Work With What I've Got

     As I go through recipes, I begin to see techniques are becoming fancier, and cookware harder to come by.  Fancy techniques I don't mind, but so far I've been trying to get by with what I've got, which is a whole lot of nothing.

     For example, when Doris (because I like to think we're on a first name basis) says to use a food processor to knead the dough, I use my hands.  And when she says to use a stand mixer on low setting, I use the $10 "stand mixer" I purchased on Black Friday at Wal-mart to which there is no low setting, so I end up rotating the bowl myself with short bursts of speed.  (FYI, I do not recommend a Hamilton Beach Power Deluxe Hand/Stand Mixer).

     My goal to become the greatest pastry chef that ever lived is definitely at it's humblest of beginnings.  It's not easy to constantly bake whilst saving money and keeping a girlish figure, but Oh-Em-Gee does everything smell and taste wonderful in the the kitchen (see the crowded mess that I work in below).  Humble beginnings, but I can't help but be proud of all the muffins, loafs, and biscuits I've whipped up thus far.

Where the magic happens