Happy Easter, everyone! Today is a blessed day for Spring, merriment and you-know-who. Today is a contemplative day, as I spend my time in the solitude of quarantine and reflect on the meaning of the day. It also marks the end of my keto diet, and so getting back to baking is a blessing I have been yearning for some time. And yet, it causes me to dwell on the nature of sacrifice, and how in the scriptures, it wasn't simply the body that sacramental, but the very essence of being human at all.
The ability and freedom to pursue my passions has made up such a large part of my identity that having it withheld, by the government or by my own making, it seems a part of me gets left behind with it. In Yoga, there is the ever-present principle of Non-Attachment--this body is not you. But, what this body DOES is a manifestation of your inner being, so doesn't that make our hobbies, our passions, part of us? Am I really Uada or Me'an Fomhair without a tail or access to bodies of water? Am I really September if I can't wield a kitchen? Do any of my egos or alter-egos matter at all? They are the vehicle for what I have to provide in this world--and yet, if I can't provide it, what is the point in doing or being anything at all?
I digress... this is what quarantine does to you... So today I baked for the first time in awhile, and it was wonderful. Me'an got a meal and Uada got a dessert, so really September didn't break her diet at all...
Lunch was a simple splurge on carbohydrates by the way of Apricot Sage Stuffing and Ghost-Pepper Curried Greens. I sautéed the goodies first, then added veggie stock and crumbled a mix of wheat savory crisps and rye/oat crackers.
But then, there was dessert....
Eggs are always a tradition of Easter, being used in traditions across the globe to represent birth and renewal; the essence of the season. Initially, I intended to make a Pink Lemon Souffle with a Lavender Baklava crust. Sounds heavenly, doesn't it?
However, due to several factors, it turned out to be more of a custard than a souffle... Oh, no! How terrible! Custard-Baklava-Cake, what an awful mistake! :) Sometimes, I think the universe knows what it's doing! (Most especially when I'm just making it up as I go)
The glaze is Honey-Lemon Apricot and it was a tart compliment to the creamy custard. My baked goods are never exceptionally sweet, and this beauty was no different. It was just sweet enough to be a desserty custard cake, but the custard smacked of lemon and the baklava was sticky-sweet but not syrupy (I prefer to use honey when making baklava, except on traditional baklava where the syrup pours over the top with a good crisp crackle) and you could taste the honey-walnut filling as the perfect contrast.
It was mouthwatering.
I am grateful to have gotten to bake today, and to enjoy my freedoms despite quarantine. Happy Easter to all of you, and may your day of rebirth be spectacular.
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