Today I was baking with my ten yr old daughter Ceri. We have some friends coming over so a bit of homemade goodness was in order. So first thing I do is pull out my trusty recipe book. I have a brown leather notebook I bought in Daintree Paper in camden street a few yrs ago. Every time I find a recipe that really works well or one that Ceri and I have made up it goes into the book. In the long term I want it to become our family recipe book so maybe one day ceri can use it with her daughter.
My mum isn't mad for cooking or baking, her favourite line is "I fed you because it was the law", she doesn't see the point of baking and the idea of it being fun is a concept too far for her. In fact on many occasions she's said "I'd rather boil my own head". The thing she doesn't recall is that the few occasions we baked together were special to me, I can remember vividly the day she gave me and my little brother the day off school so we could make Christmas puddings, pouring in the little bottle of Guinness, getting out the big pot for boiling, It was all so special. A memory of family working together, filled with Delicious smells, dipping your finger in the mix, robbing raisins. It was the greatest fun ever and that's what I want to hand down to my daughter.
My idea is that baking and cooking is an extension of your love, its a time we can create together and hopefully she'll have memories like that too. I always make cakes for birthdays rather then buying them, corny as it sounds, its baked with love and you know yourself its means so much more that someone took the time to bake a cake for you instead of just putting the candle on top.
I agree with the American Soul Food philosophy, cook with love and pass it on...
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