Childhood Foodie

Thanks to Satid for so entertainingly and sweetly telling his story about coming full circle from the arms of a baking mom to the arms of a baking girlfriend.  Taking Satid's lead, I decided to tell my own childhood food story. 

While I was growing up, there were two places my mom could be found; outside or in the kitchen.  She was forever baking, yet rarely eating.  Though, I'm told batter that drips from a spoon has fewer calories than batter that is baked into a brownie.

 

My mom believed children should be engaged with as peers, so she elevated my height to counter-level.  I sat a few feet taller, and chatted to her about the tales of my day and then periodically pondered my future, all as she whipped eggs and taught butter a lesson with the end of a wooden spoon.   Bowls meant for licking and beaters meant for sucking would be passed to me as I regaled my mom with the stories in my head.  I still love to hop up on a counter and chat someone's ear off, and I can still be found with a face shiny and wet from an overzealous tongue attempting to reach the center rod of a metal beater.  (Beaters are never licked when these birds bake for customers)

It wasn't all about bowl-licking.  I did my fair share of cooking too.  Though, with a bristle of confinement at having to bake indoors, I often grabbed up my gear and head to nature.  And I did it naked.  If you're already cooking outdoors, then why adhere to the rigid, moral structure of the modest indoor apron?

Baking is in my blood. . .or bones. . . or something a little less physically unappetizing.  Rather, baking is in my mouth.  It is in the conversations I have with myself while baking alone, and the conversations I have with Meg as we bake together.  It's about the taste on my tongue that gives me a sensory story of the ingredients and their origin.  And like a shared piece of cake on a single fork, my baking is in your mouth too.  

Baking binds us, not with eggs or flax seed, but with time and connectivity. 

What's your childhood food story?

~ Trilety