The only thing more intimidating than baking for the Queen is baking for my mom and her friends. Not because these ladies are critical, quite the contrary, this group of ladies are quite lovely and encouraging. But seriously, cooking for a group of veterans is an elixir for anxiety!
As a gesture of love for my mom, I decided to have a morning tea for her and her friends in celebration of her birthday. In my mind it was a delicious plan that would really honour my special mother. Sweet decorations, spa music, friends, and lovely baking.
One thing I am notorious for is trying out new recipes for company, which my husband shakes his head at. So for this special tea I decided to try my hand at scones and lemon curd, what would be difficult about this especially when internet sites claim it will be easy. Without the bore of detail, the scones did not turn out as described on the internet and I was certain the author forgot an essential ingredient. Not only that, my fail proof banana bread was overcooked!
My husband is a wise man and even though I didn't heed his advice about trying a new recipe for guests, he has given me another piece of advice that I implemented to "save the day". He says anything can be salvaged "with a lot of icing". So I embraced this advice and covered my attempt at scones with plenty of icing, and the ladies were complimentary (or just kind, can't decide which).
This is not just great advice for failed baking but for life situations that don't go as planned, especially in regards to events. Reacting to situations with a lot of kindness will go a long way. Kindness acknowledges that we are all humans, that we are here to help each other out, and that we value people rather than things or expectations. Events, and life, always has moments which don't go as planned and the best way to handle them? "With a lot of icing".