Let me just start by saying that baking ruts are the worst. THE. WORST.
I originally started this post as a top 5 list of things I was doing to avoid the fact that I am dealing with a baking rut (title was lengthy and obviously tentative). However, I couldn’t get passed the 3rd point without running out of ideas and thinking that I was sounding like a whiny 5-year old. Not my intention, but understandable once you realize how frustrating being stuck in a rut like this can be.
SO FRUSTRATING!
The few things I have had time to make have not been very exciting. Flat raspberry muffins that were so moist we had to store them in the fridge and eat them within 3 days because I was scared they would go bad. Breakfast cookies that don’t taste like anything and I’m still trying to finish off (Trevor has already given up). It can be a little bit discouraging, especially when my inspiration to bake has completely disappeared with all these set-backs.
But I am still around and I know that this rut I’m stuck in will pass. I know that it doesn’t help either that a) it’s summer, so our apartment is currently a million degrees and b) we are in the process of planning a move for August. I was going to do a reveal post about moving sometime in the next month, but I figured that I would just throw it out there now and maybe do another write-up later. Like about how I’m thrilled to finally say good riddance to the ancient, malfunctioning stove my landlord refused to replace and saluting the not-quite-brand-new-but-still-an-awesome-upgrade oven in our recently purchased condo. Or the fact that we will have air-conditioning at the new place so turning on the oven will no longer be an ordeal when the weather is slightly warmer than 20 degrees. Oh, and the fact that we will have, wait for it, our own washer and dryer. Stuff like that.
So here’s to a summer where hopefully I can shake myself out of this rut and dig out my camera under all these moving boxes. Oh, and my inspiration. It’s probably packed somewhere around here too.
Last week, I found myself in a bit of a baking and blogging rut and at first I blamed it on the weather. With the sun out until almost 9pm every night, the last thing I wanted to do was stand in front of a hot oven or type hunched over my laptop. It also didn’t help either that our apartment oven was acting up again, but the biggest reason was even if I wanted to bake something, I was at a loss for ideas. My to-bake list was uninspiring and for most of last week, just the thought of trying to make something sounded exhausting.
Luckily, this feeling passed. Usually I make a conscious effort to post a recipe or something once a week, but sometimes things come up. Plus I think its good to take a break once in a while rather than try to rush out content that I’m not particularly proud of.
I didn’t plan on making yet another recipe for chocolate chip cookies (or rather, chocolate chunk cookies), but I was really craving them this past weekend and I figured that I should take advantage of the cool weather now while I’m still able to turn on my oven without it becoming an ordeal, heat-wise, in our apartment. I originally purchased these chocolate yummies (google ’em) for some cupcakes I was designing in my head, but that idea never happened and I’ve been hiding these morsels in my freezer ever since.
I had every intention to bake something this week, but then, as they say, life took over. Between dealing with car issues, meeting with real estate agents and researching our summer vacation (Paris, anyone?), it was a miracle that we were able to feed ourselves. So naturally, no recipe this week. Instead I bring to you five new foods that I’ve been enjoying the last few weeks and especially during this particular busy week. When compiling this list, I realized that all of these foods lean towards the healthy side of things, which makes it an unusual for a baking blog. But I thought it would be a good way to show that, as much as we want to, we don’t completely live off of cakes, cookies and scones.
1. Kale
This leafy green was already a pretty consistent staple in our fridge after last summer when I figured out how to marinate it ahead of time to make a delicious kale salad. I had tried my hand at making kale chips, but it was always touch and go because more often than not, I would end up with so many burnt, bitter pieces that a lot of it would go to waste. After reading the Oh She Glows cookbook, I tried Angela’s tips of reducing both the olive oil and the oven temperature. The end result is a crisp, crunchy and less oily batch of kale chips that are so addictive, it’s hard to stop at just one bowl. I’ve made these chips so often in the last month that I’ve found myself buying a bunch of kale twice a week. This busy week alone I managed to make kale chips a total of four times. Even Trevor loves eating them, so as a husband approved snack, you know that they are that good.
When I was younger, I was always willing to bake cookies upon request, muffins for morning road-trip breakfast and the odd family meal when my mother was pregnant with my sister and couldn’t stomach the sight and smell of raw meat. Being in the kitchen at a young age was a learning experience for me and there were a lot of trial and error periods. Such as learning the difference between teaspoons and tablespoons when it came to measuring salt in chocolate chip cookies. Or figuring out the right pan size so that our lasagna would come out in four layers instead of two (resulting in a delicious, but very flat lasagna). The biggest learning experience though, and one that I still struggle with today, is learning about what flavours work together.
I can remember one time where I almost used olive oil in a boxed brownie recipe. My mom caught me mid-measurement and taught me a lesson I’ve never forgotten: “olive oil is not for baking.” This is something I’ve carried with me still to this day, and may explain why I currently own three (yes, three) bottles of extra virgin olive oil in my kitchen pantry. Although I love pairing a good olive oil with a loaf of fresh bread (which may also explain my collection of balsamic vinegars too), I was always a little bummed out that I couldn’t use any of it for baking. That is, until I recently started doing a little research and realized that it was not so much avoiding the use of olive oil in baking, but finding the best flavour pairing that goes with it.
Canadian food blogger, baking and eating her way through life. Musical theatre fanatic. Personal finance nerd. Sometimes runner/yogi. Green smoothies are pretty amazing.
