Ten years ago, while honeymooning in Maui, my husband asked a local woman if she had any advice for our first visit. In her lovely Hawaiian accent she replied, “just go with the flow man, that’s all, just go with the flow.” It’s a sentiment we exchange with one another often, especially when we find ourselves stuck in difficult situations. Garrett will turn to me with his devilish grin and a forced Hawaiian accent and say, “hey babe, just go with the flow.” I can’t help but smile and you know what, that’s really all anyone can do since so little is actually within our control. The great thing about “going with the flow” is that for the most part, “flows” by definition move forward and I am all about moving forward these days.
Having never made focaccia bread before, I wasn’t sure what the consistency of the dough should look like, but after attempting the first recipe, I realized pretty quickly it shouldn’t look like soup. It was at that moment I could toss the ingredients into the sink or I could take a deep breath, move forward, try to fix it and “just go with the flow.” I choose the latter, adding flour and more flour, mixing, then resting. When all was said and done and it was time to knead, the concoction now resembled muffin batter and if you are familiar with muffin batter, it can’t be kneaded. Using my rubber spatula I folded it a few times, pushed it into my oiled bowl and crossed my fingers that it would somehow rise and come together. After a few hours it puffed up and once inside the refrigerator, it grew slightly more malleable. I eventually pushed it onto a greased cookie sheet, forming a rectangle with my fingers and popped it into the oven with a hope and a prayer.
Thirty minutes later, viola; beautifully golden and crisp, my rosemary, olive and onion focaccia bread was triumphant. Thankful I hadn’t thrown it out and happy I had ventured forward, a successful save was just what I needed to remind myself, “just go with the flow girl, just go with the flow.”
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