Join Diane, Delores and me while we whip up something delectable for your reading enjoyment! You are welcome to leave a poem in the comments on any of our blogs, or, if you prefer to post on your own blog, please leave us a note in the comments to let us know where to find you. Have fun!
*****
I had a good grounding in the basics of baking and cooking, but I don't know if younger generations are as lucky.
I read an article recently, one of those lists of "Things" - you know, "15 Things Your Cat Wishes You Knew," or "10 Things You Can Do To Save The Planet," except this one was "7 Foods I Don't Buy Anymore." The author had figured out that it was tastier and cheaper to make these things at home, things like pancakes and oatmeal.
The last item in the list was "whipped cream" and I wondered what marvellous substance she had found to replace whipping cream. Instead, she gave a recipe for making . . . whipped whipping cream.
Apparently she had never realized whipped cream came in any form other than what is contained in spray cans. It certainly made me think. And it made me thankful for all the skills I learned in my mother's kitchen and in Home Economics class in high school.
*****
Warning: High Calorie Words Ahead
My mother indulged my young interest in baking;
She cheerfully supervised all kinds of making,
From brownies to cheesecakes, from cookies* to pie,
Muffins and sweet loaves, and biscuits* sky high.
A great many things that I made, she had not,
But the basics I needed to know were well taught.
Through the years I developed my sweet-making knack
For bake sales and birthdays and after-school snacks.
But then, like so many, we gained too much weight,
And baking's a rare thing, in this house, of late.
I still make a few things for special occasions:
Pies of the Christmas/Thanksgiving persuasions;
Pineapple squares for my craft group potluck;
At craft sale time, oatcakes, to make a few bucks;
A specialty cake for my beloved's birthday;
And strawberry shortcake for a hot July day.
Biscuits appear now and then for my hubby
(He's taller than me and not nearly as chubby).
Although I no longer bake as I once did,
I'm glad for the knowledge I gained as a kid.
*cookies = English biscuits, and biscuits = English scones . . . I think the rest of the baked goods mentioned are not likely to cause communication difficulties!
 |
I've never actually had this happen when I was baking, probably because our cats are too "fluffy" themselves to be able to jump up on the counter. |
I certainly learned from watching my mother. And experiments, some more successful than others. I can remember being horrified when a food loving friend admitted she had only ever made packet cakes. Rightly or wrongly I think they are a poor facsimile of the 'real deal'. Sadly I am much fluffier than my partner. He can eat sweet treats. I should not.
ReplyDeleteOnce you have learned how to make baked items from scratch, it seems so easy. It can be a mystery for those who haven't done it, which is a shame.
DeleteI have to admit I made my share of boxed cake mixes through the years because they were faster and cheaper. Shame on me!
I never learned how to bake very well.
ReplyDeleteBeing a cook by trade, I can do the easy stuff well enough, and although I worked (as a line cook) at the Buttercup Bakery for five years, I didn't learn much about how they did things on the bakery side of the building.
I did get to take frozen croissants home to bake sometimes, and they were delicious, but all you did with them was put them in the oven for a while until they expanded and turned brown.
I used to have a friend we called Little Terry, and in the late eighties he got a job in Emeryville for Bette's Ocean View Diner's production kitchen, where they made the baking mixes they sold in stores.
He used to bake scones a lot, and there were a few times when we didn't have much when those scones were all we got to eat.
Then in the 2000s I worked at a warehouse that distributed natural foods wholesale, and one day they sent me to Emeryville to pick up an order, and lo and behold, it was that same production kitchen, but not even recognizable because of how developed the area had become.
And that's when I found out that we did indeed wholesale Bette's Ocean View products, including the scone mix.
I sort of wanted to take a bag of it home and try my hand at making scones as good as I remember Little Terry's, but that was one item in a 22K square foot warehouse, and I just never got around to doing it.
I like your poem, and I agree about not eating a lot of foods that I looked at as treats when I was young.
My doctor says my sugar levels are on the high end of acceptable already, so perhaps that's for the best.
-Doug in Oakland
I wonder if those scones would have tasted as good as they had in earlier years anyway . . . I've eaten some things in later years that I loved years ago and they never measure up. Maybe our taste buds change, but the memories are still good. So cool to find the scone mix though.
DeleteCooking is a whole other thing, isn't it?!
Pineapple squares? I LOVE pineapple, would you consider posting that recipe here for us? Please?
