Chemistry was not one of my favorite subjects, even though I love my high school chemistry teacher. Now, if high school chemistry was taught via baking, I might have more love for it. I love baking. It’s chemistry and optional art afterwards, after all the chemical reactions have simmered down. You don’t realize how much of chemistry baking is until you engage in gluten free or allergen free baking. Trust me. I appreciate baking more than cooking because I didn’t grow up learning the art of cooking. But baking appealed to me because it requires following precise instructions, and that’s somewhat ‘academic’, which was what I was engrossed in growing up.
For years I have been indulging in baking, trying out new recipes, letting of some creative steam afterwards with some assembling and decorating. At one point in my life, I even believed I might make a living doing it. All that came to a halt when my youngest child was diagnosed with multiple food allergies. All of a sudden, I lost my desire for baking.
After listening to this,
I reflected upon my life and sought to figure out what Allah wants to make manifest with this trial of food allergies. Thinking back, I realize that this is one of those tests in my life I am not reacting to with grace. I find it a burden. And at times, I’d grumble about it. But after looking deep within myself, I think I can kind of figure out some of the reason why this test befell me.
Maybe I went overboard with my baking. Maybe I was taking things for granted. Maybe I was becoming too lax, and maybe, my focus in life was getting to be far away from where it should be. Allah was redirecting me. Knowing myself as well as I do now, I also realize that this test is tailored to my personality. I am a stickler for details. Allah knows I can handle this test, and while I may have lamented over the hardships it imposed on me, He knows I will eventually find it in myself to live with it.
My son’s allergies have changed our lifestyle. As of now, it seems to be for the better, but I’m sensing that even in this, we may be overlooking some things that we should rectify in this new lifestyle. It’s amazing how tests steer us in different directions, and may those directions we take, be good for us in this world and in the hereafter.
Mango Scones and Banana Flax Muffins
And so, now I spend maybe 90% of my time in geek world; homeschooling and learning Quran. The remaining 10% are my breaks, which, as I type, are happening right now. It is during these brief breaks that I find myself rushing to my creative pursuits. In the previous break, I spent 3 days sewing, which came out of this nagging guilt from looking at the stacks of fabric that have been part of my family for years. For this break, I am finding myself baking up a frenzy, not for our culinary pleasure mind you, but for my allergic son’s deprived palate.
First off, baking for him, is not the same as baking for us. His allergic reaction is anaphylaxis. So I’m very particular on avoiding cross contamination when preparing his food. This basically means, that when I bake for him, the countertops, tables, measuring cups, measuring spoons, bowls, etc have to be very clean, with no traces of dairy, eggs, peanut, wheat, or fish. This then translates into rewashing these clean utensils just to be sure. It also means there can’t be any traces of flour, eggs, dairy around, which means, I can’t have my canister of all purpose flour sitting on the counter, opened and used, while I’m making these allergen free baked goods. It can get pretty stressful, because any cross contamination could render the baked goods inedible to my son.
Then of course, there is the chemistry. Because he’s allergic to wheat, I can’t use normal flour. This sent me into the world of flours, and oh boy, did I learn a lot about flours and grains. All these other flours I have to use, do not have gluten. Gluten is what helps binds things together in normal all purpose flour, and is also what helps give texture to the finished baked goods. Without it, your baking can result in a lot of flops. I’ve had some flops in my normal baking years, but, these are affordable flops. All purpose flour is not that expensive. But when you have flops in gluten free baking, you’re talking money in that sink hole. These other flours are expensive!
Berry Millet Muffins
Unfortunately, I don’t have the time nor patience to do my own experiments in allergen free baking, except for one success story; allergen-free banana cake. So, I rely heavily on others’ experiments. For a while, because of the unfamiliarity, cost, and lack of time and energy, I even stopped looking for allergen free recipes. I get intimidated and discouraged when I see unfamiliar ingredients such as agave nectar or flax seed meal. It took me years to become familiar enough with these items to finally step out of my comfort baking zone and try them out. Try them out I did. Thanks also to Cybele Pascal’s The Allergen-Free Baker’s Handbook which I checked out from the library. I tried out some of her recipes and they work wonderfully well, and they taste swell too! I finally bought agave nectar, and learned a bit about glycemic index, something I’ve been evading for a long time. I told you, chemistry was not one of my favorite subjects. I can’t believe I actually went to the Food Science department after graduated in Computer Science to ask how long it would take for me to complete a bachelor’s in Food Science. They said, with a lot of cramming, it would take three years. Forget it. That’s what I said to myself.
chest freezer is filling up with my son’s allergen-free baked goods. I’m making him some for the road trips we are to take in a few weeks, and hopefully they will also last and keep for his breakfast and snacks and occasions where we attend potlucks and invitations. So, this break, it is becoming apparent that I am to spend it filling up my freezer with my son’s baked goods. I rather enjoy it though, despite that one mishap that occurred with Karina’s Chocolate Chip Cookies. I have successfully used this recipe before, but recently, I think I may have messed up in the mixing process, such that the end result had me in a foul mood. I ended up with globs of thick sugary flops. Other than that though, I’ve been baking up a storm these past few days, and enjoying it immensely. It’s no secret that I also have a love of food blogging and food photography, and so, it is in these rare occasions now, that I manage to have the time and energy to bake and take photos. I can’t say I have the patience to do the set up for the photography sessions, but I’ve resigned to taking simple shots, and I’m quite happy with what I’ve accomplished thus far, alhamdulillah.
So, till my next break. I wonder what I’d be scheduling to do for that one.
