The Power of Baking
We all have things that we do that make us fell better. My number one, go to thing that makes me feel better here in Turkey is baking.
In the States, I had other options, and I would normally sew, quilt, or make some paper craft. Unfortunately, those activities take a lot of supplies and some machinery that was just too heavy to bring along. Don't get me wrong... I baked plenty in the States too, just at a more restrained level that did not impact my husband's waist line so much.
The week between Christmas and New Year (Mutlu Yilar is Turkish for happy new year) I made the following: caramel corn, apple turnovers, cherry turnovers, and my mom's famous cinnamon rolls.
All totally yummy, but not great when your pants are a bit tight.
I normally end up making about one baked good a week for some reason. Maybe I'm missing home, maybe I had a bad day at work, maybe I need to be appreciated for doing something nice, or maybe I just need to be able to control how something turns out. Whatever the motivation, there are lots of baked yummy things in this house.
I would assert that it is a combination of factors that makes baking a therapy for me: hot oven that warms the house, the focused energy that it takes to follow a recipe, the physical activity required to cream butter and sugar by hand, and the action of thinking of something outside of myself.
When I get in a bad head space, there is nothing like kneading a yeast dough for the 15 minutes that it takes to activate the gluten to make your arms sore and your mind blank.
If your not feeling great today, try baking up a storm.
In the States, I had other options, and I would normally sew, quilt, or make some paper craft. Unfortunately, those activities take a lot of supplies and some machinery that was just too heavy to bring along. Don't get me wrong... I baked plenty in the States too, just at a more restrained level that did not impact my husband's waist line so much.
The week between Christmas and New Year (Mutlu Yilar is Turkish for happy new year) I made the following: caramel corn, apple turnovers, cherry turnovers, and my mom's famous cinnamon rolls.
All totally yummy, but not great when your pants are a bit tight.
I normally end up making about one baked good a week for some reason. Maybe I'm missing home, maybe I had a bad day at work, maybe I need to be appreciated for doing something nice, or maybe I just need to be able to control how something turns out. Whatever the motivation, there are lots of baked yummy things in this house.
I would assert that it is a combination of factors that makes baking a therapy for me: hot oven that warms the house, the focused energy that it takes to follow a recipe, the physical activity required to cream butter and sugar by hand, and the action of thinking of something outside of myself.
When I get in a bad head space, there is nothing like kneading a yeast dough for the 15 minutes that it takes to activate the gluten to make your arms sore and your mind blank.
If your not feeling great today, try baking up a storm.
I couldn't agree more. My mom thinks we're crazy!
ReplyDeleteWhat would your mom and my husband do for snacks if we were not around and crazy for baking? I'm thinking today might be a day for a lemon lavender cake or some cherry turnovers. I'd love to see a tab on your blog to showcase your favorite recipes... Not that I'm that great at keeping my own tab up-dated!
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