Ups and downs of baking

My dear, sweet friend David begged me to bake something for him.

Despite the fact that I have sworn off sweets lately, I couldn't resist his puppy dog eyes.

Somehow, "something" got translated in my mind as "every recipe that you are curious about."

I was baking from 6am until 5pm!!!

One of the recipes was World Peace Cookies from Baking: From my home to yours by Dorie Greenspan. Also from her book, I did the sables and blondies (with chopped chocolate, as you see above, because chips are just too vulgar for these lovely pastries). The Korova recipe was absolutely murdered, as you see above. I guess my oven was too hot, because after the prescribed amount of time, there was just a mass of goo that was sliding off the cookie sheet, as you see above. However, I did scrape it up and save it, because it was my first attempt. Also tried Raspberry bars from Homesick Texan's blog, and two sweet potato cheesecake bars adapted from a pumpkin gooey cake by Paula Deen.

I made sure to eat protein before I started and I was good for about 5 hours. Then, all of a sudden, hunger hit me, i guess, and those little crumbs and ends I'd been resisting all day started to look irresistible. I could hear a little voice saying "Don't do it. Noooooo!" I tried to think my way out of it, but it was too late. I grabbed pieces of everything and was shoving them into my mouth, two hands at a time, just to spite that little voice. It was kinda scary but it was, after all, just one of everything. Not a binge. But on a darn-near empty stomach, not good. I got very headachey and stomach achey after a few hours. But everything was yummy. The Korova crumbs were fabulous!!! I have one half log left over... baking that (properly) today. Actually, my oven is apparently not properly calibrated, so I can only say I will *try* to do it properly.

Whoo-hoo

9 hours awake, no sugar. It's getting to be a challenge now... I want to taste something... After a lunch of a lazy chicken salad sammich (for girls too tired to stir the celery in - and that's not mayo - ugh - it's ranch dressing) I want something sweet!!!

Maybe some dried fruit and water?

I'm thinking that staying strong for three days will have real rewards - short term - like clothing fitting better and longterm - like keeping my vision, limbs and heart working.

Success

5 waking hours without sugar!!!

i made a big honking bowl of oatmeal with salted pecans, dried berries, cinnamon, butter and fleur de sel! I never thought I could do it, but the salt breaks up the boring blah-ness of the oatmeal nicely. I would never serve this to others, or expect anyone else to enjoy this strange combo, but it works for me.

eta - I read on Egullet where someone dips each bite of their oatmeal prepared like this into cold cream. That is the yummiest!!! It holds me for six hours

The other part of "the problem"

In addition to being a prolific taster of baked goods, apparently I am the only one of my cousins who has inherited two grandparents' diabetic tendencies. For the past week, I have been having a swelling feeling in my left bicep. Google "numbness and tingling in left arm" and one of the results is something to do with diabetes

Therefore, the tone of this nascent blog is going to change.

I have no intention of going calmly into that nightmare. I don't mind getting older, but I want my vision, my limbs and my heart for as long as possible.

Going to do something I've never done before. Practice restraint.

Man up and have some self-discipline. Yes, baked goodies have always been my mood-enhancing drug of choice and a huge weakness, but something has got to change.

My uncle and grandfather and grandmother died too early of diabetic complications.

I used to wonder, how in the heck they could do that to the family. We loved them so much and they died because of food? I never forgave them for that and never understood when I was a slim teen. Now I'm following in their footsteps.

Gotta stop.

Oh well

That Banana Bread that I made, the recipe for which is listed here, has proven to be quite failproof. Not only was the temperature of the oven off, but I threw in semi-frozen bananas and did not cook it for the right amount of time.

It was SO yummy!! And the bottoms were browned perfectly.

Nikki and Romeo (and I, which is the problem) scarfed it down pretty quickly.

Sorry there are no pictures, but after it came out of the oven, I cut it in half, his-n-hers, (hers on the left, with no nuts and his on the right, with nuts, because that is the right way to make it) to make sure it was actually done inside (did not trust the cake tester). With two halves of a hot, steamy banana nut chocolate chip loaf in my hands, I did not trust myself and wrapped up the bread, got in the car, started driving and THEN called to find out where they were.

"Hi, where are you? Gotta get this bread out of my car NOW!!!"

NO time for pictures. But above is a previous version that i made into mini loaves... I generally doctor it up with a generous sprinkle of cinnamon, extra lemon juice and vanilla, up the salt a smidge and use white AND brown sugars. This is about my tenth time using this recipe.

(sigh)

I am SO not a recreational baker - I have a baking PROBLEM!!! (that can be my tagline) Aside from my compulsive baking and tasting, America's Test Kitchen was MADE for people like me, because I always have to know why.

This week, I was baking some cheesecake bars and for some inconsequential (in hindsight)reason, it was more convenient to use glass baking dishes... some tiny voice in the background was whispering, use reflective pans for baking pastries, but I could not remember WHY!

I am far too experienced a baker to be having burnt bottoms due to technical sillines.

So today, making my yummy banana nut chocolate chip bread, (pictures to come) pulling frozen bananas out of the freezer, I'm impatient and throw semi-frozen bananas into creamed butter and sugar and eggs!!! This is why I have time to blog, waiting for the whole thing to get to room temperature.

And then, on top of it all, my oven seems to overheat unpredictably. so the edges were browned on this bread while the middle was completely wet. I turned it down 50 degrees. Cake tester came out clean, but I have to see what the bottoms look like...

Must invest in an oven thermometer!

Baklava Hell

WOW! This is my first post. I attempted a baklava recipe last weekend and after sharing the results with some coworkers, one suggested that I start a food blog!!

I cannot imagine what I could possibly add to the ton of foodblogs out there already, but I'll try anything once.

Maybe someone out there is like me... not a trained chef, by any means, but my Arkansas-farmgirl grandmother was a high school Home Economics teacher and she taught me to follow a recipe. I love tasting and I love the science of cooking. Call me an organic intellectual in the field of food!

I had a few more requests for the baklava and am in the process of making it. I'll be done with it this friday, 10/27/07, and will post my recipe, which is somewhat an amalgamation of a few recipes I have found.

Enjoy!

***Update: Baklava pic has been added above - this was my second attempt. In subsequent iterations, I combined a few recipes and added too many conflicting flavors. The simplest turned out to be the best. I only added a tablespoon of Blossom water to Gretchen's Baklava. The lemon peel in the syrup turned out to be too much.