100 Things #8 - I love to bake.

While that probably doesn’t come as a shock to anyone who looks through the photos on this blog, it is something that is very much ingrained into my genetic code.

I can remember baking with my grandmother from a very young age.  At Christmas time, I can remember, my Grandma rolling out & cutting the sugar dough into shapes and brushing them with the egg wash.  My sister and I would then decorate the cookies with colored sugar, sprinkles, raisins, chocolate chips, cherries, and more.  My dad’s was on oven duty during these baking sessions.  He would put the sheets in the oven and remove the cooked treats to wire racks to cool.  I fondly remember hearing my dad say things like, “oops this one broke or this one burned a little, I suppose I’ll have to eat it.”  I use my grandmother’s sugar cookie recipe to this day. 

It was my grandmother who taught me things like shifting flour and kneading bread dough.  Everytime I have a baking sesson, I feel my grandmother’s spirit right next to me as I sprinkle sugar onto cakes or pull crusty loaves out of the oven.  No doubt, because of my fond memories of baking as a child, I associate baking inherenty with love.  I do my best to shower that manifestation of love onto others.  I do love watching someone bite into something I’ve baked and see their eyes light up, and know that I did bring just a hint of love and my grandmother into their life.