Okay, so the recipe called for it. 1/3 cup of vegetable oil. Seems simple enough, right? I grabbed the bottle, the clear plastic kind, nothing fancy.
Then came the measuring cups. I’ve got that set, the nested ones. You know, 1 cup, 1/2 cup, 1/3 cup, 1/4 cup. Dug out the 1/3 measure. It always feels a bit awkward, that one. Not quite as common as the half or quarter.
Poured the oil. Tried to get it right to the line. Always tricky not to go over, or under. Have to hold it up to the light sometimes, squint a bit. Got it pretty close this time. No major spills, which is always a bonus. Wiped the slight dribble off the side of the cup with a paper towel.
What I was doing
Needed it for some quick bread I was throwing together. Nothing complicated, just a basic recipe I use when I need something fast. The oil is mostly for moisture, I guess. Keeps it from being too dry.
- Got the flour measured.
- Sugar went in.
- Bit of salt, baking powder.
- Then the wet stuff: egg, milk, and yeah, that 1/3 cup of oil.
Mixed it all up. Didn’t overmix, that’s key. Poured it into the pan. Smelled okay going into the oven.
End Result?
Turned out alright. Decent crumb. Could taste the oil was in there, doing its job. It wasn’t spectacular, but it was edible. Job done. That 1/3 cup measure went back into the drawer with the others. It’s funny how specific these amounts get. Sometimes I wonder if a little more or less really makes that much difference. Probably does. Anyway, that was the task for that moment. Just measuring out the oil.
