A Dash of Salt
Welcome to “A Dash of Salt” where two salty women sprinkle a little flavor into your everyday journey through work, growth, and everything in between. Together, we’re on a mission to infuse a little saltiness into the worlds of professionals who dare to want more from their careers and lives.
Whether you're craving a spicy boost to your leadership skills or simply seeking the savory flavors of personal growth, join us here at 'A Dash of Salt.'
A Dash of Salt
A Dash of Salt - A Baker's Journey and Finding a Hobby that Fits
Sharon Mawet and Stacy McCracken, co-hosts of "A Dash of Salt," discuss the importance of hobbies and stress relief. Sharon emphasizes baking as her primary hobby and stress reliever, while Stacy enjoys painting and learning new languages through Duolingo. They share personal anecdotes, such as Sharon's mistake of forgetting vanilla in scones and Stacy's failed attempt at country wine making. They advise starting small with hobbies, utilizing free resources, and finding a supportive community. Stacy highlights the benefits of taking breaks to allow the brain to solve problems more effectively. Both hosts encourage listeners to explore new hobbies and emphasize the journey over perfection.
Action Items
- Start small with a simple baking recipe like muffins or a loaf of bread.
- Try a free online class or tutorial to learn a new hobby skill.
- Join an online community or find a friend to share a hobby with.
- Take breaks from work to engage in a hobby, as it can help the brain make new connections.
Resources from Episode
Courtney Rich - Cake by Courtney
Favorite Recipe - Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookie
Bake from Scratch
Culinary Institute of America
Cherry Bomb
Follow us on Instagram: @twosaltywomen
Speaker 1
0:10
All right, Stacy, Hey, there, hey, hey, welcome to a dash of salt, where two salty women sprinkle a little flavor into your everyday journey through work, growth and everything in between. I am Sharon Mawet, your co host, a native Texan with a knack for making up big dreams.
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Speaker 2
0:29
You are, you are I am Stacy McCracken, and I am her selfie companion. I am a small town girl. I grew up in the Midwest, in a town called Peru, Indiana, and I live in
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Speaker 1
0:41
Austin, Texas now, that's right, and so together, we're going to infuse a little little saltiness into your world. And whether it's adding spice to your career or seasoning to your personal growth, we have got you covered. So sit back, relax and get ready for a flavorful ride.
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Speaker 2
0:59
And if this is your first time tuning in, welcome. We are so glad that you found us and have are testing us out on your podcast playlist. I hope you'll stick around, and if you're back for more, we can't wait to share this episode with you. That's right. So
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Speaker 1
1:15
Stacy, as we kick off, what spark of inspiration do you have for us today?
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Speaker 2
1:19
So I thought we'd start with a quote, and I just want to talk about this quote. Just a little bit love quotes. And so I have them everywhere. Yes, I have them everywhere. And so this is a one that is from Albert Einstein, okay? And the quote is a person who has never made a mistake. Never tried anything new
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Speaker 1
1:42
there, yeah, yeah, we all can make mistakes every day, right? And
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Speaker 2
1:47
I thought, because I know that we're talking a little bit about baking today, and I
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Speaker 1
1:55
just made a mistake this week. I forgot to, oh my gosh, put the vanilla in the scones I made this week, but you know what? I
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Speaker 2
2:08
right, it turned out fine, right? Think that that so often, and maybe it's because of school, right, that, you know, you get that paper back and it has a red mark on it, or right? We're just so focused on mistakes. And I actually, I will talk a little bit later, right? You know, I'm in school and I'm working on my doctorate, and one of the topics in my doctorate is growth mindset, okay? And growth mindset is all about learning from mistakes, okay, thinking, Okay, well, I just didn't get that yet. That's right, right? And so baking, right? Well, that cake didn't turn out quite right yet. Okay, that's my weekly spark for us.
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Speaker 1
2:52
Thanks so much. And as you mentioned, today's topic is my favorite hobby, which is baking. So baking, not only, of course, allows me to be creative, try new foods, try new techniques, but more importantly, baking, for me is a stress reliever. So Stacy, do you have a favorite hobby? Or should I say stress reliever?
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Speaker 2
3:14
I know for stress relief. When I am really stressed, I need to get creative. I find that, like some creative outlet helps me when I get stressed, so I tend to paint, but not pictures.
3:32
No, not paint by numbers. I
3:35
paint like the bathroom
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Speaker 2
3:41
and so. But there's something super calming to me about like, just that creative outlet. Well,
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Speaker 1
3:50
I never get a call when I'm ready to branch out beyond my gray walls in my new house, right?
