Baking

So, I'm departing from my usual "song-stuck-in-my-head" themed-posts for today. I have a topic that I wanted to write down some thoughts about and I haven't had a song stuck in my head about baking yet.

I was pondering tonight as I was making banana nut cookie dough bread.

(TANGENT! As I was talking with friends at the institute yesterday, somehow, the almost-overripe bananas that I had at home came up in conversation. I expressed my desire to make banana nut bread, but then realized that I don't have any nuts at home. Alex suggested replacing them with chocolate chips, but I also don't have any of those. BETTER! I have chocolate chip cookie dough in my freezer! [I feel like frozen cookie dough is an essential. If I had to make the choice between buying milk and buying cookie dough once I'd run out, I'd be hard pressed to choose] So, the plan was hatched to make some banana cookie dough bread)

:)

Back to my pondering (it was profound pondering, I promise). I have always loved baking. Cooking is enjoyable, and especially when I'm masterminding a meal for a group, but there is something about baking that has always had a special, exalted place in my heart. I used to think it was because baking usually means sweets, and I love sweets. I'm starting to think that there may be more to it than that.

Baking has ingredients.

Please don't laugh too hard at that statement, because it really does embody all the profundity of this post. Allow me to elaborate.

When I made dinner on Sunday, I made lemon pepper chicken and mashed potatoes. The chicken involved sautéing the breast in olive oil with pepper and drizzling lemon juice over it. Fun, but in the end, I was just fancying up a chicken breast. The potatoes were better, I chopped and then boiled them, then got to mash them (one of my favoritest things to do in the kitchen) with spices and cream and milk. That's more than just potatoes, but in the end, it's still potatoes. (Profound, right?)

Ok, so to the point now. Baking. When I started baking this evening, I had bananas on the cusp of overripeness. I had flour. I had eggs. I had sugar. I had baking soda. Sugar would really be the only one I'd eat by itself, and I don't do that nearly as much as I used to. Other than that, each of those ingredients would be pretty disgusting.

It was fascinating to watch though, as I sifted the dry ingredients together, then slowly added in the others, the batter came into being. Suddenly, before my eyes, something delicious was created. I love that.

What a beautiful metaphor that is as well. I like to think that each of us is an ingredient and life is one beautiful baking experiment. Some people are sweeter by nature, some cause those around them to rise, some provide structure, and others decorate. God made each of us individual, and individually, we're each lacking. I think that is why there is an innate drive to connect, to socialize, to love. As we work with each other, great things happen.

On that note, my bread is ready to be pulled out of the oven. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to enjoy the results of a bunch of ingredients becoming banana cookie dough bread :)