Rise Up: I Dream of Baking

There are several things I miss right now, from sitting down to eat to being able to pick up things I drop on the floor. But one of the most affecting lacks in my life right now is my inability to bake. From making sweets with Sis to baking the family's daily bread, I long to pull out my flour, sugar, and butter to make something delectable. Sis misses it too. She made monkey bread with Gommie, but that was weeks ago. What has she baked lately?

It's not that we're lacking in treats. Friends bringing dinner or visiting have showered us with delicious muffins, cheesecake, and cookies, which have sustained us through our baking drought. (So, please don't stop!) I don't think Sis and I have gone 5 weeks without baking since she was old enough to stand on a chair and hold a spoon. Mama has done all she can. She even made a loaf of bread in my machine which was like manna from heaven, only lasting a day or so. She has also made several trips to the store to make sure we have enough ready-made meals and snacks (we're rather embarrassed by our reversion to, or in some cases, introduction to, prepackaged foods--like ramen or "Ponyo noodles" and even those little fake cheese packets with crackers! The kids love them--it'll be a hard habit to break when we go back to healthier, fresh, homemade foods). And when she shops with the kids, she comes home with more than she bargained.

But it's not the same. First, homemade beats store bought almost any day (well, except perhaps where cheesecake is concerned!). I almost can't bear sliced store bread. Second, I do like eating my friends' baked goods (and getting their recipes!) but I miss making things myself--combining the ingredients, smelling the baking, checking on the increasingly golden crusts. One friend brought a baguette and the kids loved eating what they referred to as "croissant"--and all I could think of is, wait, we have a baguette pan and I know how to make French bread!!! Alas . . . . And then this morning I had to feed my sourdough starter which has been sorely neglected but not quite yet to the point of dying. Just measuring and mixing in the water and flour was a siren call that was hard to resist. And while I'm not nearly ready for making my beloved sourdough biscuits, with all that assembly of ingredients, mixing, kneading, rolling, cutting, and putting them in the oven, I briefly toyed with no-knead bread. I mean, Sis could help me pull out flour and water and yeast and salt. She could stir. And then by the time we needed to shape and bake, Mama would be home to help. Like she has nothing else to do. Then I had this crazy idea of roping in one of my baking friends to come over with a box mix and make brownies or cupcakes with Sis. We'd both love it.

I wonder what we'll make first. Sourdough biscuits? A loaf of bread? Sis's favorite chocolate crinkle cookies? Our favorite Swedish apple pie? Sis has also started asking for pumpkin pie. And then there are cupcakes, which we love to admire in our various cookbooks.

But, it'll wait a week or two or three. And taste even better because we waited so long.

(I'm just hoping that the wait has ruined all sense of moderation!)