Nothing makes a house more like a home than a tantalizing wife of a cake baking! The practice of baking and sharing the goodies was deeply ingrained in our upbringing. Mother baked one main dessert each week which was shared with Sunday company and nibbled off of the rest of the week.
The weather is gorgeous! Fingers crossed that the last freeze has come and gone. So, I’m itching to fire up the grill and enjoy alfresco dining.
More than any other recipe, hummus is the one for which people ask me the most. Hummus has recently become massively popular outside the Middle East, especially in the United States and Europe. I routinely see hummus packaged and ready to eat in all shapes and forms in the grocery aisles, even as little snack packs.
It has been cold, I mean really cold in Texas this month, down in the twenties, perfect weather for a cup of tea.
I’ve taught my grandchildren to bake before they could even reach the counter by them just pulling up a stool, donning an apron, and going at it! I do have a method to this madness though. First, we take out all the ingredients from the pantry, talk about the job of each component, measure carefully, and step by step follow the recipe. On this Valentine’s Day, the recipe is tea cakes, or old-fashioned sugar cookies passed down from my husband’s grandmother.
February is the month for baking extra special Valentine’s desserts. My mom used to quip that the quickest way to a person’s heart is through his/her stomach. This saying isn’t romantic or poetic, but Oh so true! My mom was exemplary in her gift of hospitality. We never knew who was going to be at our table for mealtime. Drop-ins were not unusual, but the norm. One particular dish she was known for was her apple pie; so much so that I cross stitched a pillow for her commemorating and lauding her celebrity chef status as the best apple pie baker!