[This post is dedicated for the personal essay assignment]
Bake out the anxiety to
peacefulness.
That line have always be my main reason for choosing to bake at my mom's
fully stocked kitchen rather than buying the ready goods from the market. I
agree that buying the ready-to-eat products (like for instant the cakes and
other similar things) would be more convenient sometimes but for me
personally, when I'm not really in a good mood or when I'm on an uncertainty
state of mind, I would rather chose to get my hands busy and my mind
distracted to something I passionate about in order to cooling down rather
than wringing my hand nervously and stressing my mind even more, and in my
case is to bake.
Baking is my sweet escape. That is how I started to fell for
baking. And perhaps, I have been sticking to this philosophy of mine ever since
I bake my first cake few years back upon my nervousness of the upcoming
national examination of my previous senior high school.
It was a really simple classic sponge cake — that very first cake which I
bake back then throughout the whole period of my existence at that time, and
so along with the so called “there is always a first time for everyone",
tagged alongside a famous saying, "don't judge the book from it's cover".
Therefore, despite the average looking appearance of the cake made by a first
time baker, which might not looking as fancy as the one being displayed on
the elegant glass racks in a cake store at the market but for as long as I
remember, it taste way more better than the one that have been confectionery
made.
It is still crystal clear in my mind, that very first tray that have touch
my mind and determine my future career options, the freshly baked tray of
sponge cake, hot from my mom's vintage oven with slightly swirling
steam when cut rising into the air dancing with the bursting heavy trail of
rich vanilla scent leaving a tattoo to my sense of smell. Bitten
effortlessly just like eating the airy fluffy cotton candy, it melts to the
tongue as I swallow, slip into addiction built as a craving. Plus the little
hard-work (and of course the luck) and the proudness of new achievement, it turns
to be everything that I ever wanted and needed for that very moment.
After all, baking by your own is obviously cheaper than the price of the
same product sold in the market and apparently cheaper than a therapy! But it
works just as effective for me that it is marvelously refresh my mind and
restore my energy from the hectic stressful period. Even if it sounds like
extremely complicated and looks like a heavy task for the first time baker,
like come on, how is adding some more things to our mind to be sort out like
figuring out how to mix the dough, to which consistency that the dough should
be mixed, how long should it takes and so on could be a big help to restore
our calmness and helping us to reviewing our problem from a better point of
view? How is it even possible that adding new problem to an already existing
problem could even help in this matter? What is baking soda?? Exactly. That's
what I thought too that afternoon while sitting on the kitchen table flipping
the recipe book out of fate.
But, from my personal experience without aiming to speak like a
professional or else (believe me I know nothing about these stuff!), but for
me, by doing baking -- in which is something that is totally new for me at that
moment, it helps to distract my mind for a while from the main problem that I
have already had. By successfully solving these problems (like figuring out
about how to bake a cake) in which is likely to be a smaller portion of
problem than our main concern (of course, except you burn the kitchen down
during the process, nah!), surprisingly have helping my mind to relax. It
felts like I have finally able to achieve something even during this kind of
situation and it really is, feel so good to be recharge rather than if
I do nothing, or when I just instantly buy my piece of cake from the store
and come back home and still having a fogging mind. No, I think I really need
that sweet distraction.
Talking about baking anyway, other advantage of baking by your own are:
the texture, the taste (sweetness level for example) and the moisture of the
cake can also be elastically adjusted to your taste buds desire and longing
by playing with the scale of sugar and butter as well as the amount of flour
used, and obviously healthier because you know what exactly the ingredients
that you putted in, not like the one which have been made ready-to-eat in the
store. Sometimes they might slightly taste a bit bitter in the throat like a
medicine or just too sweet or too dry, tasteless or to moist. It just does
not match each other like a puzzle piece. But of course "practice makes
perfects" have to be always in mind when modifying a sensitive things like a
recipe.
It might takes more efforts but obviously giving us more knowledge of
learning something new and experience as well as opportunity to regaining our
self-esteem, because I know I am. Besides, it is always feels good being
productive!
* * *
Have a good day everyone..
This is not the end of the story. This is
just the end of another pieces of stories. So brew your tea, bake your
cookies, be back later and flip the page--
Enjoy the little treat,
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