And did it MYYYYYYYYY WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

i've always had a movie soundtrack, constantly evolving in the back of my conscious mind. And in this land of perfect songs for perfect moments, a land which i am constantly constructing, i have always pictured myself overcoming adversity, tackling impossible odds, and winning out just in the nick of time, using ingenuity, to the tune of frank sinatra's "my way." now, i didn't imagine defeating a dragon or anything so dramatic...more like conquering a real-life scenario, which, in my line of work, can get pretty drastic and flurry-of-fuckingnuts. so anyway, it appears that my dream is about to come true. there's a number in my new musical, and it just so happens to be old blue eyes singing my way, remastered old vocal tracks with a 17 person live band, in which all the dancers are in nice outfits ...silver dresses and dinner jackets...just for that one number, and then they go back to half of the outfits they were wearing before, plus half of the outfits they wore at the top of the show. in any case, it shall be a massive feat of tracking, organization and fast action to get them onstage, then reset their costumes, adding in the other pieces and get everything ready on the correct sode of the stage...i am thinking it will only get done, just in the nick of time. and all to the tune of my way!

in honor of that, let's talk about some badass baking rules that make me do things my way:

i like fresh fruit. a lot. but i'm too lazy to make pie crust (easy as pie my ass), so i puree it into cupcakes, or add citrus zest to just about everything. (i am also considering delving into the world of puff pastry, in order to continue to circumvent the pie crust.)

this is the zester i have, only mine is green. it makes beautiful curliques, and i love it.

this is the sort of zester my parents have. perfect for zesting, grinding nutmeg, hard cheese, anything. it rocks for a nice, fluffy pile of zest and gets the job done quickly.

i love extra virgin coconut oil. it may not be as awesome in an expensive jar from the health food store, but i can get it fresh from the farmer's market a couple of times a year, and it is my moon goddess. coconut flavor without the sweetness. i like to do cookies with 1/2 butter and 1/2 evco. i like to use it to coat pans when nessecary...i found that the mini corn muffins i made that way were deee-licious. it basically actse like crisco...solid, but pliable at room temperature, melts easily, binds as a fat.

self-rising flour is made by adding 1 1/2 t baking powder and 1/2 t salt to 1 c all-purpose flour.

butter should always be unsalted for baking. and room temperature. as a matter of fact, anything you are whipping (cream, eggwhites) should be cold, and in a chilled bowl, but everything else (including eggs) should be at room temp. butter, btw, freezes well, so get a lot of it when it's on sale!

sifting is for suckers.

shaking your hips or otherwise dancing is always better than not doing these things. when folding in eggwhites or whipped cream, a slow lean-sip-swerve motion is preferred. slight undulation is welcome when massaging a rissoto.

everyone loves a baked good, and that's because everyone loves knowing that you created a sweet, fresh item just for them. i try to bring this idea from baking to my life and vice versa. just throwing the love i have for people out into the universe makes my life a better place...in a paper wraper or without one!

next time you hear "my way," picture me emerging from a tangled mess of dance shoes and skirts, clutching some all-important bobby pin, victorious.