Because life is not discrete, but a continuum ...
I have been thinking a lot about life.. Mine in particular. About the lives I have led, the lives I have cast aside, the lives I chose thinking they would be better, the lives I got wrong, the lives I did right but did not realize because I could not articulate or perhaps, because of hubris. But, mostly, of how amazingly lucky I have been to have lived and be living!
Sometimes though, things stay with you through all of those lives, despite you; indeed, without conscious thought. Like that thread of connection or perhaps and safe comfort of acceptance and acceptable. For me, through all the changes, ups and downs of my life - one thing has stayed constant - from birth to now ….
Seeded Oat Loaf {Redux}
When the original “Life Changing Bread” made the headlines, I gladly jumped on the bandwagon and adopted it, as I was in the painful throes of bread withdrawal. Suddenly this wheat free version would bring the simple civility of toast back into my life and I no longer felt renegaded as a vestige of third world-ism. I jest of course. But, not really. To an avid bread enthusiast, the diagnosis of intolerance of refined carbs was a fatal blow. I reeled for years from it. I made do with weekend cheat treats and genuine substitutes such as this loaf. I suppose if it did not save my life, yet it did save my joy!
Vegetable Cutlets In Dijon Mushroom Sauce + A Giveaway
What condiments are staples in your fridge? I always have mayonnaise(atleast 2 types, original and some spicy version) and mustard. Three kinds of mustard, grainy, some fancy local version and Dijon mustard. ALWAYS Dijon Mustard! I love the smoothness of it and spice kick in the nose that is beautifully balanced.
Mustard and Mayo - together, and just the two of them, they make the best spreads for sandwiches!
Remembering Whence I Came and Egg Puffs
Somehow, since moving here and the puff pastry becoming ubiquitous, I had forgotten my own humble origins. How a bite of a simple pastry could make my life feel rich and sumptuous. Because in the 10 minutes that I took to eat the egg puff (for at least an hour after), I forgot about how I was the awkward one in class, that my skin was too brown for a fairness obsessed culture, that I had no pretty clothes (OMG! that horrendous high waisted jeans I had! :O), that I was the weird kid in class who wore so big an A-line skirt that it looked like a ball gown because my mother chose the cheap tailor. No, for those minutes, I felt equal to the nobility who probably were the only ones who could have afforded such a pastry, only 50 years prior!
But Instagram brought it up! That community of food obsessed and passionate rekindled me. It all started with Giulia’s post on the Puglian rustici…!
Ricotta Coconut Cake {glutenfree}
I gave in to the flow of it all. I let myself be led by what happens in my day rather than striving for something that inevitably led to me being frustrated. And, allowing the space to come to me.
It is difficult, because, when I get that little window, all I want to do is sit down and have a cup of tea in peace. But instead, that is the time, I can feed myself in a rush, cook something for dinner, do laundry (and that included folding the clothes), get errands done that need relative quiet. After all that is done, I sometimes find time to cook and shoot something for the space. Those moments feel like magic!! Oh! they do, they do! Especially, when the fruit of the labor is cherished for longer than the labor itself lasted.
This cake is one of those wonderful fruits.