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Speaker 2
3:55
But to be fair, so other hobbies besides that when I'm stressed. So I do Duolingo, all right. And I love to travel, and so I love, just like stretching my brain to try to learn something different. And Duolingo is fun, so it's like a game, but it's actually purposeful, yeah, so that's one of my other ones. And I will tell you that I tried country wine making. You, you and I love tasting wine together, right? We love we have been to some really fun places to try sparkling wines and other kinds of wines. And so I love wine, and it's how I thought I'll try country wine making. So country wine making is making wine from fruit, so typically not grapes, but other kinds of fruit, so blueberries or pineapple or peaches or whatever so, and it doesn't require a lot of contractions to do it. And I. Thought, score like, it's something I can do at home. People make beer at home. I should be able to do country wine. Well, it was an epic fail. Oh no. My first batch of of country wine turned out a little bit more like country moonshine. So it was like things you might use as a mixer in, you know, another dream, yeah, but, um, but also, I discovered I don't have the patience, right? I can paint a bathroom and it's done, yeah? I can do my Duolingo lesson and I'm done in 10 minutes, right? You have to, like, mix up country wine and wait, yeah, like, it's
5:42
like, maybe yeah, months,
5:45
I'm not nice enough for that.
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Speaker 1
5:46
All right. Well, we are going to talk about how to find your passions or your hobby or your activities. So, you know, baking cookies is one of my earliest memories. I remember being so happy making a double batch of chocolate chip cookies on a you know, Saturday afternoon, but then being so frustrated that all the cookies were gone the very next day, thanks to all of my three older brothers. But
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Speaker 2
6:11
so did you use the recipe on the back of the Nestle package in those days? Now, I
6:19
probably have a dozen different chocolate chip cookie recipes
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Speaker 2
6:21
that share makes amazing chocolate chips anyway.
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Speaker 1
6:25
But I realized in the last couple of years now that I'm an empty nester that, you know, I really forgotten a lot of my hobbies. Like when I was young, I used to do cross stitch. I used to put together puzzles all the time. And now, you know, I'm just, you know, in today's technology, resorting if I'm not baking, I'm just scrolling on my phone. So I figured I really cannot do this for the next 20 years of my life. So I need to branch out and do other things. Because, you know, as a mom, I scrapbook all of my kids, you know, memories and trips we went on and whatnot. I made it as loud point to rediscover as you have, what my hobbies are outside of just baking. So the first tip we're going to talk about today is, you know, how do you get started with baking, or any new hobby, as we'll maybe talk about your wine making. Well, the first tip I realized is you have to remember to start small, which is not really like us. We like to jump in first. But you know, if you're a baker, I encourage you to start with a simple recipe, something small, quick that you can do, like a loaf, right, or a muffin that you can whip together pretty quick and do that. Would you suggest
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Speaker 2
7:38
starting like if you're not a baker at all, you know, should you start with, can you even just mix up a box mix? Are you talking about? Find a recipe online, get the flowers and give it a
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Speaker 1
7:54
shot. Well, yes, you caught me there. Stacy, I would start with the behind the flowers. But I do, you know, if you are very brand new to baking, then, of course, mixes are a great way to, you know, whip something up and try it. But, you know, I encourage you to, you know, branch out a little bit more, go to that next step. And, you know, find that recipe from baking from scratch. So I
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Speaker 2
8:19
tried bread. So I did. I actually try. I'd never made bread before, and so, and I've read, right that it's healthier for you, and so I'm trying to eat healthier. And so I don't eat bread very often, because I don't love bread, but I love fresh bread, like when I travel, right? It's so good, I thought I'm going to try to make bread. And so I actually, I made focaccia bread, which is actually not real hard. No, it's very easy and and so that was, like a really good one to start out with, yes, yeah.
