Hey there, folks! As we dive into a new year, I figured I’d share a story about how a simple New Year's resolution led me down a path I could've never imagined.
Picture this: I was on vacation in Argentina, sick and not feeling my best, and contemplating what life had in store for me back home in New England. I was living there at the time, and the idea of bringing warmth and good smells into my life as I was coughing and sniffling was beyond inviting. I was chalk full of inspiration thanks to the book "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle," where the author's husband was a weekend bread baker. The thought of making my home cozy with freshly baked bread intrigued me. Just a couple of powders and water mixed together could fill a room with comfort? It was worth a shot, seeing I was sick as a dog, and heading back to a frigid Massachusetts winter.
So, I made my New Year's resolution: Learn how to bake bread. I bought a bread cookbook and weekly set about the challenge of trying to bake bread. Little did I know that this decision would spark a journey of self-discovery and growth. Baking bread became more than a hobby; it was a pathway to self-improvement at a time in which I was generally “meh” about everything else in life. The resolution was a project that staved off boredom and gave me something to do during the slowness that is a Cape Cod winter.
The scent of freshly baked bread filled my New England home, and I realized that resolutions, goals, and curiosities are like breadcrumbs leading us to our future selves. I started to crave more of these learning journeys, and over the years dove into other resolutions like exploring coffee latte art, learning jump rope tricks, and mastering the art of cooking meats on the bone. All these ideas have been things that I’ve expanded upon, broadening my skills with every attempt. These curiosities saddled nicely with how to spend my time. They have become part of a catalogue of sorts for things to do when I think “there’s nothing to do”.
But here's the kicker: you never know where a new hobby or habit might lead you. I loved bread baking so much that I started dabbling more in cooking and eventually I decided to take it to the next level. I enrolled in the Nutrition Therapy Institute, a cooking school in Denver, CO. Moving across the country for this program was my exit strategy for a life that at the time felt underwhelming. The “meh” feelings had me wondering if I was settling for a lifestyle that was fine enough, but I didn’t exactly love. Culinary school was a way out. It shook-up the stagnation I was feeling while providing the best time to explore this side of myself. I enjoyed learning all about cooking and deepening my skills. My random resolution grew into a full blown passion! Shortly before graduating, I landed a job cooking for the Sea Education Association, an organization that sails internationally conducting science based research.
If you had told me that baking bread at home would eventually send me around the world, I would never have believed you. I would double down on that belief if you happened to be part of the lucky few that got to taste some of these early breads. Yikes. Bricks I tell you… BRICKS! They were not good but that was ok. They were fun to make! And the anticipation of tasting them fresh from the oven was a thrill every time, even when the hard, dense texture could not be overlooked.
