labour of convenience

After that previous post, writing about my recent chocolate fix fixed, I have to add that while I love to make things from scratch, it is far too easy and tempting to, while at the supermarket, pop a box of cake mix into the nearly overflowing squeaky cart.

These cake mixes, at just under a dollar (!), require little more than a few eggs, oil and water. And ta-dah, you have your cake/brownie/muffin/cookies. Why should anyone bother with the real thing?

The answer: far less pleasure. (I suppose there'll be a similar pleasure while eating it, as I'm sure it'll be pretty tasty especially with frosting. Otherwise, one could easily pass it off as a made-from-scratch cake, and stuff the blue box down the garbage bin, hidden under the egg shells and various "home-made cake" trash)

But out of curiosity, I succumbed and bought one. A Pillsbury Moist Supreme Devil's Food cake mix. I just wanted to give it a try and see how it turns out. (I haven't yet but will let you know the outcome when I do) Plus that doughboy with his large spoonful of devil's food cake was calling my name.

One mix I will definitely buy (and maybe ship over to the UK) are cornbread mixes. Now those things I adore. I've tried several cornbread recipes and somehow they always turn out too heavy. So it's nice to tear open this packet, throw it together with some milk and an egg and into the oven it goes. It comes out pretty nicely, after all "Since 1899, Martha White has been a trusted name in Southern kitchens"!

Oh how I love cornbread. That golden yellow, that crisp crust and that soft interior (which has some texture coming from the cornmeal) and that tantalising baked goods smell.