Peace of Cake

Imagine spending more time driving and shopping for one food product than it takes to make a cake! I can’t remember ever in my life shopping for a sole ingredient.

I hankered for gingerbread cake, and what better excuse than the Women’s Resistance Choir performance and celebration potluck. I had all the ingredients I needed – molasses, plenty of powdered ginger and spicy homemade apple butter to sub in for oil. I figured the fruit spread would enhance the cake, where olive oil might render an off flavor. I had everything – but flour.

As we’re a peace-loving group of women who sing songs of joy and empowerment, I cut a peace sign stencil of parchment paper, lay it down on the cake and sprinkled powdered sugar through a metal strainer over the stencil as decoration. I quickly realized that it’s impossible to erase confectioner’s sugar, and that the image might distort in transit. Oops. Maybe the design wouldn’t melt or blow away. Perhaps a humid day wouldn’t be as forgiving.

Four months into my “Food Buying Moratorium” (when I decided to restrict meals to eating out of my pantry and chest freezer for as long as possible), I’ve had to adjust some of my rules. If I plan to share food with others, it’s okay to shop for an ingredient when it’s needed for a recipe.

Since January, I’ve been enjoying all sorts of homemade dishes and delicacies without needing to venture to the market. Alleluia! My preference is to be outside skiing, hiking, or biking. Anything but shop.

Although I’m starting to miss having food choice, an abundance of last year’s frozen greens, beans and pesto await consumption. Possibly my supplies will last through June. My friend, Loekie, suggested that it would sound much more impressive to survive half a year without buying food, , rather than five months.

We’ll see.