Blogging A to Z (link over on the left). Day 2 – B.
I’ve always cooked, and I’m pretty good at it. Working in food service all through high school and college, you pick up a few things. So, in my kitchen, recipes are suggestions, not instructions.
I rarely baked, though, and when I did, it was always something that came in a mix – Bisquick pancakes, Jiffy muffins, Nestle Toll House cookies in a roll, etc. My reluctance to bake stems from the fact that you can’t adjust as you go. If I’ve got a sauce that doesn’t taste the way I want it, or isn’t the right consistency, I can fix that. Once a pie is in the oven – you just have to hope for the best.
Then a few years ago, my sister who hosts Thanksgiving every year asked me to bring dessert. I made apple pie, pumpkin pie, and pumpkin bread pudding. And they all turned out really well.
On subsequent holidays, I tried other desserts, and over time, dessert has become my thing. I don’t do fancy decorations, and sometimes the things I bake look a little weird, but they always taste good.
Recently the challenge has been coming up with gluten-free recipes, because my niece has celiac disease. For Easter this year, I made a lemon-honey cheesecake with a raspberry glaze and coconut macaroons. I think it was my best work to date.
Right now, I’ve got a banana bread in the oven. I swapped out some of the flour in the recipe for ground almonds I had on hand, and added a little sour cream to the mix to cut some of the sweetness. It smells good. Hoping for the best.
Working title 