Baking...one of my favorite things

Baking has always been one of my favorite things to do.  It wasn't always like that though.  I didn't learn it from my mother as a child.  I started this process as a young bride looking to make my husband smile after a long day of work.  You see my DH and I will be celebrating our 20th anniversary this August, yes I said 20 years.  It's been quite the journey together.  So imagine about 20 years ago a young american girl learning to bake things in her kitchen.  I spent a lot of time trying many different cakes, cookies and desserts and even a pie or two.  It was then that I fell in love with the process and how it makes people feel when you give them something homemade from the heart.  The story my DH likes to tell people the most is how he came home to a new baked item almost daily when we first got married. 

Imagine an eighteen year old, newly married bride who moved about half a world away from her family.  Not really ,but it was a big jump from small town IN to big city Fort Worth, TX.  I was in culture shock literally.  I missed my mom the most.  She was my caregiver most of my life.  My Dad passed away when I was only seven from cancer.  Then, I also had an Aunt Princess that I have mentioned before in other posts.  She and my Uncle were also a big part of my life, we saw each other weekly and ate together.  One of the things my mom liked to do was cook.  She believe it or not, was not a big baker.  Maybe, I was trying to do something a little different from her but I just knew it was fun.  I enjoyed the process, measuring and following a recipe.  It was something I felt successful with most of the time.  My mom on the other hand just had things she made adding a little of this and that.  It seemed no matter what I did I could not replicate even the most simplest of recipes.  I am learning how to do this now and let go a little of being so precise.  I find that I regularly substitute things, add ingredients or just plain wing it far more than my young self.  My point with my story is this.  It hit me like a ton of bricks today, as young girls we look up to our mothers, grandmothers and aunts and think about how well they cook and feel we can never measure up.  I disagree with this now.  I realized that I have been cooking/baking for 20 years.  I am an experienced cook.  I have success with things and people like my food.  Sometimes they turn out and sometimes they don't that's just how it goes.   So whether you are a cook, baker, or a little bit of everything put some of your reservations behind you and just try new things.  I think it's good for us to keep growing and changing in all aspects of life.  Give yourself credit where credit is due!  Your moms, grandmas and aunts are good cooks but you can be too!

In my next post I thought I would share a few tips for baking (that I have learned) and a recipe for Strawberry Shortcake.  In the next few weeks I plan on showing you around my new landscaping, we have been knee deep in mulch and yep, it's a dirty word! I 've had several comments from you all and I'm really enjoying reading them.  Don't worry there will be plenty of decorating, recipes, make-overs and daily life coming in the future.

If you still haven't entered my give away, go back to the previous post and leave me a comment.

http://americangirlprimitivesnsuch.blogspot.com/2010/04/1-year-anniversary-give-away.html

Have a great day!
Carey