Service of Being Born Under a Lucky Star and How to Nudge or Discourage One
January 3rd, 2022
Categories: Cooking, Horse Racing, Lottery, Luck, Lucky Star, Shortcuts
Image by Angeles Balaguer from Pixabay
A friend mentioned a family she knows that is born under a lucky star. Everything works out for them. When there were thousands of cancelled flights over the holidays because record numbers of employees called in sick combined with bad weather, this group arrived seamlessly on the last flight to land safely at their vacation destination in a storm.
Some of my friends do very well with lotto tickets or horse track betting. If I pick up $1.00 in the former I’m happily shocked though in so many other ways my star has shined brilliantly and I’ve drawn the long straw.
Folks may talk only about their casino winnings and successful fishing expeditions. They aren’t boasting even though you never hear, when they return empty handed, about dollars and/or time lost. I think it’s because they don’t want to complain.
Sometimes you can nudge a star in your direction or kick it away. Working hard at work and at home helps with the former and avoiding shortcuts can protect from the latter.
I’d forgotten why I had stopped using cake mixes decades ago–I make cakes, cookies and piecrusts from scratch–but it all came back to me on New Years Day. I was tempted by the packaging of a cornbread mix and I’d bought some wonderful baked ham to go with the results. The sickly sweet muffins are inedible. Cornbread isn’t supposed to be sweet. They only lack the stick-to-your-teeth texture of the worst of their cousins sold by 10th rate delis. I had planned to share them with friends. No way and never again.
Do you know people who are born under a lucky star? Can you share examples of some who through hard work have helped along their stars and still others who in spite of life’s downturns nevertheless glow as though they’re blinded under the reflection of the brightest? Have you discovered any decent cake or other mixes?
I just go to the bakery.
I was lucky enough to be able to leave my hometown years ago…Now I enjoy visiting because I know I won’t have to stay. I won’t press my luck any further…
BC,
Hilarious!
ASK,
The New Year has brought out the comedians in you and BC. Maybe neither meant to make me laugh but you did.
Linda on Facebook: They look good even if they don’t taste great. I too find box mixes to have basically no flavor, not bad or good, just none. Prefer from scratch baking too. Though I do love a fresh Entemann’s chocolate chip cookie!
As for your question, yes I do know people I feel are born under a lucky star. But it’s a star that eventually will burn out. Better to work hard and earn success.
Linda,
You are the best baker. The brownies you gave me for New Years are divine.
I realized that there is one mix I use–Aunt Jemima pancake–for waffles too. I like the version in which you add eggs, oil and milk.
The cornbread muffins had a fake sweet taste and fragrance. I’d have preferred tasteless!
I, too, can think of people whose lucky stars dim. Some handle it well but not others. Not a reliable thing to count on–such as thinking you’ll pay your mortgage with your lottery winnings from a ticket just bought!
Linda on Facebook: Haha, those brownies were a mix! Key is slightly under-baking them. But I do enjoy baking from scratch as well.
I don’t typically keep milk in the house so I use a pancake mix that subs water for milk. A tip with any pancake/waffle mix, add a little club soda, fresh or even flat, for extra fluffiness.
You could have fooled me. They are soooo good! I have a brownie recipe from a neighbor in my first Brooklyn apartment [though I haven’t made them in a dog’s age]. Trader Joe’s sells a delicious brownie on a cookie–comes cut in small squares in a modest sized box. Yum
Some folks get all the breaks, and others are rewarded with kicks in the head no matter what they do. Most of us weather ups and downs. As for the stars, they’re way too far away, and too busy burning gasses, exploding and creating local mayhem to care about creatures trillions of miles away!
Daphne on Facebook: Try Trader Joe Cornbread mix and brownie
Daphne,
Unfortunately it was the TJ cornbread mix I found sickly sweet when I’d never tasted sweet cornbread.
EAM on Facebook: I baked brownies yesterday from King Arthur brownie mix. Delish! shop.kingarthurbaking.com
EAM,
I’m not familiar with that brand though I’m not up on mixes.
Joan on Facebook: I used to make everything from scratch until I discovered Aldi’s brownie mix, lemon pound cake mix and honey cornbread mix. Yum!
Joan,
Will give these a whirl! Love pound cake too.
Daphne on Facebook: I will have to try Aldi.