I struggled to find an appealing angle to my latest baking attempt. It
was unique enough to warrant more than an 'I made this' kind of post.
But more than that I want to be the kind of writer who is more than
pretty pictures and the self-congratulatory 'Wow! This is awesome. You
should make it.' I want to write posts that are evocative, that create a
visceral response instead of a blasé 'So what?'
I made this for a pastry chef's birthday, took the mandatory pictures and waited for the words to flow.
And today seems to be that day; the day I take a rushed, last minute trip to Baroda early in the morning. Like the song from Music & Lyrics,
'I've been living with a shadow overhead, I've been sleeping with a cloud above my bed'
But getting out of the city seems to offer distance and perspective on all the 'issues' that can often seem engulfing. The rhythmic swaying of the train, the sense of being purposefully borne to a destination (in my case, family), the wind whistling in through half open windows, the green brown of a pastoral countryside meeting the blue sky at the horizon, all add up to a heady feeling of freedom.
But take all that away and leave me the sunshine; the golden light and warmth of Indian winters. The kind that demands a silencing of all noise; without and within, an insistence to sit back, eyes closed and an invitation to bask. I love that verb 'bask'; an act during which the very real cares of the world fall away leaving you enveloped in a warm afterglow.
But I guess the nature of life demands that such moments be transient and that we keep striving, searching to replicate, re-create those experiences to match up.
All of this is to say that when I wanted to convey the joy of eating a slice of this Yogurt-Olive oil cake with Lemon Curd, bright sunshine comes to the mind.
Now go make it. ;)
P.S: I know that my stated writerly ambition and actual output might be at odds but this is my blog and I can do that.
P.P.S: The pastry chef is notoriously picky about her desserts and she loved this cake.
This is my first recipe from the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook.
Lastly I love Music and Lyrics because Hugh Grant.
I made this for a pastry chef's birthday, took the mandatory pictures and waited for the words to flow.
And today seems to be that day; the day I take a rushed, last minute trip to Baroda early in the morning. Like the song from Music & Lyrics,
'I've been living with a shadow overhead, I've been sleeping with a cloud above my bed'
But getting out of the city seems to offer distance and perspective on all the 'issues' that can often seem engulfing. The rhythmic swaying of the train, the sense of being purposefully borne to a destination (in my case, family), the wind whistling in through half open windows, the green brown of a pastoral countryside meeting the blue sky at the horizon, all add up to a heady feeling of freedom.
But take all that away and leave me the sunshine; the golden light and warmth of Indian winters. The kind that demands a silencing of all noise; without and within, an insistence to sit back, eyes closed and an invitation to bask. I love that verb 'bask'; an act during which the very real cares of the world fall away leaving you enveloped in a warm afterglow.
But I guess the nature of life demands that such moments be transient and that we keep striving, searching to replicate, re-create those experiences to match up.
All of this is to say that when I wanted to convey the joy of eating a slice of this Yogurt-Olive oil cake with Lemon Curd, bright sunshine comes to the mind.
Now go make it. ;)
P.P.S: The pastry chef is notoriously picky about her desserts and she loved this cake.
This is my first recipe from the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook.
Lastly I love Music and Lyrics because Hugh Grant.
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