muffins.

My mom is everything a good, strong Southern woman should be, except a chef. Bless her heart. I eat a lot of popcorn when I’m home.

So by nurture and nature alike, my cooking skills are not up to par. However, I LOVE TO BAKE. I find it to be the best stress reliever.

How unfortunate, right?

What I do could not really be described as cooking; it’s more like doing a science project, or making magic potions! And I don’t really follow recipes too strictly at all.

Let me paint you a picture.

Me, dancing to some Ed Sheeran, spoon in hand mouth, pouring a mixture of flour, peanut butter and probably some sort of oats or granola in a huge, plastic bowl. There is most likely a mess of white powder on my black leggings and Blue Bonnet butter melting on the counter, dripping on my fuzzy, red Christmas socks and the tile floor.

As of late, I’ve been trying to make my final product a little on the healthy side, so I’m all about apple sauce and pumpkin puree  when I do my kitchen magic. Oh, and coconut milk. It gets weird.

My crazy concoctions aren’t always a hit with my roommates, but that’s beside the point, and I have my mother to blame for that.

The importance of this is for my half hour of Top Chef-meets-dance party cooking segment, I am in absolute bliss. All my worries get blended, chopped and baked away. I don’ t think about my exam next week, that text I’m anxiously waiting for from the guy last weekend or even the pimple I feel is about to erupt between my eyebrows.

Nope, I am nothing but master of the sweets and nothing can stop me!

The timer dings….or the smoke detector goes off, (whatever) and I take my craft out of the oven. Emerging it from the smoke and chocolatey aroma, I force my poor roomies to take a bite, and usually I get a forced smile or blank face.

What I’m getting at is none of that matters. I don’t follow recipes nor do I understand the difference between baking soda and baking powder; I’m not looking to be the next Gigi.

As a break from all the things on my to-do list that have to be perfect: school, work, project, internships, resumes, applications, etc., it’s nice to be able to create something without rules guiding it or expectations following it.

I just like to have fun at mediocre muffin-making and using a peanut butter-covered spoon as a mic . And that’s fine.

What are your passions/hobbies that you fail at without shame?

Try a bite? ; )