March 6, 2015 Chautauqua

Beth's Ponderings

   I was never a fan of chemistry in school (sorry Mr. Prockiw!).  No matter how hard I tried, or how careful and precise I was, I just could not get the chemistry experiments to work.  On the other hand, I was a whiz at chemistry equations on paper - which was rather ironic, since I couldn’t master algebra in math class and chemistry on paper is basically just algebra.  

   No matter how many times I was told chemistry was just like baking a cake, I found I could bake a cake, yet not do a chemistry experiment in the classroom.  I didn’t have to worry about the cake exploding all over.

   Since the start of this health journey, I’ve had to dramatically change what I eat. That has meant experimenting with different foods, in different combinations, to create something edible. Thankfully I can eat eggs!  It’s amazing what you can create by adding an egg to a recipe.

   I’ve searched for various recipes and then substituted ingredients I could eat for the ones I couldn’t, and for the most part, the various attempts have worked.  Yes, there have been total flops, but the result was still edible.  Some worked, but I decided weren’t worth making again.

   All in all, my “chemistry” experiments have been successful.  Nothing has exploded - well, I did have a Pyrex casserole dish explode all over myself and the kitchen, but it wasn’t part of a food experiment.

   And through all this, I have discovered something else.  I do best with recipes made with 5 or fewer ingredients, and usually 5 or fewer steps.  

   We humans can certainly complicate life, including our food preparation.  Why use multiple ingredients when you can achieve pretty much the same thing with less?  Too many ingredients mask the real flavour of the food.  Have we forgotten what food is supposed to taste like?

   Some recipes I’ve found are: pancakes made with just banana and eggs (2 eggs for every banana).  Cupcakes made with chocolate chips, shredded coconut and eggs. It is possible to make a fudgy brownie with just pecans, raisins and cocoa.  Chocolate chip cookies made with nut butter, an egg, and chocolate chips.  My great triumph was finally finding a crepe-like recipe with eggs, almond flour, and coconut flour.  

   I still have a stack of recipes to try - and the simple ones are best.

Beth

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