Postcards from Equanimity # 009
"Leave the anxiety. Take the bread."
In the weeks that have passed since my last post, as I explore the next steps of the story that I am telling, I miss writing to you. Whether it is because the connection of even one response is so meaningful to me or that the writing itself is always therapeutic.
Since I shared my burden with you, allow me to share my relief. My mom was discharged from the hospital last weekend and is now in a long term care rehab facility. She is still weak and will take weeks to months to recover. But for now, she is getting better, and more responsive. And that is enough.
Life goes on for all of us. There is a balance in it, as we take things one day at a time. I will soon get back to what we started in exploring in the Maslow pyramid. But just to bridge the meantime, I wanted to share this.
I like cooking. The joy isn't just in eating but more in serving food to others. Growing up in a house where both my parents cooked well and often, it was natural to want to be like them. In my college years I worked at a convenience store with a deli so I learned to make sandwiches. And thanks to basic cable and food shows I learned to explore other cuisines. Indian food can be hard to make but I have learned the basics.
But the one thing that has been particularly elusive is learning to bake, especially making bread. This past week, I managed my best ever outcome so far in making crusty french bread. The friends who read this blog have some supremely talented people amongst them who make a vast array of foods. So you can understand my joy at mastering something simple, when done for the first time.
This holiday season, if you plan to cook for friends and family, I can vouch for this recipe. All I needed in terms of equipment were: a stand mixer, a dutch oven, a kitchen scale, and measuring spoons. All I needed to learn for my breakthrough was the idea that one should not manipulate, and certainly not punch down, the dough between the first and the second rise. That's it. That was all I needed to do differently.
There are umpteen billion recipes on the interwebs but the one that worked really well for me is on another blog: https://www.lifeasastrawberry.com/easy-crusty-french-bread/#anchor
If you bake and you get a chance to try this, I hope you find the simplicity of this recipe as enjoyable as I did. Thank you for reading my posts. As the year winds down, I hope you are in a good place, with all the peace and joy for you and yours.
More soon.