let the baking begin

A few years ago, my baking repertoire was limited to making chocolate chip cookies for my Dad every time I came home from college. They are his favorite thing in the world and became our common ground as we'd both munch on cookies late at night while leaning on my Mom's kitchen counter.

I moved to New York 5 years ago and never felt much need to cook or bake. Why bother messing my galley kitchen in my first apartment while I had a Subway right down the street? Or when I had the first UES Pinkberry near my second apartment. Or when Planet Sushi was across the street from my third apartment. It wasn't until my fourth place, which had a kitchen large enough to eat in and two hungry roommates to experiment on, that I started baking more. And when I moved into my own place this Spring with my fluffy puppy as a roommate, the baking took on a life of its own.

It became my way of simplifying and slowing down life when it became a little too much for this New York City girl to handle. Tough deadline at work? I'd whip up a batch of cookies. Worried about paying my rent? I'd throw together a banana bread. Relationship troubles? Out came a 3-layer chocolate cake. I started with cookies and brownies, treating my co-workers at the beauty/fashion magazine where I worked at least twice a week with treats. But soon the cookies and brownies became cakes and pies, quickbreads and cupcakes, and I became "the baker" in the office. I would put my red tupperware on top of my shelf at the beginning of the day and watch co-workers stop by all day long to get a treat. I loved the smiles and laughter that came with the opening "whoooosh" of the tupperware lid, and couldn't wait to hear how new recipes fared with my testing pool.

In the past year I've realized that standing in my kitchen watching the whirl of my KitchenAid standing mixer is one of the places where I'm the happiest, and I'm convinced that I'll have a bakery of my own one day with white clapboard walls and baskets filled with goodies. Until then, this blog is my test of new recipes -- I welcome all comments and suggestions! I hope to hear from you!