Baker, Messmaker

I really like to eat food, but I'm not the best cook. I have a few dishes that I feel like I've mastered but anything new, I read through the recipe several times contemplating whether or not it's worth the effort in case it doesn't turn out. For years I didn't do much in the way of baking, even though I totally have a sweet tooth, because I was sure that if I wasn't a great cook I definitely wouldn't make a great baker. But once I really got into the whole Pinterest craze, I couldn't help but start trying my hand at baked goods. And shockingly, I'm pretty good at it! I think the most perplexing part about it is that, in general, cooking is a lot more "a little of this, a little of that" whereas baking tends to be precise and requires exact measurements to achieve the correct results. I typically lean toward the cooking perspective on life aka I'm right brained. Math and science make me cringe but words are my jam. Funny how a girl who gets through life with a calculator is able to follow equations if they involve butter and sugar.

I know that for several weeks now I've been all blueberries, all the time, so you're probably assuming that's what I'm tossing in my batter these days. Wrong-o. My 2 latest creations were made with fruits of the red variety. Chris is not much of a cake person but for his birthday he requested cheesecake. He wasn't expecting me to make it but I decided that's just what I was going to do. I had never made a real cheesecake before, just cheesecake type treats. I found this recipe for raspberry cheesecake and picked up lots of cream cheese, fresh raspberries and a fancy little jar of raspberry currant for the topping. The recipe seemed fairly easy, and it was, but I should have read through the end. I started making this on Saturday evening for the party on Sunday thinking I would have plenty of time to finish it and have it in the fridge to set up overnight. Well after I put it in the oven I realized there was an entire cooling process. Oops. Chris told me to scrap it and just get a cake from the store, but I was determined to tackle the challenge. So yea, I set my alarm and got up in the middle of the night to finish the job. I told everyone they would eat it and like it, even if it wasn't good. Luckily, it turned out pretty delicious if I do say so myself.

This past Sunday while grocery shopping the strawberries looked so red and juicy and were on sale. I grabbed 2 cartons and found this recipe I had saved on Pinterest forever ago and whipped up a batch of strawberry muffins. They are basically like biscuits alone and only sweetened by the berries, which is fine if you ask me. But when you add the glaze on top, total yumminess. I love making sweet treats and enjoying the end result but I think what is the most fun about baking is the MESS MAKING.