Supermarkets and stress relief

So we've all heard of retail therapy, people who say that shopping makes them feel better but recently I've discovered that I find strolling through the aisles at the supermarket really relaxing. While shopping for this week's ingredients I found myself wandering all over just looking to see if they have random ingredients and equipment that I might need one of these days.I buy only what I came in there for but I browse extensively. "Oh, they have springform pans here, I'll keep that in mind when I'm going to make cheesecake" or "I wonder if cinnamon extract tastes better than ground cinnamon? I didn't even know they had cinnamon extract." These are the things that make a 10 minute trip to the store to buy this week's ingredients stretch to an hour. But, after getting lost in the aisles, I find myself relaxed and I've forgotten about the difficult day I had at work. I don't need to go buy shoes or clothes for my retail therapy, I simply take a trip to my favorite supermarket or wholesale club and window shop. Weird, funny, but hey, it works!

Recipe Found!

After many nights of scouring websites to find the right recipe for this weekend I found it! I'll be making a Chocolate Glazed Chocolate Tart which I found on Epicurious http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chocolate-Glazed-Chocolate-Tart-243610 .

I choose recipes like I choose books to read. I get to Amazon and head straight for the New York Times Bestsellers section. After all, if a large amount of people have bought and read the book it stands a better chance of being good right? Then I look at the reviews. Anything under 4 stars is immediately dismissed. Only 4 stars and up for me! And of course I make sure that a decent amount of people have rated the book. If one person gives the book 5 stars, it really isn't representative of the quality of the book. Its one person's opinion and that person could be the author's mom.

Similarly, when combing websites for great recipes, I look for ones with high ratings, or staff favorites with lots of reviews and comments and if I have enough time, I'll even read through most of the comments and see what people say. This is where you find out about mistakes in the recipes or difficulties with the instructions. This is probably one of the reasons why it took me some time to pick this recipe for this weekend. The other reason is that this is not just any dessert on a regular weekend, this is the weekend before Valentines Day and this particular dessert is my gift to my valentine. So I want it to be perfect.

And now that I have the recipe picked out, I'm getting really excited about my first conquest. I can't wait for the weekend to come so I can get in the kitchen and get started!

The Challenge

I recently came up with an idea, not an original idea but a good one all the same, to make a dessert every weekend and chronicle the experience with this blog. The challenge will begin this coming weekend and end 6 months later on the weekend of August 13th. I will take the recipes from everywhere and anywhere, cookbooks, the internet, the paper, anywhere I can find one that interests me. I will make cakes, tarts, cookies, all types of baked goods. My hope is that during this time I will learn lots about baking, and most importantly, have fun. 

In order to make sure my boyfriend and I don't gain a gazillion pounds from eating whole cakes and pies each week, I will be sharing these treats with my closest friends and invite them to  drop by on Sundays and indulge. 

My first, very important assignment is to make a Valentines Day dessert for my boyfriend who happens to be a chocoholic, so I'm spending my time combing through recipes to find the absolute perfect chocolate dessert for this special day. 

I hope you'll enjoy reading about my successes and challenges as I try to unleash the baker within.