Revisiting Old Friends

One of my favorite things to do is work with my hands in the garden.  I love the feel of the earth  and the knowledge that I am working to nurture life.  It is not only grounding but a peaceful feeling in so many ways.  

But, I don’t have a garden.

Hey, I don’t even have a little patch of earth to call my own for cultivation.  

And so, as I did when I lived in Nebraska, my mind went to baking.  

While my daughter’s dad can cook, I am the baker of the family.  From the time the Diva was born until just a few years ago, our house was filled with the smells of delightful morsels baking.  There is nothing quite like the smell of sweet ingredients or chocolate joining together in a way that leaves your heart warm and your mouth watering!

I haven’t baked in years, and now find myself excited about the notion.  Butter, flour, sugar, vanilla… all old friends I didn’t realize I missed until just recently.  Last night we poured through favorite cookbooks looking for the first recipe to be shared.  (This morning I had already  thought of a new twist for that old favorite – and experiment)

Recipe located, I anticipate the process.  It is only fitting that I revisit my love of baking with the first recipe my daughter and I cooked together.  I remember putting her in the snuggly on my chest and setting forth to warm our little house, on cold Nebraska days, through the joy of cooking.  She no longer fits in the snuggly, but now she will be able to truly share the process.  She will mix and form and melt and combine and share the comfortable conversations and silences that are experienced in the kitchen while baking.  And, as in the past, we will pack the treats into boxes to share with others, near and far.  Although I enjoy a few tastes of what is baked, I find it just as fun to give them away.

As I re-enter the world of baking, I would love to try new recipes.  Please feel free to share your favorites!!