of my favorite bakers/people again, which is really fun. Half my baking is for fun, but the other half, well it really just keeps me sane some days.

Baking makes me happy. When all else fails, I can hit the kitchen. When I feel like I am having trouble completing a project, or when I just cannot seem to focus, or life seems to get a little too complicated, frustrating or un-fun, baking (or cooking) can bring me back to a calm state. Cooking is my stable datum. Of course, it doesn't hurt that I love food and eat endlessly. But it's more about the act. The goddamn zen of it. When you are mixing together ingredients; when you are sifting, stirring, and chopping - this is when all the noise falls away. The world goes quiet there in the kitchen. The frustration just gets chopped and beaten out - not even aggressively, just ritually. I pull out the mixing bowls and turn on the oven and everything - everything - gets a little better. I produce something. It makes me happy. It tastes good. Shit, if I'm lucky enough it might even come out looking good too. Wouldn't that be something. Whether it's marinara from scratch, cookies, bread, or pickles, these acts settle the nerves, calm my anxiety and inject a bit of control into my hands among all the chaos of the universe. And thank the Baker for that.

It's not necessarily a solitary process. Cooking with friends and family achieves a similar zen. The difference now that it is shared. That difference means that the joy is amplified. Greatly. Sharing the process, whether by dividing up the work, creating simultaneous dishes, or simply serving as a kitchen companion, makes the whole deal ten times better. I love cooking and it's always been something I treasured because it has always brought me closer to my mother, my grandmother and the rest of my family, and been a source of sharing and learning and teaching with friends. Oh yeah, and nomming. Can't forget that part.

Lost a leg in 'Nom so we
gave him a polo mallet. : )

The tangible reward that
comes out of it all. But honestly, that's really not the best part. Even with the most decadent cake, the joy is in the act and the experience and especially the sharing of it all. That's why I bake and cook and pickle. That's why you'll find me in the kitchen when I'm on deadline and why I break into midnight cooking sessions and why I love food but am not a food snob. It's the goddamned experience; the zen first; the stable, steady, ritual of creating cookies, cakes, breads, casseroles and a million other edible delights; and the joy of sharing the whole bag with folks I care about.

This post was brought to you by Write or Die, which got me to connect my fingers to the keys and create something more than a status update.

Of late some of the nommy things I've made are persimmon cookies, pumpkin cupcakes with whiskey frosting, snickerdoodles (always more snickerdoodles!), pumpkin cookies, spaghetti squash salad (original creation), kale chips, a root vegetable casserole (original creation) and an amazing inside out german chocolate cake for momma's birthday (took almost five hours but it was soooo worth it!).