| The fondest memories I have of my childhood were | | | | grandmother. So while I am sharing quality time with |
| ones spent in the kitchen. Time spent baking with my | | | | my daughter, I am also honoring these treasures |
| mom and siblings were some of the best times we | | | | from my grandmother. It gives me a chance to |
| spent together as a family. I specify baking and not | | | | teach my daughter about important concepts like |
| cooking because cooking was about getting meal on | | | | math (measuring), reading and following instructions, |
| the table. Baking was something else entirely. We | | | | to help remind her of the importance of family |
| baked things because we wanted to, because it was | | | | (great-grandma's recipes), and teaching her an |
| fun, and, of course, because they tasted good. | | | | important life skill. And because it is not at the |
| Our society now tends to view baked goods as | | | | frenzied pace of meal-making where I am rushing |
| health hazards rather than as a treat to be enjoyed | | | | just to get it into the oven, I can really enjoy that |
| and savored. Now don't get me wrong, I believe that | | | | time with her. |
| everything should be in moderation. But I question a | | | | Consider starting this tradition in your own family. I |
| view that believes foods with unnatural ingredients in | | | | would not trade those baking moments with my |
| them that cannot be found in nature are better for | | | | daughter for anything. They have helped to |
| you than a simple baked treat. Why can we not | | | | strengthen my bond with her and given me real |
| have both great baked treats that are enjoyed in | | | | quality time with her. Something all too rare in our |
| moderation and a healthy lifestyle? The two are not | | | | ever-increasingly fast-paced world. |
| incompatible. | | | | Now we do not keep everything that we make, I |
| But I digress. This article is about family baking. I've | | | | often take much of it into my work with me to |
| instituted a new tradition in our house that has gone | | | | share with others or I have my husband take it into |
| a long way towards sharing quality time with my | | | | his work. Because after all, the best baking treats are |
| daughter. Every other week we bake something | | | | those that are shared. |
| together out of the cookbooks that I got from my | | | | |