Red Tulips

Where have I been the last few weeks? Inside a culinary school looking around, and if truth be told, I've decided to take up the banneton. A new baking and pastry program has just been introduced at the school, so it's a marvelous time to sprinkle the flour in a new location outside of Singing Wheat Kitchen, which gets more than its share of the annual average per square inch.

If running away to join the circus is no longer in the cards, then surely learning the culinary arts will be just as high-wire glorious and I do see some similarities - working with flames, juggling objects, certain costumes, the knife work, secrets of the candy apple.

How much baking I'll do on the side is anyone's guess, but I do consider it homework and research. Let's all cheer for new insights that give my skills fuller flair and broader personality.

The red tulips are to remind me that everything can open up beautifully with a little faith, courage and a frisson of sunshine. Why not embrace the springtime as a time of growth and reach? Think of the new friendships, the new connections. Think of hollandaise, think of all the mother sauces, imagine tempering chocolate and bending it to your will. More abundant daily bread.

It's all so richly glorious!