pairings.

I really love to bake. I have an emotional attachment to my apron. I haven't had the heart to throw away my sifter and buy a new one, even though the wire mesh is no longer attached to the side of the cylinder. I should buy a share in an Irish company that imports unsalted butter to the US. I don't use a mixer because I like the idea of stirring batter the same way they did it before mixers were plugged into electricity. It is the opinion of some that my elitist attitude toward mixers is a little pretentious. Call me a pretentious baker, and then refuse one of my cookies. Go ahead. 

Since being here in Korea, I have not had the opportunity to, well, bake. I believe I have mentioned that dryers and ovens are a luxury. The dryer thing can be remedied, as I currently have my laundry hanging over every door or cabinet in my apartment. But I can't substitute the doors and cabinets for an oven. 

I can, however, substitute a toaster oven. I remember my friend Renee telling me she was going to try and use hers to bake a cheesecake. And my friend Shaya had one in college, if I remember right, and used it to bake cookies. I have personally never baked anything in a toaster oven, but when asked if I could, I said YES. 

I though I would have to substitute bittersweet chocolate for cocoa powder, as I had not been able to find cocoa powder here. As I am googling the conversion, the renter of the apartment where these magical brownies were going to be made let me know he actually had cocoa powder. He said it in such a casual way that I wasn't sure I heard him right. It was like gold to me, so I was expecting something more like, "OH MY! I HAVE COCOA POWDER in MY CABINET! PLENTY for YOU TO USE for YOUR BROWNIES!!! ISN'T that just simply FANTASTIC!". My reaction to his calm statement of possession more resembled the tone of the last sentence I typed. 

I did not have an apron, so I did get flour all over my pants, but I did have a baking helper. My friend Hyerin helped me make the batter. This was really pretty great because not only is she an excellent cracker of eggs, she had also never had fresh from the (toaster) oven, made from scratch, gooey delicious brownies. 

I didn't mention this earlier, but one of the other things in this world that I truly love are margaritas. They, too, are difficult to find in this part of the world, along with their sibling, Mexican food. While I was pseudo sifting the cocoa powder into the melted butter with a vegetable strainer, my friend Houston was pulsating the blender with the ingredients for homemade margaritas. 

The timer on the oven dings. The blender stops blending. There I sit, with an ice cold perfectly proportioned margarita in one hand, and a still-warm-from-the-oven brownie in the other, and, well, there is nothing left to say.