A slice of life

While I am a good short order cook and can make a healthy and tasty meal without a recipe, I don’t bake much. If and when I bake, I use a recipe – to a point.  There are those who suspect the reason why my baking isn’t famously delicious is this bias for recipe tampering. It generally amounts to reducing the sugar or oil – putting healthfulness ahead of flavor – or making impromptu substitutions.
 
Over the holidays, with still a few dozen-honey crisp apples left over from the four bushels I bought this fall, I decided baking an apple cake would be a good idea.  I would make a large one, keep most of it for the family and give away a portion.
 
I followed the recipe perfectly. No reductions or substitutions. Full portions of sugar and spice and oil.
 
I peeled 15 large apples, then turned to my trusty hand held slicer for the slicing. The slicer is extremely quick – appealing to my short order mentality – and sharp. So I have one rule – always use the hand protector over whatever I’m slicing. 
 
Only this time I did not use the hand protector, reasoning that the apple core would provide protection as long as I rotated each apple carefully.
 
This went well for 14 apples then, while slicing the last one, I yelped. I must admit that I had simultaneously tried to speed up the slicing while my mind drifted off to another subject.
 
Two fingertips were bleeding. Throbbing, too. I grabbed the cleanest dishcloth and wrapped my fingers tightly to stem the blood flow.  I washed and disinfected my fingertips but found the sting was worse than the throb. I made a bandage. As blood soaked through the cloth, then through the gauze and tape, I managed to layer the first pan with the batter, added the apples, and then another layer of batter. Just like the recipe said.
 
I put it in the oven, at the prescribed temperature, then had some time to find a solution to stop the bleeding. I wrapped my fingers again with fresh gauze, held them in the air and applied pressure. I also set a timer for 15 minutes. When the buzzer went off, the bleeding had mostly stopped.
 
As I re-bandaged, I noticed that a slice of skin was missing from the side of one fingertip – about the size of a match head. Also missing was a similarly sized piece of fingernail.
 
I couldn’t quite risk giving an apple cake gift with finger bits as added ingredients so I set out to make fresh cake.
 
This time, I didn’t break my cardinal rule of always, without fail, using the hand protector when slicing.
 
I am proud to say, both cakes turned out exceptionally well.
 
And, ten days later, my fingers are healing perfectly.
 
Apple cake lessons that can apply to other slices of one’s life.

• Don’t break rules that have served you well, especially ‘no exception’ rules.
• Remember why you developed your trusty habits in the first place.
• Even when doing mindless tasks – especially with tools of the sharp or powered variety – stay focused and in the present.
• Following recipes and rules does serve a purpose. Sometimes.

 
Mindfully yours,
Coach Minda,