The Potential in All of Us – Fromage Blanc Bavarian
Fromage Blanc Bavarian made with goat cheese and a pistachio nut base.
“It makes you wonder. All the brilliant things we might have done with our lives if we only suspected we knew how.” - Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
This idea of potential sums up what this year has been like for me. Most notably is of course this little baking project of mine. I’ve spent the greater part of my life never attempting to make anything, if only for the reason that I didn’t believe I could, I didn’t believe I had any skill, and perhaps underneath those things, an underlying thought around being afraid to fail.
A few weeks ago, I made the Bavarian Fromage Blanc, sans the cake base. One of the harsher comments I got was:
“This tastes like a cheesecake that has no opinion.”
I too felt like there was definitely room for improvement. For one, I would bump up the sugar. Secondly, I would decrease the cream that is being folded into the custard so that the taste of the cheese would stand out a little more.
What I think what was most significant about this experience was that a comment like the one noted above might have put me off at one point. Instead, it had the opposite effect. The feedback didn’t bother me. It was my opportunity to make it better. This cake had potential and all I needed to do was keep trying.
The truth is, set-backs and failures are really just little side steps to future success. It’s the idea that everything you do builds into something better, whether it’s something as simple as being a better baker or the quest for something more profound such as being a better person.
We all have the potential to move in the direction we want. We just need the courage to believe this for ourselves. For me, this means having an open mind and heart, looking at challenges that come my way as opportunities to grow, and reminding myself that I should not live in fear of failure or change, but embrace it.
Taste: Not sweet enough
Ease of recipe: Medium
Time: 2 hours
Total calories* per recipe : 5926
* Calories based on recipe calculator from MyFitnessPal.com