However, as I detailed in an earlier post – The Butcher, the Baker – I'm beginning to spend more time on manual pursuits, namely cooking and DIY. I ran into an interesting dilemma that I wanted to discuss.
This all started with the instructions for the Sprinkles cupcake recipe. The instructions assumed the presence of an electric mixer. It's probably a safe bet that the majority of cooks have one. I don't. So I had three choices – 1) buy one, 2) borrow one and 3) do without. I investigated option one but just didn't want to spend the money and have no space to store it. Option two was a dead end since no one I asked had a mixer; most of my friends don't cook or don't do a lot of baking.
I went with option 3 – do without. I arrived there thanks to swift kick in the pants from a friend of mine. She said, and I'm paraphrasing, "A mixer? Just use a whisk! You're a strong healthy boy. That's how my Mom did it."
I reflected upon that. When faced with a problem, I'll usually take the tech path first and then circle back to the non-tech solution. Not using technology – and mixers aren't exactly the cutting edge of technology – seemed strange. How would I know when the batter is done if there's no indicator light or warning signal? Yes I'm sick and need help. Nevertheless I powered through it. To be sure, mixing by hand is a lot of work. But I turned on one of my favorite audio podcasts – Design and Architecture by KCRW's Frances Anderton – and wisked away. The most interesting thing is I knew when it was done. The instructions helped since they described the state it should be in when done. But it felt great to see for myself – yep, good job.
Judging by my friends' reactions to the cupcakes, option three was the right one. My luddite conversion is underway.
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