Wednesday, November 19, 2014

19 november



My most entertaining food-related honor, though, was based on my prowess in making American cookies [what other kind would I make?]. My friend O owned and ran a school for small children – mostly a language school, but they also offered other programs, camps, and events for grown-ups, too. One of the ongoing opportunities provided by the school was a series of cooking classes for adults, and O had the brilliant idea to invite me to teach a class in making cookies – a master class in American-style cookie preparation, no less. Of course I said yes.
In the kitchen/studio space, I demonstrated the steps of making three different kinds of cookies – definitely chocolate chip cookies, possibly oatmeal cookies, and – I believe – brownie cookies. Just like in a real cooking show, I had also prepared dough in advance, and had some cookies already made. A highlight of the performance for some, I’m sure, was my speaking of awkward Ukrainian throughout – my Ukrainian was okay, but my specific language skills in the culinary field were somewhat limited. Rarely did I have the need to use phrases like “to beat eggs” or “to cream”, much less “to evenly space spoonfulls of dough”. Still, with a few opportune clarifications from O, we got by. I was interested to receive their questions (Won’t the chocolate chips melt in the oven? Are these cookies safe for children to eat?), and I believe they were interested in me as both a show and as a producer of delicious goodies. So much encouragement! Bake away!
So, yeah, baking is good.

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