B2B- Born to Bake

There are people out there that are just born to bake things. It's like they wake up or are born with this gene that allows them to stick things in the oven for just the right amount of time, or to add a pinch of something that will completely make the dish.

Unfortunately, if that gene was in my family, it was completely lost on me.

I watch water boil like a hawk, even though you're really not supposed to. There's that phrase, "a watched pot never boils", which I am pretty positive is a metaphor for something, but I take it pretty literally as I stand next to the stove and freak out if something distracts me for even a second. It's as if I'm expecting the pot to spontaneously burst into flame and burn my house down. Yes, it's that bad. I analyze every bubble, and lord knows I do not get close to the pot. I have a thing about boiling stuff touching me (as I'm sure most people do) but mine stems from accidentally burning my neck on a piece of hot stuffing when I was very young. Would I say that I am disturbed by this experience? No, I still think I managed to survive. Do I bring my finger back at the smallest hint of a burn? Yes, I do.

Anyway. Born to Bake. B2B, if you like catchy little abbreviations like me, although I'm sure by now, someone else has already claimed B2B means something else. Back to back, business to business, yeah...I'm not the first one to think this up. One of my friends has this incredible ability to bake anything she wants, whenever she wants. Her mom is like that too, so obviously she got the B2B gene, but it always amazes me when I show up at a party with a store bought bag of chips and she comes with a cake that looks like it's right out of Cake Boss.

Same goes for a girl I work with. She comes into work and spouts of all the different combinations of muffins and brownies that have been mulling in her head for a few hours, and makes these concoctions that I wouldn't even be able to think up, let alone produce. Apple Cinnamon muffins, hazelnut brownies, maple walnut muffins, cinnamon caramel tiramisu cheesecake...the list goes on and on. I wish I had a talent like that, or even an imagination like that. I made some peppermint oreo brownies this morning and I was pretty damn proud of myself. I wonder what she must feel like.

Anyway, I'm out to see if the B2B gene is something that needs to be directly inherited or if it is a gene that's just been hanging out on the sidelines and just needs a little encouragement to get into the game. I'm hoping it's the latter.