Metamorphosis and Three of My Favorite Kitchen Experiences

I am an emotional home baker and cook. Sometimes everything is going wrong, literally everything. I don't always feel "up" to baking, but I'll tell you, I've never regretted a moment I've spent birthing chocolate chip cookies, blueberry muffins, or honestly even the breads that didn't rise properly.

It's in the movements, the stirring, the soft pour, the gentle fold. It is in the aromatherapy, the just opened bottle of vanilla, the zesting of a lemon, the grating of fresh nutmeg, the butter and cinnamon in the oven, melting a symphony into the air.

Baking and cooking transforms a bunch of random ingredients into something else, a whole new magical entity, and that process itself has the power to transform my mood, and to bring me into the present. That's before the tasting. That's before the sharing. The smiles. The "OMG! This is so FREAKING good!"

There are a few things I do from time to time for my baking or cooking that always make me happy. Here are just three of them!

Browning Butter

I was so scared, the first time. I put my butter in the pan like a good girl and I freaked out silently, like a good girl. All of the instructions I read online emphasized the importance of not letting the butter burn. They emphasized this over and over again. I was sure my butter was going to go from tidy sticks to some scorched plastic mess within two seconds.

No.

You do have to pay attention. You do have to be present. You shouldn't leave your butter alone, but you won't want to. There are stages. The butter sputters, as the water is leaving, it starts to foam and separate. Slowly the color deepens, you might need to stir the foam away to check it. The dark amber blooms, and that nutty smell rises up, rises into your airways, and once you might moan, you know it is time.

Brown butter adds a beautiful nutty depth to anything from baked goods to sauces, but the mere act of making it alone, for me is miraculous! Ahh!

Whipping Things

Whipping my own cream at home for the first time felt like a super power discovered too late in life. Like flying. How many opportunities had I missed to just leap from a tree carefree. How many subpar sundaes had I topped with whipped "topping" from a tub or a can?

Never again. Just by moving proteins together really fast and bubbling them up with air, you can go from bowl of milk or egg whites to something so, so much more.

I used to work at Starbucks for awhile, and one of my co-workers once said, "I wonder how they made whipped cream before the CO2 and canisters." I smiled at him, asked him, what it was called again!

While I love whipping cream and whipping butter and powdered sugar into buttercream that made me swear off the grocery store tubs, the biggest reward for me comes with whipping egg whites.

Once whipped, Egg whites transform from snot into delicate, fluffy, angel-filled clouds of divinity. Watching them change, moment by moment, whisk stroke, by whisk stroke reminds me that all things are possible if you follow process. Plus it's just neat to see, and even though I'm not a fan of eggs, I am a fan of soft and tender baked goods, the toasted silken swirl on top of lemon meringue, and even crisp to melt-in-you-mouth meringue kisses.

Making Mug Cakes

First of all mug cakes take very little kitchen knowledge and pretty much no confidence. You do have to find a good recipe, but once you have that, as long as you have at least a little flour, sugar, milk, oil or butter, an egg, and a microwaveable mug or bowl, you can make yourself a cake or muffin literally whenever you want to in under five minutes!

I have a sweet tooth and I also for some reason love coffee cake more than I think I do, so I frequently dump a bunch of stuff that comes together in a battery sludge in my giant Golden Girls mug, top it with a little homemade streusel and pop it in the microwave for a minute to a minute and a half, and that sludge puffs up, up, and over the top of the mug, steamy, tender, all mine!

Not only is seeing the cake bake so quickly a mood booster, but so is having your own cake when just moments before you did not!

Baking and cooking is not just a means to an end for me. It's not just about providing nutrition for

myself or others. It's feeding my body, yes, but also my mind, my senses, my soul!