Wednesday, October 17

The Joy of Baking (and living)

Autumn mornings are kind of special to me. Even moreso when I am all alone here in the house. Sometimes I find myself just staring out the window early when the sun is rising having that first BEST cup of coffee. Today I had plans for baking pumpkin-walnut-cranberry muffins and some banana chocolate chip whole wheat bread. I was a little uneasy about baking, as me and the oven don't always see eye to eye. I do a pretty good job of cooking fresh meals, but baking has never been my strong suit, and once again I was determined to make a go of it.






 
I found the recipe here.It was easy to pull together, and the muffins came out moist and tasting wonderful. My mother always mixed by hand when I was growing up and I follow that tradition. Oddly enough, mixing by hand is really quite relaxing to me. I find my mind wanders from thought to thought during the whole prep time. I have a nice big kitchen window where I can mix and watch the leaves falling in a slow motion towards the ground, the free falling is soothing to my soul. I'll put on some music to bake by, ( I tend to do this while I cook anything) and enjoy the time with just me and the light streaming thru the kitchen window and the music streaming. I think my decision to make peace with the whole baking process and approach it more as an enjoyable time has made all the difference in the outcome.


I think when my heart is in it, it shows. I was rewarded this morning with wonderful, warm muffins and a great smell in the house. Mental note made: the zen of baking is enjoying the process and putting your heart into it.

Today I'm joining some old friends whom I have missed. I'm linking with A Rural Journal
for a special joining together of support for a special blogger, visit if you can.
 
Girls, I must be honest. I woke up this morning a little cranky and unhappy about these nagging hot flashes that are never ending. Then I read this post and realized that I have everything to be thankful for, really.
 
I'm really happy to be back in blog land and visiting you all here. If I don't know you and you are visiting for the first time, nice to meet you and glad you can stop by, if we have met, nice to see you again.

10 comments:

  1. Nice to meet you Veronica! Thanks for stopping by my blog... I love your photography here and I agree - when you put your heart into baking and cooking it is always better!

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  2. i love that photo of the leaves at your feet. :) i know leontien will appreciate the support she is receiving.

    thanks for stopping by!

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  3. I often see what others go through and have nothing, at all, to feel bad about in my own world. I'm so glad that so many people came together to support such a special blogger.

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  4. aww, love the leaves at your feet shot. perfect for Leontien. the muffins look yummy too. (:

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  5. Oh there is truly much to be thankful for. Thank you. B

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  6. I find it so sweet that you also join for Leontien....love Ria...xxx...

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  7. beautiful... so wonderful to see such kindness flowing.

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  8. Those muffins look lovely...also, the light coming in on those shoes is so calming. Hope your mornings just get better and better.

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  9. So glad the muffins turned out great! They look delicious! My mom used to tell me, "When you WANT to cook well, you will." She was right!

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