Amanda the Great by Amanda El-Dweek for September 18, 2022

my my … I’m just happy that’s not a …. sedative or … laxative ( ⚆ _ ⚆ )

Is she using real vanilla, not imitation? Real vanilla can be very expensive.

Too much is never enough, until it is.

Clearly Amanda and Dan are on opposite sides of the “is cooking an art or a science?” divide.

Cooking can be an art, but baking is a science

I measure everything – I can’t estimate to save my life! Tho if I had a motto, it’d be “measure once; eat the entire cake!”

That looks like the Costco-size bottle. Shake very well, and liberally splash.

Yeah… I am an exact measurement kind of person. Would refer an recipe with exact measurements

Me -“How much should I put in?” My Grandmother – “Some. Enough, but not too much.”

“I don’t measure a lot of things.” That explains a lot

When my German great-grandmother was asked how she could make amazing cakes and confections using an irregular and unreliable wood stove, she replied “Ach, bei guess und bei Gott!” (I aspire to carry on the legacy — I can’t remember the last time I measued a spice.)

After making the same recipe one does get a feel for things. I baked cookies for a coffee shop, after some time I was able to do it from memory. The same goes for measuring

Yeah, measuring is overrated.

At the risk of sounding sexist, men measure and women don’t. Really it’s a temperamental thing intuitive vs. analytical. E. g., my mom who was a nurse, measured precisely. She was a natural born analytical thinker who had training.

Aaarggh! Tomorrow be Talk Like a Pirate Day!"

A goodly slosh of vanilla is what most of my recipes call for adding.

I made my own vanilla extract for a while. I used Tito’s Handmade Vodka and Sailor Jerry Rum for the process. And whatever whole vanilla beans I could get my hands on. Very easy process, you just have to wait a loooooooooooooong time.