clearly i am a domestic goddess

there are some cooking/baking activities that - when i finally complete them - i feel like they deserve an extra round of celebration. (aside from the celebration of eating the result, of course.)

this includes activities like roasting a chicken, or roasting a turkey, or making homemade stock, or making lasagna, or baking bread (all checked off my list). or activities like baking a pie (with homemade crust), or making pasta by hand, or making chocolate pudding (all still on my list).

at the moment, i am attempting to perfect the art of nisu, a finnish sweetbread. i made my third batch in five days last night. (the first batch didn't rise. the second batch was good but the cinnamon rolls layers melted back together and didn't un-roll so i wanted to try again. the third batch is good but needed a slightly lower oven temperature and a few more minutes in the oven.)

apparently this is one of those activities that needs to be celebrated because, while the second batch was baking, i could not help dancing around the house every few minutes singing, "i have cinnamon rolls! i have cinnamon rolls!"

and when they were done! oh, the joy.

and when the third batch was done and i could unroll my cinnamon roll! oh, the bliss.

so now i'm curious. what cooking/baking activities make you feel like a domestic god or goddess?

Comments

[Tracy]

Hi, Elizabeth! Your nisu cinnamon rolls are BEAUTIFUL! Oh, how that sweet frosting tempts...mmm... Just lately I have to say that making an English-style Christmas cake for the holiday, getting frosted & decorated really made me feel like I'd accomplished something grand in the kitchen, very domestic goddess feeling! And better still when our family/guests enjoyed it! I have cinnamon rolls on my to-make list for new year. Hope you're having some wonderful days just now. We're just emerging from some really wonderful days just now. Later in the week is my birthday, then we ring in New Year--it's a great time just now! Happy Days, my friend ((HUGS))

[jen t]

yes, making bread really does it for me. and...washing the dishes. i know. it is a simple chore, but i love a clean counter after the warm water and bubbles!

[Josiane]

That is definitely worthy of celebration! Your nisu looks fabulous. Totally the kind of things that would make me dance and sing around the kitchen while it bakes!
Pretty much all varieties of bread have this effect on me. With all of the recipes I've tested for various cookbooks in the past year, I've had cause to celebrate quite a few times. I vividly remember being extremely excited about making pretzels; that was pretty cool!

[Bullwinkle]

Toffee fills me with glee every time it works.

And opening the pantry to jars of preserved tomatoes and lemons. A freezer full of strawberries and blueberries.

And when the bundt cake, miraculously, tips out of the pan with nary a sticky spot.

[elizabeth @ retinal perspectives]

@bullwinkle: i made toffee once - i know that feeling. and preserves would definitely be on my list of things to celebrate.

@josiane: i remember you telling me about them! that would be cool. i am guessing that i'll always feel this way about bread because i remember my other two attempts, which i celebrated even though they sort of didn't turn out well. ;)

@jen t: clean counters. yes. there is nothing like a clean kitchen. when my kitchen goes from clean to dirty, i feel on top of the world.

@tracy: that cake was grand! it even looked grand. i can still picture it. i'm so happy you're having such a wonderful week!

[Helen]

i am bowing to your domestic goddess skills;) but i don't really ever cook, so i don't have anything yet:) (& the nisu looks good!)

[and flowers pick themselves]

i'm just starting to cook on my own, so i totally understand this post. when my pumpkin swirl brownies came out REALLY good, i kind of wanted to cry. it's so exciting to cook well :)

xo Alison

[brooke]

This week I made whole wheat pancakes from scratch, and beer bread from scratch, and rice pudding from scratch.

I think that making something from scratch pretty much makes me feel like a domestic goddess.

[Leanne]

Oh, I completely understand this! I have turned into the type of cook that doesn't measure anything. Well, very few things. And I measure a 'teaspoon' in the palm of my hand. I love the satisfaction of cooking 'my way' and tasting the finished product. So far, I've been only seldom disappointed!

Your rolls are lovely.

[Ann Bimberg]

darrel is a domestic caveman. he made the turkey on Christmas day.
i 'll have to ponder my goddessness for a bit...

[elizabeth @ retinal perspectives]

@ann: go, darrel! and i'll be curious what you decide. :)

@leanne: i would like to be that kind of cook. i admire that ability muchly. i am the kind of cook who needs directions and follows them.

@brooke: rice pudding! that's another one for my list. i love rice pudding. you are a domestic goddess indeed!

@alison: it is so fun, isn't it! yay for your swirly brownies!

@helen: someday .. maybe i need to buy you a baking pan for your next birthday. ;)

[jaime]

This was the wrong post for me to read at this very moment. Here I am, it's 9:00, and I haven't had dinner yet. All of those things you spoke of sound SO GOOD! I must get me some grub!