Last time we were together I spoke about the gift of the women in my life who show their love through cooking. Today I want to admit that I do not have the gift of cooking like they do, which is probably one of the reasons why their gift of cooking for me and my family means so much.
I do cook on a regular basis. My family does not starve. And my children have learned their way around a kitchen from me so their future families won’t starve either. One of my attempts ended with raw chicken (not undercooked, but completely raw), and another attempt resulted in lasagna soup (I still don’t know to this day what I did wrong). I share tons of recipes I find on Facebook so I can try them at home and yet time after time, they flop. I have realized cooking is not my gift … and I’m just thankful I have an amazing husband (and children) who are happy to eat edible, not fancy.
However, one thing I can do well (and enjoy doing) is bake. For someone like me, baking and cooking are VERY different. One of our favorite family things to make is our secret-recipe brownies. If you hang out with us often enough, we might even share the recipe with you. If someone in our life is having a bad day, more often than not you will get some brownies delivered in an attempt to cheer you up.
I also love to share my banana bread with the teachers at our son’s school who have become my friends. There are a few other things I bake fairly well, and I’m always more than happy to share. And, if you come to our house to visit, you will be offered homemade chocolate chip cookies that are always readily available.
Do you like to cook, bake, both, or neither? What’s your favorite thing to make and why?