A few days ago I was Skyping with my dear friend Lisa, when she asked me
about the recipe for one of my favorite desserts, ginger chocolate chip bars. I had totally forgotten about these gems. Why? I don't bake
very often in Romania. Baking here can be expensive and complicated.
Butter and eggs are expensive and ingredients like brown sugar are hard
to come by. Even when you find brown sugar it's not the same as the
brown sugar I grew up with. Here, brown sugar is not at all moist and
comes in giant crystals more like sugar in the raw. You can also forget
about finding dark brown sugar, not to mention chocolate chips.
Yet I have always loved baking. I love trying new recipes and sharing great finds with others. I used to love bringing baked goods into the office at my previous job. When I first started teaching in Romania last year I was excited to bring treats into my school to share with my fellow teachers. Part of the goal of Peace Corps is to share American culture and I thought baking might be a great way to share and also make friends. However, I did not account for the Romanian tradition of providing treats on your own birthday and the nature of my colleagues. Each time I brought things into the teacher's lounge people were suspicious, "Is it your birthday?" When I answered no, they would immediately ask why I had brought something, "Is it a holiday for you?" One time I said, "No, it's Friday. I am celebrating the end of the week." The reply I got was a harrumph. No one brings treats into my teacher's lounge so perhaps I was breaking some unknown faux pas. Eventually I just stopped bringing things in.
This school year I've done very little baking. In the fall I brought cookies into the women's class as part of a lesson on cooking vocabulary. For the holidays, I made cookies for the cleaning ladies at school that help keep my classroom tidy. Yet in my conversation with Lisa, I realized that I miss baking. I have decided to keep baking with the aim of finding more people to share it with and learning to moderate my own intake of said goodies.
Yet I have always loved baking. I love trying new recipes and sharing great finds with others. I used to love bringing baked goods into the office at my previous job. When I first started teaching in Romania last year I was excited to bring treats into my school to share with my fellow teachers. Part of the goal of Peace Corps is to share American culture and I thought baking might be a great way to share and also make friends. However, I did not account for the Romanian tradition of providing treats on your own birthday and the nature of my colleagues. Each time I brought things into the teacher's lounge people were suspicious, "Is it your birthday?" When I answered no, they would immediately ask why I had brought something, "Is it a holiday for you?" One time I said, "No, it's Friday. I am celebrating the end of the week." The reply I got was a harrumph. No one brings treats into my teacher's lounge so perhaps I was breaking some unknown faux pas. Eventually I just stopped bringing things in.
This school year I've done very little baking. In the fall I brought cookies into the women's class as part of a lesson on cooking vocabulary. For the holidays, I made cookies for the cleaning ladies at school that help keep my classroom tidy. Yet in my conversation with Lisa, I realized that I miss baking. I have decided to keep baking with the aim of finding more people to share it with and learning to moderate my own intake of said goodies.
The antibiotics I am taking for my sinus infection have helped me to
feel a bit better, so I hit the kitchen. Tonight I started with a
spinach pesto quiche and a half batch of ginger chocolate chunk bars. The texture isn't quite right in the bars, but it's a start. When I am happy with a modified for Romania recipe I aim to share them with friends here.
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