Easy (and delicious) Mindfulness Practice
A mindfulness practice can come in all different forms.
Baking is one example!
There’s something really therapeutic about spending some slow, dedicated time in the kitchen to bake some bread or whip up a cake. The physical act of kneading or whisking can help to relieve tension, while the attention and precision that recipes require can help your mind focus solely on what is in front of you. And smelling that freshly baked good, as the oven delivers its aroma throughout your home? Mood-boosting for sure!
Baking can be a direct experience which is using smell, taste, touch and sight to stay present – the heart of mindfulness. It doesn’t have to be complicated with hundreds of ingredients. Just choose a recipe that suits your situation and take a few moments to yourself to intentionally enjoy the process.
Here’s a recipe I love, for easy to make biscuits that your whole family will love:
Touch of Grace Biscuits
Adapted from “CookWise” by Shirley O. Corriher (Morrow)
Time: 40 minutes
Nonstick cooking spray
2 cups self-rising flour, preferably a low-protein Southern flour like White Lily
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons vegetable shortening
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 cup buttermilk, or as needed
1 cup bleached all-purpose flour, preferably low-protein flour like White Lily, or as needed
2 tablespoons butter, melted.
1. Heat oven to 425 degrees, and arrange a shelf slightly below center of oven. Spray a 9-inch cake pan with nonstick cooking spray. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the self-rising flour, sugar and salt. Work shortening in with your fingers until there are no large lumps. Gently stir in the cream, then enough buttermilk so that dough resembles wet cottage cheese. (If you are not using low-protein Southern flour, this may take considerably more than 1 cup buttermilk.)
2. Spread one cup all-purpose flour (not self-rising) across a plate or pie pan. Using a medium (about 2 inches, No. 30) ice cream scoop or spoon, place three scoops of dough well apart in flour. Sprinkle flour over each. Flour your hands. Turn the dough in flour to coat, shaping a ball and shaking off excess flour as you work. Place each ball in prepared pan; biscuits should be touching one another. Continue shaping until all dough is used.
3. Bake until lightly browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Brushed with melted butter. Invert onto a plate, then back onto another. With a knife or spatula, cut quickly between biscuits to make them easy to remove. Serve immediately.