ReplyDeleteI bake, but not nearly as much as I used to. I don't have enough kitchen space to be able to set things out properly, so usually have to resort to clearing everything off the table in the other room, which is a pain in the you-know-where, so I only do it for special occasions. I learned mostly by watching and remembering, then there were high school cooking lessons which didn't teach us enough. I used to try recipes in books that looked interesting and then tweak them to my satisfaction.
I sure will post the recipe, River. I'll do it as a separate post, later this week, so anyone who's interested will find it.
DeleteI find it easier to tweak cooked items than baked items, because the ratios of baking ingredients are more tricky. Having said that, sometimes experience allows for inexact measurements. Those in previous generations didn't have all the measuring utensils we use now. I have one old recipe that starts out "shortening the size of an egg"!
FANTASTIC post dear Jenny!
ReplyDeleteabsolutely LOVED LOVED LOVED your DELICIOUS poem :)
you said well that you are from lucky from lucky generation who learnt "much" from their mothers specially mothers!
this was truly blessing that you learnt and baked for yourself and for your loved ones!
i believe that husbands and children love the food made by their wife and mother and somehow it influence their brought up ,it makes bonding between relationships more strong and deep!
here baking is less than your part of land and i belong to village where oven were not available
a huge size oven (if you call it so) made by mud was used to bake bread and sometimes cakes
you brought so many memories back about my mom who always wanted me to learn female stuff but i was so boyish lol until i was 18 ,after high school i start learning seriously just for the sake of my dear mom's happiness
Hugs!
I think you are so right about families bonding over food, baili -- and children, especially, having a special liking for the things their mothers made. My mother's apple pie is like no other I have tasted, and my brother would agree! ha ha
DeleteSometimes I forget that not all readers here had the same kind of childhood I had. I'm glad to be reminded of that with your mention of a mud oven for baking. That would certainly limit your opportunity for "hobby" baking. That is probably healthier, to tell the truth. In North America we eat far too many sweet and fatty foods, and it is reflected in the general rate of obesity. And if one wants to avoid weight gain, it can be very hard trying to give up those foods.
I'm glad you saw things from your mom's point of view before you got too old to learn from her! It is lovely that you changed your attitude toward learning, for her sake. I bet you are glad now for the skills she taught you :)
BAKING
ReplyDeleteAir shivered like jelly
Above the dune
The coolness of night
Could not come too soon
Above us the sun was an angry eye
A laser beam in a cobalt blue sky
We trudged along with miles to go
With the sand reminding me
Somehow of snow
Our throats were parched
Our limbs were aching
The desert heat
Was simply baking!
Good one, YP! I had thought to tackle this aspect of baking, but I wouldn't have done it justice. You did. I like your description of the sun. That's how I feel about it in the summertime and I don't even live in a desert.
DeleteWOW, that is so clever, a whole different take on the baking theme :)
DeleteNo baking in this house any more, except when the grandkids arrive. The girls love to help with the baking.
ReplyDeleteLove the poem! Great job!
Most children seem to love baking, don't they? And not necessarily for the end product; they just love to add and pour and stir!
DeleteI just "did it." Can't recall mom baking any dessert. Grandma did, though.
ReplyDeleteReally, if you have a recipe for guidance and know some basic terms, it's not too hard, is it? My mother didn't make desserts on a regular basis either. It was probably healthier for us.
DeleteI'm not a baker although I did make muffins in another age. Great poem with an accurate assessment of home baking today.
ReplyDeleteMuffins count! Take credit where you can :)
DeleteWhat a wonderful legacy you received from your Mom..and yes...not so much baking here anymore either. We too are a little 'fluffy'.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with baking is that we EAT it! lol
DeleteHomemade whipped cream is AMAZING. That stuff in a can doesn't compare at all! I'm not much of a baker but I can manage basic cakes and cookies. I'd much rather but them at a bakery!
ReplyDeleteI expect you have some excellent bakeries there, which would really improve that option! For many years here our only "bakery" was the one in the chain grocery store. Not really the same :)
DeleteGood poem, Jenny. (As usual).
ReplyDeleteLike you, I learned to bake from my mom. We had dessert after dinner every night. One of her favorites was “Same Old Coffee Cake”. We had that often, and so it’s name. She was not a wonderful cook, but an excellent baker.
I make cookies several times a week. One I take to my volunteer job for clients and staff. I often (always) eat some myself. I also make batches to send to my two grandchildren at college. Unfortunately, I always make too many to fit in the boxes, so some must be left out. Somehow, they disappear quickly. I used to like to make cakes but they must be served with a fork and plate and leave telltale crumbs around. I try to keep my sins of sugar a secret.
