You know what I think is weird?  I think it’s weird that many people seem to have a strict separation in their minds between cooking and baking.

My mom, for instance:  she’ll pooh-pooh her cooking skills and say my dad is the cook in the family, and it’s true that my dad is a very good cook, but my mom is a baking machine.  She makes the best pie crust I’ve ever had, a thousand different cookies and candies around the holidays, lots of different quickbreads and bars and other treats.  Why does this not count as cooking in some people’s minds?  It’s just as complex a process as any other culinary one, maybe more because of the chemistry involved.  That’s another thing my mom will pooh-pooh—her science skills.  She blames a mid-century Catholic school education in which the answer to every scientific question was “God did it.”  It’s true that she might not have a strong foundation in the periodic table or the geologic record, but understanding what ice water does to fat in pie crust, or how baking soda and liquid interact in pumpkin bread is no mean feat.

Anyway, this is cooking.  I think it’s dumb to demote it.  I also think it’s dumb that pastry chefs get less glory in the culinary world than other chefs.  Last night I made a fairly complex dinner by weeknight standards, but it took nowhere near the effort required for the dessert I’m planning to work on tonight.

Also, continuing  yesterday’s theme, I am excited about how I got to say pooh-pooh twice in one post.  I would say it’s because I spend so much time with an immature boy, but we all know it was always in there.