Today it is well past noon and I'm in bed still. This is the first day of holiday time I had scheduled months ago for my favorite time of year: Autumn. As soon as the 1 October came, I felt I had really arrived to the season of Fall and it happened to coincide with National Pumpkin Spice Day, which we celebrated at work and I made a pumpkin spice latte cake spread out over the span of two days. The first evening in preparing the sponge, I was anticipating it to be a late night, but it was not! However it was the second evening that ended in me gleefully cutting up a three tiered cake and sometimes literally throwing slices into brown paper bags hoping for the best almost into the wee hours of the next day. However I did manage to get everything done that needed to be done and leave the washing up for another day, which Mat as a saint took upon himself to do for me 🧡.
I am learning that I have a baking bucket list that I did not previously tell myself about. I do not always know what those list things are until I see them or arrive at a missing piece for an event dreamt up in my mind. If I stumble across a recipe on Pinterest after wondering around and get an, "Aha!" then I stop and file it away as something to come back to for I don't know why and I don't know when. But this was the case for the pumpkin spice latte cake that came from Jane's Patisserie. A friend of mine and fellow baker, Jess, introduced me in a virtual one sided way to the website. I modified the cake to fit my late night, limited time needs and also knew for the sake of Covid and keeping things safe, that this glorious cake would instantly be cut a part and packaged away for safe sharing.
However, the thoughts of decorating this cake leads me to ideas I've been thinking about ever since watching hours of old Nigella videos on Youtube and pondering about how home cooked food (or home baked food) should not be a fuss. I have lots of memories that come up in just typing these words. Some of the most memorable and amazing meals have come from people's homes at their kitchen table. Home prepared food sometimes with it's quirks and wonks is really a world I want to explore because I've already fallen in love with it! When I lived in London there was something amazing about baking something at home and meeting up with a friend in the midst of bustling city space and handing off cinnamon swirled buns that made everything feel neighborly. It did not have to be uniform or perfect. Having also lived in the business of the bakery world I do get joy from goods with "the extra touch," but it's the charm of home that has me especially intrigued at the moment. Maybe possibly maybe it comes from being very tired and healing from the inside out. Or maybe it's because I feel the world needs to perform a little less and love a whole lot more so here I am with an imperfectly iced cake, but a happy heart...
And so I feel this now as I continue to bake, that I am less interested to show off or impress, but more curious about building connections and food is that link for me. I do not have all the right tools, I do not have all the time, but I have the dream. My next baking bucket list bake is a cupcake for the upcoming winter. I've already got sugar plum fairies dancing in my head, which if plans come to life, I'll be able to share more about at a later time. Until then I've got oodles of library books I will be spending time with - all cookery books! And I'll continue to let inspiration lead the way in my next foodie move. Maybe spending time with these books is a way of coping (in a healthy way) with the reality I face of healing from black mold toxicity. I am restricted in ways of eating that I've never been restricted before. Honestly it's been very hard and I have not done as well as I'd like as I learn what I can handle and what I cannot running to the cafeteria at work stuffing my face with forbidden food. But alas! I am improving despite my flaws. And I get a second hand joy in giving away something I've made that I cannot touch with my own fork. It's the creative process that feeds me and keeps me alive.
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