the Humanist view

It brought me joy to bake today. The aroma of fresh bread still lingers from my kitchen and I love that too.

The results are great. I baked the basic flavor with a bit of sugar and salt. It tasted great with margarine; with jam; and with beef stew. Wow!

I am now ready to experiment more with flavors.

Healing

It dawned on me. I have taken a step towards healing from the trauma of shocking events after my late father died in November 2020.

It’s taken over two years for me to accept the shocking reality that those I never ever considered as those who would terrorize and hurt me after my father died, are the ones who have.

But, now I am ready to heal from the betrayal. I am once again finding joy in cooking.

This morning when I woke up, by the way, I didn’t think baking was on the agenda. I thought I was going to turn on my computer and catch up with work.

Then I thought, it is a Sunday and you need to get your work-life balance in order. I thought, I need to do something else that is not binge watching series.

I remembered that about a month ago I bought yeast, because I wanted to challenge myself to remember the childhood baking sessions with one my aunts.

Honestly, as children, we hated it when that particular aunt came to visit, because each time she came, we were forced to do girl or women things. I digress, story for another day, back to baking bread.

Baking Session

I read the instructions on the yeast pack and begun. I continued on, step by step.

When I got to put the dough into the oven to bake. I was a bit stuck. As a little girl, we baked with an electric oven, now I have a gas oven. I wondered, should I light the lower part or the upper part? I went with the upper part.

When the bread wasn’t browning, I thought, light the upper part too. I did. I almost burnt it, because of waiting for it to brown. How so humbling.

I have been taking it for granted, it is not as easy as bakers make it seems.

Anyway, wisdom prevailed and I took it out of the oven just at the right time.

Food is indeed powerful medicine for body and soul.