I should tell you I'm a quitter. I've quit lots of things in my life. Things a lot of other kids give up, like swimming or ballet or whatever, but also bigger, more important things. But now more than ever, I'm trying my best to not give up, to learn how to keep going even when it looks hopeless. Keep on keeping on, as they always say in the movies. And you know what, I think all that internal training is paying off.
My persistence muscle is now strong enough that when the making of these blueberry muffins encountered problem after problem, I didn't throw away the entire mix in resignation. In fact, it's not just persistence, it's learning to relax. I have been known to throw away food because it didn't taste quite right - I am a perfectionist as well, believe it or not. I'm trying to teach myself that not everything has to be exactly how I planned, and that shit happens. And when shit happens, make blueberry muffins?
After getting home with blueberries in hand, I discover that we're out of baking powder. Okay, I'll make some myself - 2 parts cream of tartar to 1 part bicarbonate of soda, mixed together. Then, I get the amount of sugar wrong and find myself having to re-cream double the amount of butter, flour and everything else. Finally, I discover that my muffin tray is bigger than my oven (!!). SO I actually fashion individual muffin cups out of foil, and bake them in batches of three.
Anyway, at 4.30 in the morning, I finally get to try a muffin, and you know, I swear it was all the more satisfying for every baking hurdle I had to jump. I'm not going to share the recipe (from here if you're interested), because to be honest, I don't think this is a particularly good muffin recipe. They're more like little blueberry sponge cakes, but whatever, they're delicious. I will tell you that I topped them with a cinnamon-oat-maple syrup streusel with demerara sugar.
Okay, I realise that without a recipe, this entire post seems rather pointless and vain, but you know what? I'm posting it anyway. Keep on keeping on, right?
This was such a good read and a very relatable entry. Thanks for sharing, Sarah. Your persistence will eventually pay off! Keep on doing what you're doing, keep on keeping on :-)
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