May 23, 2020
“Awaken, Awaken
Do not squander your Life”
As Bob the Baker, I have perfected my pie crust recipe over the last 15 years.
It is handwritten at the back of one of my many pie cookbooks and next to, sitting dormant, my friend Fernie's hand written recipe for her special Challah.
This recipe was written over 12 years ago while she and Merlot ,not the wine but her miniature poodle, waited patiently at my home in Priceville while her husband, my life long friend and I went fly fishing for trout, behind my house which was located on the Saugeen River.
Although I look at it frequently, I never attempted to make it because it needed Time.
Practice, Patience and Persistence.
Recently, like many others in this Covid-19 time I have begun making bread.
I have had failures and successes, luckily more success than failures and most importantly I have learned from each failure.
All I needed was Time as the dough needs to rise a minimum of twice.
Now I am experimenting with onion, cheese, onion and cheese, rosemary, adding oats, sesame seeds etc.
I also have attempted to make my grandmother’s prized Zemel, special cinnamon rolls.
Luckily, I had the help of my lovely, creative cousin who was quarantined in New York City with Covid-19
We Face Timed for the entire day discussing each vital step.
Bakers of my grandmother’s era never completely divulged their secrets in their written recipes.
Thankfully, my cousin, as a young girl, had firsthand experience in making the Zemel with our grandmother and together we unlocked the secrets.
Results were great but what was most important is that it connected us virtually and my reward was helping my cousin with her self-quarantine. What a gift, sharing Time.
Another observation if you are home schooling your children, is a perfect opportunity to teach math (measurements) terminology (scant) and science (proofing of the yeast).
I always try to use one of my mother’s handwritten recipes or a cookbook I inherited from her before she passed away a few years ago.
This is my way of staying connected to her and always adding the main ingredient she taught me to my baking and cooking, Love.
I have now added another tool to my tool box, Thoughtfulness, which is helping me thrive in this period of self isolation.
Is it that food tastes better or we just have more Time to enjoy it?
What's in your “toolbox”?
Rise to the occasion.
Stay at Home.
Manage your health and not the economy.
- Bobby
Robert “Bobby” Koven has become an endearing advocate for mental health awareness: Krazy Wildman Bobby K. Using his unique brand of humour, Bobby reaches out to diverse audiences with a message of hope for those individuals and families afflicted with mental health challenges. Dispelling the myths, smashing the misconceptions and challenging the prejudices surrounding mental health, Bobby delivers a hard-hitting message...there is no magic bullet...just hard work and lots of practice...and he ought to know. Diagnosed in his early twenties with Tourette’s Syndrome, he now looks back on his past behavior with a new perspective. Drawing on his life experience for his jokes and stories, Bobby tries his best to erase the stigmas surrounding mental health issues. One of the initiatives Bobby is a working on is a documentary "No Magic Bullet", which is the story of his personal journey of healing. To learn more about Bobby and the projects he's involved with, go to his website. Check out Bobby's beautiful sunset photos on Instagram.