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Speaker 1
8:52
So I heard you to find, you know, today's social media, you can find somebody in your hobby, whether it's a photographer, a baker. I recommend one of my favorite bakers online is Courtney rich. Her Instagram handle is kicked by Courtney, but what she does is she has a lot of tutorials online, so she starts you out very, very simply, and then grows from there and gets to be more technical episodes as well. So, in fact, she is one of my favorite, since I love chocolate chip cookies, she's one of my favorite cookie recipes. She did a spin off the famous LeVian cookies out of New York that the jack, you know, ginormous cookies that you can make, but it's a chocolate peanut butter chip cookie. Her recipe is profession, so I will link that in our website. But another way to get started is, of course, attending a class nearby. We talked about virtual networking. One favorite baking class I found lately is baked from scratch, which is a magazine. But they also connect with Williams Sonoma, and they have a weekly. The baking school every Monday night where they'll go through a different a different technique or a different big, good item. Each class is $20 so it's not too much. But benefit of going to that class is they have an online community, which you can join and continue the conversation beyond class. Have you found an well, you talked about Duolingo. What kind of classes have you been I
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Speaker 2
10:23
have done Duolingo, but then, you know, I guess, to be fair, my hobby right now is so my hobby is always learning, like you heard, as I described Duolingo, right? It's about, I'm doing this. I love to read. We read a lot of fiction. I read non fiction, but that's how I go to sleep at night, right? Is reading? Is reading just enjoyable books, so historical fiction and stuff like that. But I'm actually in school, so, you know, I'm working on my doctorate. So during the pandemic, I was I felt like I wasn't growing. I wasn't learning a lot in my role, my role seemed kind of like not stretching me enough anymore. And so I thought, you know, I always wanted to earn my doctorate. And so I had been looking and looking for programs, and my husband finally said, honey, either do it or stop talking about it like, just like, let's do something. And so I found a program, and it was a Doctorate of technology, and I could customize it to focus on leadership and innovation and the use of technology. And so I started that, and I am this close,
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Speaker 1
11:34
almost there, sure we're going to talk about that in a future episode. We will,
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Speaker 2
11:38
we will. But, but for me, it's all about learning, right? And so, you know, I watch webinars that are free. I do a ton of free like, learning does not have to cost you money, and hobbies don't have to, you know. So I may watch a webinar and learn something, and then I'll sit down and just try to figure it out, right? Yeah. And so that's how I paint, that's how I, you know, do all kinds of things. Well, that's what as
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Speaker 1
12:03
we're starting new hobbies, we talked about starting small. So as you said, you can find a lot of free resources, but don't, I encourage you, don't run out and buy every new tool you need to to go start this new hobby, which I know for me, is hard to do. But for example, you know, I saw everybody on social media doing the new trend that paint by diamonds. It looked super relaxing and super enjoyable to have this great pretty picture. If you don't know what paint by diamonds, it's little beads you put in, kind of like paint by numbers, and, you know, and you create a pretty mosaic, if you will. But I said, you know, we're going to start small. And so I found a small little kit at Michael's. And then, of course, I bought it when I was on sale at Michael's. Thanks Michaels, along with a coupon. And so it really didn't cost me much at all. So there's lots of, as you said, free resources out there. Yeah, that for us, like you. I decided paid by diamonds is not
13:01
I was just going to ask, how did it go? Yeah,
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Speaker 1
13:03
it's too it's too tedious. I felt though maybe I didn't I, you know, in retrospect, I probably didn't give it a full good faith effort. I should have picked, you know, instead of focusing on not spending too much and starting small, I probably should have spent a little bit more and bought a pattern. Maybe that was more inspirational to me than just a kit to try it out. So
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Speaker 2
13:31
and were you in the right frame of mind when you did it? And so I
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Speaker 1
13:34
did. I spent it out a couple of times I did because it was like four little coasters. So I spread it out. And I Yeah,
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Speaker 2
13:42
no, no, not for you. So I do, I mean, I have to confess I have some things, some equipment I had to buy to try the country when I'm making and so now I'm going to have to figure out a new purpose for it, because, like, marketplace, maybe, yeah, because I needed, you know, some specific jars, yeah, certain kinds of lids and things like that. So yeah, Facebook marketplace, or they'll get repurposed in some way.
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Speaker 1
14:05
So, but since we're talking about baking, I do encourage you, you can start off small muffins. You just need a bowl A whisk in a pan to put it in. So of course, my favorite tool includes that Pampered Chef spring portion. Scoop thing, you know, I'm talking about like scooper with the spring lid on it. It makes perfectly sized cookie balls. Or you can repurpose it for making meatballs, or, you know, portioning out.
