Cooking My Way Through

Many of us think of cooking as a chore and are better off sticking to instant meals. Do we realise what the benefit of cooking itself would be? For one thing, it helps to relieve anxiety and stress. I would also look at it as gaining a sense of accomplishment. Although it involves a little bit manual labour, the end results leave you with an ecstatic feeling of cooking for people who appreciate it. When you start from scratch, you have a clear idea of what goes into the cooking process.

The inspiration

There is nothing better than coming home to mom’s cooking. I’ve grown up watching her put lovely homemade food on the table. There are days where she pops out recipes that bring memories of her yesteryears and keep reminding us that, that is the reason why the old are still strong.

The Travel and Living channels keeps me connected with what’s going on in the greater food world. I love watching Chefs like Nigella Lawson, Gorden Ramsey, Jamie Oliver, Rachel Allen, Heston Blumenthal and many more who inspire me with their delightful and creative meals. The thing that fascinates me is the creation of pastries like cakes and how it gets people talking.

Patience – The key ingredient

I didn’t start baking until I was in college. Apart from cooking savoury food, I find baking to be more soothing and a perfect stress reliever. Unlike cooking, where there is an option of improvising, baking requires precision and does not call for substitution.

There is an order and sequence to how things need to be done to obtain the desired result. Baking has taught me how to patient, it is worth waiting t see all the hard work blissfully rising in the oven.

If it’s worth doing, its worth doing it right.

First off, preheat the oven to the right temperature if the recipe calls for it. Baking requires for prepping of all the ingredients and assembling the tools required. One of the major causes why baking fails is the inaccurate measurement of ingredients. You may have the best quality ingredients in the world but if they are not measured correctly it is as good as calling it a recipe for disaster. There are different methods of mixing; each method produces a different texture and character to the end result. I usually follow the whisking method, where the wet mixture is made up of eggs and sugar, whisked to a ribbon stage and then incorporated into the sieved dry ingredients. The batter is then poured into the right pan and baked till cooked all the way through.

There is nothing more satisfying than having the house filled with the aroma of a freshly baked cake. There are times when the cakes have not turned out to be as perfect as I wanted them to be, but that does not mean I should give up trying. With practice, it’s going to be a piece ‘a cake!

-Mabel Fernandes