Can't Do Without

I feel like I have hit the jackpot today.

My dad gave me his old iPod. I mean OLD. It was originally given to my sister for Christmas years ago and she passed it on to him a while back. It's the iPod Mini and the screen is just digital black and gray. No color. No album artwork. It is one of the first to be made. It's ancient in terms of technology.

Hang on. The jackpot part is coming, I promise.

I have a Sony Walkman MP3 player that I LOVE. No, I have not owned an iPod until now. I also don't have an iPhone or iPad or iAnything. I like to stay a bit away from  the mainstream, thank you very much. Plus, I enjoy being a weirdo who's not especially predictable. 

Anyway, there are some Podcasts I have wanted to check out and in order to listen to them in my car, I need an iPod.

So last night I downloaded iTunes and plugged up the old Mini to charge overnight. When I checked on it this morning I noticed that  iTunes said it was loaded to capacity. I turned it on and opened the "Artists" folder to see what I could delete. I suddenly felt like it was Christmas morning. My mouth dropped open and a loud "Woo Hoo!" followed. 

My dad had loaded this baby FULL of the greats! Abba, The Beatles, Electric Light Orchestra, Marvin Gaye, Simon and Garfunkel, Crosby Stills and Nash, The Temptations, Bob Welch, Joe Cocker, Fleetwood Mac. (I could seriously go on for two more paragraphs.) All the music that filled the house I grew up in.

I had ELO's "Livin' Thing" cranked up on the way to work this morning. I was dancing in the seat and my little girl was laughing like I was an idiot. Good times. 

Needless to say, no music will be removed from this player and the Podcasts will just have to wait. The iPod Mini is going to be something I can't do without for a while.

So what does this have to do with baking? Not a thing. Except that there are lots of things I use when I bake that I also can't do without. I often find myself actually telling these lifesavers how much I appreciate them. 

"I don't know what I would do without you!"

"Where have you been all my life?!"

"You are the best thing ever!" 

"You are so great! Do you think you could help with the laundry, too?" The stand mixer just gave me a blank, silent stare on that one.

I have decided to write an ongoing series of posts about all the things that make my baking life easier. Those wonderful gadgets and magic ingredients I just have to have around.

Which brings me to this great wonder of the baking world:

A baker's best friend.

Powdered buttermilk!

I can't tell you how many times I have bought a quart of buttermilk for a recipe that called for just a cup, only to have the rest sit in the fridge way past its expiration date. (Can anyone tell me why isn't it sold in anything smaller than a quart?) And making your own concoction with whole milk and vinegar is just not the same to me.

Powdered buttermilk is the answer. Say a recipe calls for a cup of buttermilk. You simply mix 4 tablespoons of the powder in with your dry ingredients and add in a cup of water with your wet ingredients. It's that simple! The results are fantastic and it keeps in the refrigerator for at least a year.

I could give you all the boring science behind how it's made and why it works, but trust me, it rocks. I don't know if the person who invented this product has been given his or her proper commendation, but I am here to say I will dance at your wedding. Though, it apparently came on the market in the 70's, so maybe I should change that to "your granddaughter's wedding."