Insight
A Thursday Prompt story
© 2024 by Walter Reimer

Prompt: knowing


“What are you doing?” the Muse asked.

I paused in making the pumpkin-cranberry bread I planned on having for dessert the next day. Of course, that didn’t mean I wouldn’t be taking a slice here and there. I had just finished whisking the other dry ingredients into the flour. Nearby, in a larger bowl, the pumpkin, sugar, and other liquid ingredients were already mixed, and awaited the flour mixture.

Yes, sugar is considered a liquid ingredient. Don’t ask me why; I have enough aggravations.

I had taken a tablespoon of the flour mixture and was about to sprinkle it over the contents of the third bowl. The eight ounces of whole cranberries waited expectantly as I paused and regarded the Muse.

“It’s an old trick,” I said, adding the flour and then moving the bowl around to flip the berries and coat them all.

“What’s that do?” she asked. She’s so curious and childlike at times.

“It’s an old baker’s trick,” I said. “You coat the berries with flour, and they won’t sink to the bottom while they’re in the oven.”

“Oh.”

Much later, I set a knife to the bread and took a slice to see how it turned out and showed the Muse that the trick had worked. “How’d you learn that?” she asked.

I tapped the side of my nose. “It pays to watch some cooking shows at times,” I replied.


end