Like addiction, Excessive Compulsive Disorder is either a tool in our belt or it is a crippling weakness. Currently, I am deep in the gluten.
With 3 types of bread all over the kitchen on Friday morning, I placed my order for 2 breads for Saturday morning pick-up at Ponsford’s. This is how ECD works. As I am making Spelt Challah for the first time, I have to get one of Craig’s Spelt Breads and know what the gold standard is. Resistance is futile.
Wait, what? Yes, only Saturday. That’s the only day you can get bread at Ponsford’s. It is an extravagant indulgence to get so much bread, I remind myself to stick with the vegan breads and avoid the decadent croissants and danishes. This is the compromise.
I am very careful with my ECD, when I allow myself to be swept into a hobby, or aspect of my life, especially as I age. Everything we do is connected. I can eat unlimited bread and carbs, as long as they are vegan, the fats have to be from vegetables. If I listened to Crosby, Stills and Nash, they’d probably say we have to have rules we can live with.
Autumn is here, while you are waiting in line at Ponsford’s, the bread man reminds me to be creative and experiment, whether it is with Generative AI or Connected Devices or baking focaccia or making a poolish for pizza dough; the arts encourage us to learn, apply discipline and break rules at the same time.
Note: I am eating “most” of the bread I am making, to encourage me to improve. I am framing this as a reward in my head. Right?