How It Started

I have always wanted to learn to bake. I am not from a family of bakers or chefs and I have never attended any fancy culinary institute. But I always have the desire to do something creative in my kitchen.

My mom taught me very basic kitchen skills in my early childhood years. I can remember standing on a stool to reach the stove while she explained to me how to make grits. Mom wasn't the best cook in the world, but by far not the worst. Family dinners mean a great deal to her and it wasn't until just recently that I really understood the importance of that. I hosted our family Christmas dinner for the first time this past Christmas and I must say that it was worth every ounce of stress. I loved having the dining room filled with the conversations and laughter of my loved ones, and of course the frequent "yummmmm" coming from them!

I have always been a huge fan of desserts. There is hardly anything more satisfying than a delicious, sweet treat, which brings me to last year. A friend was hosting a gathering of some sorts and I was in charge of bringing the dessert. Now I normally didn't do much more than open a frozen pie from the grocery store, bake it in the oven and serve it with a container of Cool Whip. But something got into me that day. While flipping through the pages of a Southern Living magazine I saw a recipe for a trifle. The picture looked good enough to eat.

As I reviewed the recipe I thought to myself maybe I should attempt to bring something homemade. I went to the store and bought all of my ingredients. I also picked up a Mrs. Smith's frozen pie and Cool Whip, just in case. Always have a Plan B. Back at home, I arranged all of my ingredients out on the counter. Pound cake, cream cheese, whipping cream, sugar, strawberries....hmm. Berries. At the entrance to our driveway sits a beautiful, abundant blueberry bush in need of picking. I ran out to the driveway with a plastic container in hand and picked off as many of the best looking blueberries on the bush. I made a few other changes and substitutions while preparing my trifle. When dessert was serverd that night, I could hardly believe my taste buds. I created that. I actually made a dessert that tasted good!

I've always had a desire to be creative though things I create in my head look far better than what I typically produce, which is why I was at the craft store one day browsing around. I wandered over to the cake and candy making aisle when I saw a flyer for cake decorating classes. They were offering the first class at half off that month, so I said what the heck. Let's give it a whirl. And then I decided to bake and decorate cakes.

I love the Food Network. I could seriously watch it 24/7 and never tune in to another channel. I love watching the marathons of Ace of Cakes and Cake Boss. I go into an almost hypnotic state of mind. Before you know it, I'm in the kitchen donning my favorite apron. And then.....things happen.......