I'll be living in Chicago in a week. I've been hearing friends tell me about baking therapy for years. Finally, two days ago, I baked chocolate chip cookies. Then, yesterday, I baked banana bread. Tomorrow it might be brownies. I'm going to have to start giving some away soon, or risk showing up in Chicago ten pounds heavier with a mad case of scurvy.

First attempt at banana bread. It was delicious, the circumstances notwithstanding.

Stress cookies

You're never alone with your thoughts in our kitchen.

I won't say that the baked goods fixed everything, but the technical stuff distracted me from unproductive worries and it gave me time to think about things I can legitimately take care of. If I've learned anything it's that I'm going to have to have a goodly amount of flour, sugar, baking soda, and butter stored away for my first months in Chicago.