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Speaker 2
14:38
Okay, so, like a scoop that had, but yes, spring related scoop. Yeah,
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Speaker 1
14:44
okay, great thing. So you can start small, and then, as you said, see if you can use that tool for something else. So, so like
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Speaker 2
14:52
meatballs, if you don't use it for cookies, you can use it for something else. Yeah? Love it absolutely
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Speaker 1
14:57
yes. And then, of course, we. Encourage you to start a hobby, because, as we talk a lot about mental health and benefits of it, you know, I talked about baking for me is a big stress reliever, but hobbies increase your creativity. They stretch your mind, and you can build relationship through your hobby. So, you know, I try to do that, as I mentioned. You know, when I get stressed, I bake. But I also, you know, moving to a new street, we have new neighbors move in, so I like to make them a loaf of bread or a baked good and go over there and welcome them to the neighborhood. You know, celebrating milestones, I bake. So whatever it might be a promotion, it's all sweeter with baked goods. So, absolutely,
15:42
absolutely, I love it. I
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Speaker 1
15:45
love it. But, you know, part of that hobby is the process, like you get into habits. You talk about duo weling Go, you know, I love the process of looking through my cookbooks, finding a recipe, you know, making it seasonal. What products are in the grocery store right now, what can bake good? Can I make from that? Yep, so do you think I have anyone wanting to start baking yet?
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Speaker 2
16:08
I don't know. I don't know they may be thinking it sounds like too much work, you know, but, but it's not so. And I actually told you just this morning, right? I actually, because I don't always have time to bake from scratch. Like Sharon is an amazing bake from scratch Baker, yeah, but I don't always have time to bake from scratch, right? And so recently, I was like, Okay, I wanted something sweet. I didn't have time to bake from scratch. I looked in the cupboard and I had a mix that was, like, blueberry coffee cake. And I thought, what can I do with this? And so I actually, because we did mention that we're I'm trying to eat healthier, right? And blueberry coffee cake does not sound wildly healthy, yeah. But I added Flexi to it, like no recipe. But I was like, this is probably going to work. I added some flax to it. I added a whole bunch more blueberries, like, from the freezer to it, and just did a little experiment, yes. And I thought, it'll either work or it won't, right, right? We talked about mistakes when we kicked out, right, right? And I thought, Oh, it'll either work or it won't. I added some cinnamon in there, so things I like, and it actually turned out great. And so I hope that if you aren't convinced to bake from scratch, right, that maybe just adopting that mindset of, what can I do to like Doctor this like start experimenting a little bit. Well, we have
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Speaker 1
17:36
to remember, with any hobby, the whole point of starting this hobby is to improve your mental health. So it's supposed to be fun. So if you go in there thinking it's going to be, I have to make a perfect loaf of bread. Then it becomes more stress, full full than relaxing. So it's all about getting in there, trying it out. You know, painting, you know, I'm sure President, former president, Bucha first. You know, piece of art was not amazing, but through time, through practice, it's gotten
18:07
right. Good,
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Speaker 1
18:07
pretty good. So, right, yeah. So, you know, talking about making mistakes, you know, one of my favorite memories of baking is one of my kids did a book report on Coco Chanel. So for her birthday, I'm like, Well, I can make, you know, you see on Pinterest, I can make a Coco Chanel bag purse cake, right? And I thought for sure. Now the end result looked more like a lunch box than it did, but, you know, it was the journey, and everyone was super excited, and everybody loved it, and it was the journey that mattered at the end, and we had a lot of fun at the day. So, yeah, that sounds awesome. Alright, sounds awesome. So once you've mastered a basics, a basics of a new hobby, and you know, as you and I both have done, we try to think, How can I take a current hobby or passion that I love and take it to the next level? Right? You're trying to earn a PhD. And so I tried to add some mastery skills to my baking level. So I, you know, one of the favorite things I did is I went to the Culinary Institute of America, and they have classes for baking enthusiasts, as they like to call five days. It was super fun. And this is where not only you're mastering a skill, but it's introducing you to a new community. I had a great time. I don't know that I learned a lot of new techniques from this boot camp, but I got to do things that I don't normally do, like make a lemon meringue pie, and I got to use a giant blow torch, torch the top of the meringue. And I'm like, I don't have this tool at home, but that was sure. But, or, you know, every night we got together with dinner with the other classmates, and, you know, we had great conversations, talking about baking and food. And I met a lot of people around around the world. So, you know, tell us. More about your PhD or another activity you've done that's brought in your horizon,
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Speaker 2
20:03
