Hi! I'm Cat Gardiner and I'm an addict. I love sweets and ever since I was allowed to use the oven, I baked to feed my addiction. Over the years, my time in the cook lab has waxed and waned, like all addictions where rehab (diets) forced me cold turkey, but since writing Villa Fortuna I fell off the wagon and just had to try-and eat-all the recipes mentioned in the novel! I live in Florida with my DH, who is also a sweet addict, and orange tabby, who hates sweets. Along with reading to my parents each chapter of Villa Fortuna, I bring them the Italian dolcini they grew up on. Why? Because they're addicts, too.
I like baking because whenever I went to my grandma's we always baked together. Now, I love the smile on.my son's face when I make his favorite cake (Pumpkin Cake) and seeing hubby enjoy a treat. I don't have time to bake too often and can't wait to have more time to enjoy my favorite pasttime, next to reading about Darcy and Elizabeth of course .
Amo le cose dolci. (I love sweet things) I love pastries made with sweet bread. I love kisses from my grandchildren and love notes from my husband. I love puppies at play and watching an elderly man carry his wife's pocketbook. I love hankies with flowers embroidered in the corner and blowing gently on baby's feet so I can hear them giggle.
I love happy greetings from kind friends and getting an email from my daughter. I love milk chocolate drizzled over anything crunchy and I love the musky scent of gardenias tucked in unexpected places.
La dolce vita, my friends.
Author, Pamela Lynne!
Claudine Pepe!
Colleen O'Brien!
Gail Brosnan!I actually experience withdrawal symptoms if it's been too long since I baked anything. Surprisingly enough, I have yet to hear complaints when I bring things in to work saying "here, enjoy. I just had to bake last night."
Being Jewish, the core of the household is the kitchen and making people happy with food is definitely a part of the way I grew up.
Besides being fun, this bake swap has been a great way for me to reconnect with lost family recipes. I wanted to do family recipes and not ones that I had developed. Like Cat's Lizzy, I wanted to go back in time to when I was a kid and relive the smells and tastes of my childhood. I spent a few hours at my Mom's house with her old card file. It's funny how much we miss not using recipe cards anymore. As we went through them, how do we know which are the good recipes? That's right! The ones that are the most splotched and hardest to read are the ones that were used the most. You just can't get that from printouts that you can reprint or from a tablet screen. My Grandmother was talking to me from another lifetime. Whispering "try this one, Gail." And I did. I have written down 10 new-to-me recipes to try and refound several old favorites.
Not all are desserts and I look forward to exploring some of this lost and reclaimed heritage. My Grandparents died before I got married. My Grandmother met my DH less than a month before she died suddenly. She had teased me "why do I have to meet him? Are you going to marry him?" But I showed off the stubborn streak that I inherited from her and had her meet him. And I did marry him... 9 years later. Now my kiddos will get to taste some of my Grandmother's delicious cooking because of this fun project. Who knows when or if I would have paused in my hectic life and actually followed through with my "I should really look through those old recipes" wish that I've stated many times over the years?
My Grandmother's Crumb Cake recipe lives again and Colleen's family will get to share it. Next I will be trying out mandelbread (biscotti) recipes for Debbie's family. Prior to this, I had never made either crumb cake or mandelbread. I'm so excited!
Elizabeth Hossenlopp!
Author, Zoe Burton! I don’t bake as much now as I used to, partly because there is no one to bake for and partly because I have gained so much weight the last few years that I think I should maybe not be adding to it. And of course, now I have Gail and her awesome brownies a couple times a year. Why eat the junk I make when the world’s best baker has my back? ;)
Amo le cose dolci. (I love sweet things) I love pastries made with sweet bread. I love kisses from my grandchildren and love notes from my husband. I love puppies at play and watching an elderly man carry his wife's pocketbook. I love hankies with flowers embroidered in the corner and blowing gently on baby's feet so I can hear them giggle.
ReplyDeleteI love happy greetings from kind friends and getting an email from my daughter. I love milk chocolate drizzled over anything crunchy and I love the musky scent of gardenias tucked in unexpected places.
La dolce vita, my friends.
I love the sound of children laughing, and kittens purring. I love the twinkle in my father's eyes when he looks at my mother, married 60 years. I love every Wednesday, lunching and reading to them. I love coming home - no matter where I've been or how long I've been away, coming home makes my heart happy and at peace. I adore sharing my life with the man of my dreams.
DeleteI love witnessing my friends achieve their dreams. I'm filled with tear-inducing gratitude for every generation of veterans who have served to ensure my freedom. I am blessed.
Yes, my friend, La dolce vita!
I love to bake. Baking is relaxation, stress relief, good smells in my kitchen, happy taste testers (my kiddos) and happy co-workers/friends/family. The best part about baking for me is sharing with others and their enjoyment of my homemade goodies.
ReplyDeleteI actually experience withdrawal symptoms if it's been too long since I baked anything. Surprisingly enough, I have yet to hear complaints when I bring things in to work saying "here, enjoy. I just had to bake last night."
Being Jewish, the core of the household is the kitchen and making people happy with food is definitely a part of the way I grew up.
Besides being fun, this bake swap has been a great way for me to reconnect with lost family recipes. I wanted to do family recipes and not ones that I had developed. Like Cat's Lizzy, I wanted to go back in time to when I was a kid and relive the smells and tastes of my childhood. I spent a few hours at my Mom's house with her old card file. It's funny how much we miss not using recipe cards anymore. As we went through them, how do we know which are the good recipes? That's right! The ones that are the most splotched and hardest to read are the ones that were used the most. You just can't get that from printouts that you can reprint or from a tablet screen. My Grandmother was talking to me from another lifetime. Whispering "try this one, Gail." And I did. I have written down 10 new-to-me recipes to try and refound several old favorites.
Not all are desserts and I look forward to exploring some of this lost and reclaimed heritage. My Grandparents died before I got married. My Grandmother met my DH less than a month before she died suddenly. She had teased me "why do I have to meet him? Are you going to marry him?" But I showed off the stubborn streak that I inherited from her and had her meet him. And I did marry him... 9 years later. Now my kiddos will get to taste some of my Grandmother's delicious cooking because of this fun project. Who knows when or if I would have paused in my hectic life and actually followed through with my "I should really look through those old recipes" wish that I've stated many times over the years?
My Grandmother's Crumb Cake recipe lives again and Colleen's family will get to share it. Next I will be trying out mandelbread (biscotti) recipes for Debbie's family. Prior to this, I had never made either crumb cake or mandelbread. I'm so excited!
So, thank you, Cat. From the bottom of my heart and from the happy tummies of my family. Thank you.