The Sweet Luxury of Baking

Fancy cars. Designer clothes. European vacations. Spa treatments.

These are things that most people would consider "luxuries". Not I.

I love to bake. I L-O-V-E, love to bake. Usually sweet treats. Usually cupcakes. For me, these days, baking is a luxury.

I used to bake all the time -- homemade bread, chocolate chip cookies, all kinds of cupcakes! Even when I was working crazy overtime in my previous life as an architect, I made time to bake. If there was the option of A) getting 5 hours of sleep, or B) getting 4 hours of sleep and having time to make scones for breakfast -- I know that doesn't even seem like a *sane* "option" for most of you; sleep is kind of a no-brainer for most normal people -- I would almost always choose whichever option included baking. Maybe I have a problem.

Anyway, since Everett's been born, I've had to cut WAY back on the amount of baking I do. Believe me, the desire is still there. But lately, when given such options as A) put Everett down for a nap and do something that can be easily interrupted if need be, or B) start combining ingredients knowing that I'll have to stop halfway through and abandon my latest baking conquest, I'm more likely to choose...

Oh, wait. Everett just woke up and needs to eat. (See what I mean...?)

Aaand, we're back......like three hours later.

Anyway, I was just saying that it's much easier to stop doing the dishes or folding the laundry or sending an email or typing a blog if Everett needs my attention, than to walk away from a preheated oven and half-mixed cupcake batter.

Yesterday, I got brave. I pulled out a recipe, started compiling ingredients from the pantry and fridge, and plugged in the hand mixer. Everett was sleeping pretty soundly, and I guessed I had at least an hour of naptime left during which to get something in and out of the oven. We have a surplus of zucchini coming out of our garden right now, and I just got a recipe from a friend for chocolate-zucchini cake with cinnamon-cream cheese frosting, so it was obvious that I needed to somehow generate cupcakes using these two things.

I started measuring out ingredients and mixing them together, double- and triple-checking the recipe as I went. Since it was a recipe I'd never made before, I didn't want to screw it up, but this cost me precious minutes. When the batter was ready to bake, I couldn't decide which cupcake format I preferred (standard vs. mini), so I prepped for both. I filled the mini cups and took a wild guess at the bake-time. Right before the timer went off, Everett started stirring. Damn.

I had to test the cupcakes and reset the timer a few times before they were actually finished, and by that time Everett was awake and demanding my attention. But I still had a tray of raw, standard-sized cupcakes sitting on the counter! Everett did not seem to really care what I had going on. He just knew that he did not want to be swaddled and alone anymore.

I went to let Everett know that I knew he was awake and I was nearby. Then I rushed back to the kitchen to put the tray into the oven. Then I rushed back to Everett who was alerting me of his wet diaper. Then I rushed back to the kitchen to set the timer that I forgot to set. Then I rushed back to Everett to actually change the wet diaper. Fortunately, the bigger cupcakes took longer than 20 minutes to bake, so I had a good chunk of time that I could spend with Everett uninterrupted.

When that timer went off, I had to set Everett down (I'm not crazy -- I'm not about to hold a three-month-old within inches of a 350-degree oven!) in order to run and check on the cupcakes, which were of course not finished baking. So we did the "pick Everett up for a few minutes, then set him back down again to run and check the cupcakes" dance for the next 10 minutes or so, and FINALLY they were done. Just my luck, the one day I decide to bake while Jason's at school just so happens to be a day that Everett is feeling particularly "needy". *sigh* That'll teach me.

Making and applying the frosting to the cupcakes was a whole other undertaking that had to be fit-in between feedings and diaper changes. But oh......it was so worth it! It just felt good to stand back and look at my finished cupcakes. I was happy I got to bake, and relieved that a new recipe came out so well! It was not without its challenges, but at least I don't feel like I neglected Everett too much in the process. I'm definitely not about to start a regimen of daily afternoon baking sessions, but maybe every once in a while I can still indulge in my little luxury. :)

And yes, they were delicious!