Whole lotta bakin' going on

Last weekend, we had a plan: We were going to have a bake-a-thon all weekend. Jennifer and I put together a list of goodies to bake and talked about other goodies we'd like to try sometime.

Now, that was the plan. Unfortunately, last weekend got to be too busy and we only had the time to bake one item on that list: Brownies. I wanted to share some with Jennifer's teacher and her kindergarten teacher, and I suddenly had a brainstorm: Why not stretch the items on that list out over the week? And share the goodies with the two teachers, as well? This way, we could indulge in making the goodies we wanted to make, and share them so that there won't be leftovers that'll end up being thrown out. (That is one common problem we have been having in this house: Leftovers being left over for so long, they end up getting thrown out. I hate that waste and I'm constantly trying to figure out how to solve that problem. I've already tried a "no leftovers" rule but that didn't work.)

So, for Monday, we took some of the brownies to the teachers at Jen's school. Then on Monday afternoon, we made the oatmeal cookies that we took on Tuesday. Next we made blueberry muffins for Wednesday, pumpkin bread for Thursday, and apple cake for Friday.

That last item proved to be quite the challenge. Now, at the beginning, I told Jennifer, "One rule when you are cooking or baking: Make sure you have all of the ingredients before you start."

I need to amend that rule to include: "And make sure you measure your dry ingredients, too!"

The reason?

The apple cake calls for 1 1/2 cups of sugar (I used 2 cups because I had 2 cups of peeled and sliced apples). I knew we had sugar -- I picked up the bag, shook it and decided we had sugar. But I just didn't know HOW MUCH we had! Turns out, we didn't have enough. And I only discovered this only AFTER I finished prepping the apples into a cinnamon-sugar mixture. (GROAN!) So the apple cake was not delivered to the teachers the next morning, as planned. This was a recipe I had to, unfortunately, make without Jennifer's help. I had to finish it AFTER I dropped her off at school that morning. I ran to the store, got sugar, came home, fed the baby and made the cake. And as I was making the cake, I realized another hold-up: I forgot to beat the eggs BEFORE adding the milk. GAH! I rolled my eyes. Apparently, I was attempting to make The Cake That Would Not Bake. Well, I continued with my work, anyway. And as it baked, it just smelled so heavenly. When it cooled off and I was removing pieces from the pan, I took a bite and almost melted right there in the kitchen. It was SOO GOOD!!! I wanted to stop removing pieces and just eat it now! LOL But I wrapped up some pieces of the cake for both the teachers AND some staff members in the office. (Don't want them to feel left out.) They were all warm and smelled yummy! So I dropped them off at the school, came home and finished the piece that I took a bite out of. There's still a couple of pieces left in the fridge, which should be gone before the day is out. ;)

Jennifer enjoyed this bake week experiment. She loves to play chef and help Mommy cook in the kitchen, so as we worked together, she was able to perfect her egg-breaking and measuring skills. After I'd pick her up from school, she'd ask, "What are we going to make for tomorrow?" I know she loved this experience, but at the same time, it wasn't always easy to fit the baking time in. We get so busy sometimes. But I think if there is that window of time, we should grab it and use it to make something yummy.

As for me, I realized something as I made that apple cake: I was doing something all week a baker would be doing. Getting up at 5 a.m. for my day (or do they get up at 4:30 a.m.?) and baking something EVERY DAY. It's interesting I had this thought, because for some time, I have been wondering if the writing thing is all I am good at. If that is my only trade to offer in the world. Just a skill with words. Granted, there is nothing wrong with being able to write stories, but it's not a trade that brings in income, which is what a good trade SHOULD do. I know for a fact I would NEVER go back to newspaper writing, and the other writing jobs just aren't my thing. And it's taking me a long time to earn a solid advance from my next Great American Novel. :)

So, why not baking? Even if I take up baking as a trade, I could STILL find the time to continue writing! It would be interesting if I took up baking as my trade. I have a great-great-grandmother who had her own bakery in Ireland. I enjoy baking things just as I do enjoy writing stories. And since one of them MUST be a trade to bring in the income every productive adult in this world should be earning, baking seems to be the trade for me. Besides, at least with baking, I could be busy cooking up more stories just as I cook up some goodies. It's something to think about, anyway. As long as it won't take up too much of the "mom time," it's something I can look into and consider. (My children come FIRST!)

And even if I do decide to continue to be a stay-at-home mom taking care of the home and children, I'll continue baking goodies, anyway! If anything, it's a great parent-child bonding experience.