you know, I think, you know, honestly, if I had lots of money, I would just travel more like to me travel as a hobby, and I also scuba dive. Yep, wow. And so I love the ocean. I'm I love the ocean. And so scuba diving is also an expensive hobby. Anybody who's a scuba diver knows that's true. But you know, I think that, you know, my brother was a scuba diver as well, and his mastery of that was to go become, then a dive master, right, and teach other people to scuba dive. But for me, part of the reason I'm earning my doctorate is I love teaching, and so I love creating new courses, and I love teaching and helping people up their skills. And so I love creating my own teaching. I love teaching working professionals, so I as an adjunct professor. I like doing that, partially because it is networking. I can, you know, build relationships, but I'm also helping them. So that's another way I've kind of taken my hobby of learning to the next level, which is, you know, to design courses around topics that I'm interested in learning about, and I'm hoping other people are interested in learning about too, yeah. And then finally, the other thing that you know I've done is it just left my brain. It was right there. That was it. But
21:35
we'll come back to it, because
21:37
it was, it was so good, yeah, well, we
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Speaker 1
21:40
have some more time so, but Stacy brings out a good point, um, you know, find a friend you can do your hobby with. You know, I mentioned playing pickleball and, you know, meeting new friends and a friend introduced me to another group. But you know, if you're baking or making wine, you know, pull a long friend. You know, pull a friend along with you to try it out. You know, swap recipes. So we've been talking about sharing recipes, yeah, and so, you know, go online and find a community and share trends. There's Facebook groups like I mentioned. Big from scratch has their own Facebook group where they I remember when it was
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Speaker 2
22:21
so reading, I talked about reading, right? And so I'm actually going to write a book. Oh, wow, that is my so that's the end goal, right? Is that I want to write, and I have a couple of different kinds of books in mind, but I want to take the work from my doctorate and write a book about that. But I also want to write some kind of fun fiction books, and so I can't get there overnight, so I write articles now, right? So you just ask about how you take it to the next level, right, right? And so I'm writing articles and then actually doing this podcast, right? Exactly. This is another way of taking those things to the next level, yeah, so, but there will be a book in my right shirt.
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Speaker 1
23:02
So buying those communities a community, you know, if I've inspired you to take up bacon, yet another community I found online was Cherry Bomb. So they're a media company really celebrating women in the food industry. And so it's really a community. So they started a magazine. They have a podcast going on. But what I love even more is that they have community dinner so they have various networking events throughout the US to bring people together around this community of food and drink. And so they've designed it in a way that you don't have to bring a BFF, but you just can come by yourself and really engage with other people about a topic that you love. So yeah, definitely, you know, take our communities and support our hobbies and make those connections. So
23:49
I love that as
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Speaker 1
23:50
we you know, hopefully you won't wait till tomorrow to start baking or find, you know, a new hobby to pursue. So you know, today's quick bites from a baking hobbyist include start small and grow your skills over time and repetition, find a community and enjoy those hobbies with other people on a regular basis. And then finally, as you said, it's okay to make mistakes. Remember, it's the journey that counts. Trial and Error, error is part of that process. So hopefully now, Stacy, you know, what tip Do you have us cooking in the kitchen, or should I say, baking in the kitchen?
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Speaker 2
24:28
Right today we are baking in the kitchen, and so, you know, today I've been thinking about this a lot, because I know how much you love baking, and we, you know, and I have lots of other things that I like to do. But I imagine you may be thinking, I have time for any of this, right? If I only had time, right? Right? I am so busy. I'm so busy at work or with the kids or with life or whatever, right? There is no time well. So here's a challenge for you, which is. Is that there is research that suggests that when you give your brain a break, if you are working on, like, a really tough problem to solve, and you've just been pouring over it, or you've been stuck at your computer, you know, for hours working on a project, if you give your brain a break, even just a little bit of a break, then it actually allows your brain to work while you're distracted. And so it allows your brain to clean things up, to make new connections, and honestly, that brief break of doing this other activity, so whipping up some muffins, whipping up some cookies, right is honestly supporting you in solving those problems that you were trying to solve. And really, and and it makes all of the difference in the world. And so I would encourage you, if you're thinking, I don't have time for that, actually, you need to make time for it. To make the time because it makes you more effective and more efficient. Yeah,
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Speaker 1
26:05
thanks. So thanks for joining us on today's episode of A dash of salt. I'm Sharon Maui, along with my co host, Stacy McCracken, remember to keep Stacy in your journey with purpose, passion and a punch pinch of playfulness. Yeah,
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Speaker 2
26:19
awesome. And make sure you add us to your playlist, right? And keep tuning back in. Check us out at two salty women.com for more content and come back next time for another episode, right? Remember,
26:35
life is always better with the dash of salt you