I love a family recipe secret. My family has tried to capture my grandma's puerto rican rice recipe but it always ends up as "add this, and then add a little that" with no measurements of anything. My dog literally ate the recipe the first time it was documented. It feels like a secret nobody is supposed to know.
👋 Love this! Fellow baker here. I started baking to save money while a student, but didnt understand why my loafs always became hard ss bricks. it wasn't until I got to learn the craft from my father in-law that i realized the importance of proper hydration. Now my sourdough abd rustic rolls come out pretty desent. I try to follow an 80/20 principle in my busy life so its possible to provide the family and friends with healthy breads. I source all the flower from a nearby mill as the US store flower (even the good ones) are too processed and leave me feeling tired after eating instead of refueled.
This is really really sweet. It also sounds like a fun mystery to solve. And what a somatic experience it sounds like for her. Yiayia is powerful. Actually, anyone in a family that has a special staple recipe, especially for the holidays, holds a lot of power! Their food becomes so tethered to heritage, tradition, and memories.
I think my lack of baking skill is a major flaw on my end. Cooking? No problem. That I can do. It feels much more organic, intuitive, and simple, to me. But, baking is so special! And, in my opinion, everyone that bakes is instantly adorable. It’s still one of my goals to earnestly learn how to do it. Nobody bakes in my immediate family, though, so I think that hasn’t helped. I gotta do it, I gotta be the baker! It just feels like there’s so many steps and things going on. I need to put my years of watching The Food Network and seeing all the baking there to use.
I wish we had cool secret family recipes! But I would love to be able to recreate everything my grandma makes the same way she makes it all. Especially her rice and tamales and pozole. I think it’s the intuitive piece that is missing, though. Because I can use the same ingredients and follow steps, but doing it exactly as she does, in the way it’s engrained in her, is impossible, so getting something to taste EXACTLY like she made it feels hopeless.
For years, I’ve been told to pay attention to how she makes everything, especially the tamales, since I’m the one that makes them with her; that way I’ll be able to make everything like her in the future. But I don’t know, it’ll never be the same. People just have a specific way they do things that’s unique to them; you can see and taste their fingerprint in their food.
And now, all I want is to eat these intuition drenched butter cookies with coffee for a cozy time.
& happy anniversary to Banana Heaven! A favorite. Food is fun! Are there any other recipes or dishes out there in general that you find yourself wanting to master?
This makes me nostalgic and also crave these treats I’ve never had! I love when people have recipes only they seem to make. I also hate when I struggle to emulate them. Such a lovely story!
My MIL is coming over a few days before Christmas just so she can show us how she makes her famous lasagna. This will be the first time I've ever intentionally watched someone cook, hoping to replicate it myself. I imagine myself standing by with a notebook and pen lol.
There is something sacred about gaining mastery in any domain, no matter how small. And it's thrilling to hear about someone who has attained it. Good luck entering the chamber of koulourakia secrets.
I love a family recipe secret. My family has tried to capture my grandma's puerto rican rice recipe but it always ends up as "add this, and then add a little that" with no measurements of anything. My dog literally ate the recipe the first time it was documented. It feels like a secret nobody is supposed to know.
👋 Love this! Fellow baker here. I started baking to save money while a student, but didnt understand why my loafs always became hard ss bricks. it wasn't until I got to learn the craft from my father in-law that i realized the importance of proper hydration. Now my sourdough abd rustic rolls come out pretty desent. I try to follow an 80/20 principle in my busy life so its possible to provide the family and friends with healthy breads. I source all the flower from a nearby mill as the US store flower (even the good ones) are too processed and leave me feeling tired after eating instead of refueled.
This is really really sweet. It also sounds like a fun mystery to solve. And what a somatic experience it sounds like for her. Yiayia is powerful. Actually, anyone in a family that has a special staple recipe, especially for the holidays, holds a lot of power! Their food becomes so tethered to heritage, tradition, and memories.
I think my lack of baking skill is a major flaw on my end. Cooking? No problem. That I can do. It feels much more organic, intuitive, and simple, to me. But, baking is so special! And, in my opinion, everyone that bakes is instantly adorable. It’s still one of my goals to earnestly learn how to do it. Nobody bakes in my immediate family, though, so I think that hasn’t helped. I gotta do it, I gotta be the baker! It just feels like there’s so many steps and things going on. I need to put my years of watching The Food Network and seeing all the baking there to use.
I wish we had cool secret family recipes! But I would love to be able to recreate everything my grandma makes the same way she makes it all. Especially her rice and tamales and pozole. I think it’s the intuitive piece that is missing, though. Because I can use the same ingredients and follow steps, but doing it exactly as she does, in the way it’s engrained in her, is impossible, so getting something to taste EXACTLY like she made it feels hopeless.
For years, I’ve been told to pay attention to how she makes everything, especially the tamales, since I’m the one that makes them with her; that way I’ll be able to make everything like her in the future. But I don’t know, it’ll never be the same. People just have a specific way they do things that’s unique to them; you can see and taste their fingerprint in their food.
And now, all I want is to eat these intuition drenched butter cookies with coffee for a cozy time.
& happy anniversary to Banana Heaven! A favorite. Food is fun! Are there any other recipes or dishes out there in general that you find yourself wanting to master?
This makes me nostalgic and also crave these treats I’ve never had! I love when people have recipes only they seem to make. I also hate when I struggle to emulate them. Such a lovely story!
My MIL is coming over a few days before Christmas just so she can show us how she makes her famous lasagna. This will be the first time I've ever intentionally watched someone cook, hoping to replicate it myself. I imagine myself standing by with a notebook and pen lol.
There is something sacred about gaining mastery in any domain, no matter how small. And it's thrilling to hear about someone who has attained it. Good luck entering the chamber of koulourakia secrets.