To Bake a Mistake

With graduation looming many seniors are preparing to be on their own for the first time. Students not only rely on academic information, but knowledge of life skills determines their ability to take care of themselves. One such skill is the ability to cook and bake. Learning isn’t a linear process and these seniors have made several hilarious mistakes along the way. 

I was relatively new to baking at the time, but I was determined to make brownies. It was a basic box mix. Easy peasy right? Wrong. Not only did I forget to do the high-altitude recipe, I put the brownies in the pan without grease. It doesn’t end there. My family keeps all of our pots and pans in our oven, that way we have room in our cupboards. Well, for some reason I forgot about this fact. So as I was getting ready to bake the brownies I so desperately wanted, I had to hold a rescue mission for the kitchenware. Mistake after mistake I was finally able to bake the brownies… and then proceeded to burn my hand in the oven. I still have the scar from this baking fiasco. 

One day I was babysitting my cousins and they wanted pancakes for breakfast. I thought it would be easy enough; I had made pancakes using box mix several times before. However, my aunt is an amazing cook and only makes her pancakes from scratch. By this time I had already promised to make pancakes, so I Googled a recipe. I added all of the ingredients and thought my baking was working out fairly well. Until I started cooking the batter on the skillet. The batter was super runny and it wouldn’t thicken up. I kept adding more flour, but strangely instead of becoming thick they had a sweeter scent. Finally, I realized my mistake. I had mixed up the flour with powdered sugar and had been adding it all along.

I tried to make banana bread and I could have sworn that I put the flour in. Apparently I didn’t, and when I pulled it from the oven it was a liquid. Another time I was making no-bake cookies with a friend and it said, “Call for rolled-oats.” I shouted, “Rolled-oats!” and rolled it across the floor; the lid came off and it went all over the place. I laughed so hard while cleaning up that I had to get rid of half of the container because I had cried in it. My mom walked in and asked what had happened. I told her I dropped it, and she still doesn’t know that I was just being dumb.

Hopefully, the compilation of failures above show seniors it’s okay if they’re not entirely confident in the kitchen or even in other areas of life. Learning does not stop after high school graduation, and students will continue to grow as people. Students still have time to prepare for college over the Summer. Don’t be afraid to try new things, like learning simple recipes; live life to the fullest. After all, we’re all just figuring out life one day at a time.