You know how they say, "Never go to bed angry?" Well, from a Goddess Cafe perspective, "Never go to the oven angry." ;) Why? Because what you are feeling goes right into the food. Serio.
'Made With Love' completely applies especially to all the other emotions as well. But, the marketing departments don't make the mucho moulah if it's advertised 'Made With Tears' or
'Made With Sarcasm and Bitterness'. Or maybe there's this whole other market untapped!?
There are so many that blog about their baking prowess and successes which is commendable, however, for whatever reason I wanted to share about this particular 'mistake' or failure.
The catalyst was a desire to make red velvet, GF (gluten free), vegan cupcakes for my friend Kevin. And let me just share that I love challenges! Especially when it comes to desserts! So, I made a promise to him that I would attempt to make some because I had yet to create such a product.
I went shopping at my usual spots: TJs, Wholefoods and Lassen's for the ingredients. Then organized and placed them on top of my work surface along with the recipe aka 'Guidelines'. Please take note: Baking is a bit like chemistry and for most things, all dry ingredients should be mixed with each other in their own bowl separate from the wet ingredients. I was utilizing Erin McKenna's cookbook: Babycakes and had all my necessary baking tools at the ready.
Now, before any mixing commenced I checked the state of the oven and noticed how dirty it was. The bottom was lined with some kind of black blot of an unknown substance and I quickly descended upon it with my weapons (vinegar, baking soda, gloves and sponge). I quickly became irritated with ranting/raving especially during the clean up and I think there might have been some foaming at the mouth. It took close to almost two hours of consistent scrubbing before I took up my wooden spoon to mix the ingredients. By then, it was too late to stop. I was invested! Not only that...I was determined to complete this task at hand!
Normally, with any cooking/baking endeavor, I begin the preparation with a set Intention/Prayer and I make an offering to the Ancestors. For these Bittersweet babies, I failed to do so and the end result was not to my satisfaction. At all.
When they came out, they were brown. The entire box of red dye was devoured by the cocoa powder (as you can see from the photo above) and the small chunk I placed in my mouth tasted of... how can I put it? What I think a bad one-night stand would taste like: bittersweet disappointment, quickly followed by regret and shame.
At least I got the consistency right! And I learned a very valuable lesson/reminder:
Approach the Kitchen Ceremony with the same reverence you do upon entering a Temple or Sacred Space, with Mindfulness and an open Heart/Mind/Spirit, for that is what will enter the food as it nourishes All parts of You. Most importantly, don't be afraid to fail. The action of trying is far better than the paralyzing fear of not succeeding. Doing nothing accomplishes just that.
Stay tuned for my next attempt. Hopefully, it will taste like Magic and not Regret. ;)
