The Grasshopper and the Sage!
Jumping into oblivion.
I have never claimed to be great at anything.
Have I pretended to be?
Maybe.
How can you blame me?
Type-A. Deeply passionate. Incredibly driven. Hates days off.
With these in tow, it’s easy to amass oneself into situations of success.
While it’s just as easy to get tangled in the weeds of averageness and land in a heap of missed opportunities.
I walk this tightrope daily, mostly falling straight toward mediocrity.
These features become present most often in my baking and cooking projects.
I have the most blatant disregard for following any recipe exactly as written.
Used as mere guidelines, my mind wanders to places of intricate pairings and overcomplicated techniques where I tend to try to throw one too many veggies in a dish, utilize a completely new spice realm, or veganize it (when I am not a vegan).
A little pinch of this here, extra heat here … you know the sitch.
More on, I simply cannot complete a dish without at least one microgreen, a voracious chiffonade of herbage, fresh cracked pepper, flakey salt, evoo, oh, and maybe something to add a little crunch.
In baking, this trait elucidates most generally in my inability to just use one type of flour. Or sugar. Or spice.
And, I’m over it.
I crave simplicity. I crave dishes that do not make me feel as rambunctious as the thoughts that drive my creativity.
With this mindset in tow, it’s time to start a new challenge.
Utilize my cookbooks as they were meant to be!
Yep, you heard it right. I will be following recipes to the T as they were meant (and tested!) for.
A super secret new opportunity has led me toward a place of great humbleness.
To learn from someone (and repeatedly mess up under them) who knows a great deal more about something (which is most people, btw) than you could ever imagine is so cool.
I am incredibly grateful to be entering a new space and journey of learning. I have so, so much to learn before I can put my own ideas, recipes, and product into the world.
I want too badly to post recipes of my own. But the truth is, I haven’t yet mastered the skill of recipe creation. Not even close.
I have the most appreciation for those who do not merely take recipes from others. I want to learn the why behind successful baking recipes, I want to learn the fundamentals. I want to learn everything I possibly can before I can process being in a space to teach others.
…
I thought it could be fun to start a new space (call it a self-cookbook club perhaps) where I test recipes as written.
I want to document all I have learned. What went well, what didn’t, etc.
But, I want to stop there. I want to sit with that recipe and not try to spin it. Not yet. Not until I fully understand the intricacies of each step, process, and procedure.
I want to become great at what I do. I want to be great at making yogurt, bread, cakes, and simple pastries.
Now, I don’t think anyone that actually is great at what they do will ever admit to doing so. But I at least aim to be successful, independent, and content in my craft.
In doing so, I hope to curb my cloying imaginativeness and reach a place of harmonious fruition.
Do not fret, I will not leave you on this note.
It’s obligatory I share some recent cooks, bakes, and life happenings with you.
With that, I jump into the land of recipe oblivion. Good thing I have quite the assortment to work through. See you soon.
Xoxo,
Lil <3