Have you noticed how the changing of a season can improve your attitude? Fall is in full swing evidenced by the cooler weather and the change in color of the leaves. Fall is my favorite time of the year as I wear last years cozy sweaters and sleep soundly in the cool of the night. Fall also reminds me that the holidays and traditional baking delights are around the corner. Bakers all around the world will be saying the hidden ingredient to their particular delight is "love."
I have always been a baker more than a chef when it comes to cooking. I can get by with cooking the same-ol'-same-ol' recipes during the summer, but baking is where my heart soars.
One problem with baking is that when you get older the amount of baking you do tends to diminish as you end up eating all of your baked delights increasing the inches to your waistline. So, bakers tend to control their over indulgence by attending every holiday gathering they can just to sample what they've made instead of scarfing it down.
For many, the traditions and memories of the process of baking outweighs the actual outcome of the baked dish. I recall when my daughter was five years old I bought us matching aprons. I would stand her on a stool at the kitchen counter and we'd stir, taste, and sometimes laugh when mom tossed flour in the air settling on our eyebrows and eyelashes. Recently, my now adult daughter reminded me of her "favorite" homemade meal: Chicken and Dumplings made with Grands Biscuits. Now that we and half her children are sensitive to gluten, I'm on the hunt to find a gluten free alternative to share with my grandchildren.
For a memory to become a tradition, it must be attached to a sweet memory.
You'll know if a tradition you started had a sweet memory attached when you see your offspring repeating it with their children. My daughter also bought her girls matching aprons and enjoys making them (and the boys) laugh with floating flour delights. I'm truly blessed.
“I’m a greater believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON
If you'd like to learn how to live intentional, check out my book of the same name: Live Intention. Live the life you always wanted, but never believed you could. Available at Barns and Noble, Amazon, and iTunes https://www.christianfaithpublishing.com/books/?book=live-intentional