LOL! I find I can only hide the evidence so long. Eventually it shows up in my tight clothing, of all places :) It is SO tempting to eat those things, especially with the perfume of butter and sugar in the air. Your co-workers and grandchildren are lucky people!
DeleteMy mom and grandmothers were amazing bakers. I learned everything from them. Their pies were beyond great. My pies aren't at all bad, in fact they are darn good.
ReplyDeleteWe also had cows, made butter, whipped cream, custard ice cream. It was a different life.
A different life, indeed. The amount of work required to just get the basic ingredients for a meal or baked item would be overwhelming to a lot of people today (me included).
DeleteNow I want pie. And whipped cream. :)
I LOVE this, Jenny! My sister was like you. Loved to bake. You should have seen her and my mother!
ReplyDeleteI did it, but always out of a sense of necessity.
My son, Mark, however, loves it like his auntie and Gramma. His next oldest brother is the same. Those two can whip up anything! They must have gotten the basics from me, but they far surpassed anything I've ever done! Win!
Especially a win if they send a little bit your way once in awhile, too :D (which I would guess happened recently, after reading your poem this week!)
DeleteMy mum baked a lot but I wouldnt say she taught me (although I did plenty of hanging around the kitchen) I got the basics at school and then just followed recipes.
ReplyDeleteI taught my daughters everything I knew and they went on to bake more often and more challenging things than I ever have.
I dont bake these days, the girls bake enough for everyone and i'm not really interested (baking involves washing up, which I do more than enough of!)
Yes, the dishwashing is enough to give me pause, too; even though we bought a dishwasher a couple of years ago I find there are still things I have to do by hand. Doing one bowl is okay; doing every pot in the cupboard is not. It's handy to have your daughters to do the baking -- a perk of having kids still at home!
DeleteI love your poem, and I love baking! I'm always looking for any excuse to mix up sweet things, especially when the weather turns dark and cold. Even if it's not sweet I still enjoy it - bread is particularly satisfying to make (and I make all my own bread - no icky-squishy bought stuff allowed in my house). Like you, I learned from my mom when I was a kid, and from the Cooking units I took through our 4-H club. Mmmm, now I want to go and bake something... :-)
ReplyDeleteKudos to you on making all your own bread! You reminded me of the girl I knew at university who was used to healthy eating at home, including whole wheat bread which wasn't really "in fashion" then, and on sandwich day at the dining hall she used to say she was making a kleenex and plastic cheese sandwich, a reference to bought white bread and processed cheese slices :)
DeleteHa! "Kleenex and plastic cheese" - that's hilarious! :-)
DeleteHome economics! I remember those classes very well and they were certainly very handy. The cooking course was the absolute best.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy baking but don't do it often. Once upon a time I had a great metabolism but ever since menopause came along...schreeeeech...that all came to an end. So I don't bake a lot and when I do, I bake healthy or find healthier alternatives to what we like.
This was such a fun post!
You have the right idea with finding healthier alternatives. I find I still eat too much if it's around. Maybe what I need is to develop some healthy half- or quarter-recipes. Or single-serving!! Mug recipes made healthy :)
DeleteMy mother baked and my daughter bakes, but I seldom do, although lately I have been whipping up low carb cookies with coconut flour. I think baking sweet goodies always felt like colluding against myself as there was never and time in my life when I wasn't aware of needing to lose girth. Your poem is scrumptious.
ReplyDeleteI hear you. Although I was skinny as a kid, I started gaining weight when our kids were little, and (I just calculated it) I've been overweight for half of my life now. Baking is just setting myself up for continued problems.
DeleteNice poem! I like the concept of your Blog and will add to my list.
ReplyDeleteCLICK HERE for Bazza’s floccinaucinihilipilificatious Blog ‘To Discover Ice’
Thanks for reading, bazza! I will be over to have a look at your blog.
DeleteI bake if it comes from a box -- as in, a mix. Now, I do "doctor" the mixes. For example, I never use water; it's either milk or -- much more better -- buttermilk. My latest masterpiece was Ghirardelli Chocolate Triple Fudge brownies. They'll go down in history as the best brownie I've ever tasted. xoxo
ReplyDeleteAnything with Ghirardelli sounds like a winner to me! Thanks for dropping in, Jenny.
DeleteI hate cooking, but I enjoy eating. :D I loved your poem. Hubby and chubby worked well together. Lol.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy eating as well, too much so!
Delete