Holiday Baking with 00.

Holiday baking is an exciting time.. New recipes or new twists on time honoured ones become a research ritual for those of us looking to experiment. What I have noticed lately is that sugar seems to be a central figure in some recipes while gluten is a concern in others.

In one recipe, 8 cups of sugar were required to dress up a cake. More cake and less filling between the layers should be the order of the day. Lots of raisins and figs wherever they fit in can remove the dire consequences of sugar. These dried fruits have a diminished affect on the human body with their low allulose sugar content. I adore raisins and dates so am happy with that newfound knowledge. Cooking the raisins or figs like dates in a pot with lemon and water to a sticky pudding-like texture and using the mixture in recipes requiring a sweet taste matching batter colour to the dark colour of these delicious dried fruits can be a boon to health.

Lately, I have tackled the subject of gluten, the protein found in most flours that glorifies all baking. Gluten can oppose the thyroid hormone. They are like sisters. Gut health is paramount to overall health. So choosing 00 flour, processed in Italy, can be that first step to freedom in baking. 

In Italy, wheat gluten is processed traditionally with slower drying and milling methods. How can any of that be wrong? Our gut is kept healthy with this respectful and protective approach to flour milling in Italy. In lieu of this light bulb moment, I have been using Italian 00 flour with abandon. I also learned that Italian flour can have a higher than normal gluten content also. Really? A gentler approach to milling grains in Italy allows the gut to adapt to a weaker gluten network. Good news all around. Here comes pizza, an easy and healthier food with a salad on top.

My 6 year old grandson has taken up making homemade pierogies along side handmade/homemade pasta. He now tastes the difference and loves it.  Cleaning his area is now a new skill he is learning. The small 1 kg. size bag of  00 Italian flour is a perfect size for little hands and perfect for teaching, too. The mess can be contained with parchment paper nearby. He foccuses on dough manipulation and knows that learning and listening go hand in hand. Pretzels and croissants will be the  gold standard in 2025 for us to make.  Maybe holiday baking will simply take place year round. It will if my 6 year old grandson has any say. ......

 

Somewhere Else or In the Kitchen

I entered the pet store to return the puppy food in exchange for the adult version. It was senior's discount day. Though my 'puppy' was 11, the formula for a real pup was too rich for him. I had a question to ask. I looked around and saw Mary, the mother of 3 young boys who was forever happy, always smiling and engaging.

I added more food to my cart having exchanged the pup food then waited. With a lull in activity in this retail pet store, we began to speak. Though my 15-year-old dishwasher stopped working days ago, hers had never been. Mary did not own one. My work schedule at home was a daunting one at times but hers was always daunting, with added dimensions -3 energetic young boys. She accepted whatever came her way with grace and a smile.That was who she was.

She works full time, somehow, while doing all the dishes without 'help'. In my own case the details of the holiday unfolded day by day while the planning of those details, locked inside my head, changed. Cabbage rolls, pierogies, and nothing more. There was no room. We had visited our 3 adult boys, their incredibly talented loving wives and 7 grandchildren. I could rest on the floor with my former 4 legged charge where I belonged. A nap might happen. With Mary, she was here, somewhere else or in the kitchen, a nonstop mover and shaker. She won hearts with every client engagement.

The whole Christmas dinner was hers for the making and she did that with ease and grace. Drinks, anyone? I might but not her. She had lots to do and a clear mind to do it... Being a wife and working mom is work of the highest order demanding precision throughout the day. Glamour rarely belongs in the life of a working mom of 3 but it could, someday. 

All the days of Mary's week are covered. Nothing is left to chance. (She delivers take-out one day a week to finish out her weekly schedule).Whew! She was tired today. So was I just listening to her. I understood, When did sleep fit in? She needed those 7-8 hours but probably used a few doing other  important things

Her smile and perfectly coiffed hair resonates with her audience: the customers who walk in needing dietary pet help with a new puppy or an old one, a garment for this wintry holiday season for the loves in their lives - the dogs and cats they adore. Even the toys for dogs and cats are perfectly displayed for all to see and feel, too. They are perfect gifts for little children, durable, squeaky, soft and huggable teddies of the top quality kind. Mary's boss, the co-owner of this delightful pet emporium, offers me hot apple cider. She was ordering and helping customers, too. When did she have time for that personal touch? Had she the time for sleep, too? I wondered.

Mary's lists never ends, always adjusting, always changing to fit in a time slot that just opened up. Every little thing gets done, though. It has to. That is her family portrait. A quick look in the mirror to check and out comes the cover model ready for all to see. No one knows except other busy moms the labour of love that manifests itself every day. 

These vivid snippets of life for working moms and wives repeat themselves daily because that is the way it is. Modern life is like that, sometimes. A breath of fresh air when storm clouds appear. Mary smiles and is grateful for it all, being ready and available to do what it takes. All challenges accepted. A pleasure to know her.