A story about grief and how baking can help you move into a chapter of anew
On February 28th, 2017 the longest 2 weeks of my life came to it’s peak. My Grandpa, Steven Rodriguez had died. Contrary to popular belief sometimes death takes a long time, involves a lot of people and there is a lot of sacrifice. Some people asked me what is the consolation prize I received from this experience? There has to be something you get after having such a loss. You get grief, your “consolation prize” is having to relearn how to live your life without that vital person. You learn how to make all the emotions coexist at once. I can tell you from my experience you will never forget this person, you may start to forget little details but you will never forget the core of them, you will never forget what made them them. Overall you do start having to slowly piece together what life will be like now and how you will continue to honor this person in your life. Baking was my vital key to keep my life afloat during this time and allows me to continue to honor my Grandpa, even 7 years later.
Baking has been my life for over a decade. Not to brag but I would say I’ve gotten very talented at it. I still have so much more to learn though! That’s what sold me on the baking world, things are always changing, you will never stop learning how to do something! Another thing about baking is routine, even though the ingredients may change the process is almost always the same. This is how baking comes in as a coping skill, when our brains are overloaded with emotion we need something that doesn’t take much thought/effort and can bring a level of comfort. Baking can serve as that purpose, you have a pretty straightforward process and get something delicious and comforting after. Not every baking endeavor has to be this long drawn out process that has extraordinary results. You can throw a couple ingredients in a bowl, put it on a cookie sheet, bake it and end up with something delicious and comforting.
So does baking solve all my problems and take away all my grief? No! But it gives me a creative outlet to let my feelings out and a special way to honor my loved ones. Food is something that connects us all, why not have it help you bring some healing. My Grandpa was funny, smart, loving and sometimes a hardass. But overall he was a diehard for a slice of banana cream pie, I’ve made it so many times and so many different ways. So my brain got to thinking and this is what I came up with! I hope you enjoy! 🙂
Banana Cream Pie Cookies
>1 box of yellow cake cake mix
>1 packet of banana cream pudding mix
>1/2 cup of banana
>1/4-1/2 cup of oil
>1 graham cracker crust pie shell
>Whipped Cream
>Sliced Almonds (optional)
Preheat your oven to 350F. Into a bowl crumble up a graham cracker crust pie shell and set aside. In a separate bowl mix together your cake mix, pudding mix, 1/4 cup of oil to start and banana. Mix until incorporated into dough, if too dry add 1/4 cup more oil. Then mix in your crumbled up graham cracker crust pie shell. Take 2 tablespoons of dough and roll into balls and add to cookie sheet, give a little two finger press down. Bake for around 16 minutes, or until golden brown on the sides. Let cool for 10 minutes then add your whipped cream and slivered almonds. Enjoy!
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