KITCHEN TIME

I love this time of year! Autumn weather gives me that itch to get some kitchen time and do a bit of baking while sipping on a cup of hot chai tea. Mmm, I can smell those fresh-baked cookies now. No need to procrastinate. Off to the kitchen I go.

My plan is to bake some muffins…all kinds of muffins. Pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, orange cranberry muffins, dinner muffins, banana nut muffins, and so on. These cooler days encourage me to make a variety of soups, stews and yes, cookies.

When I think of fresh-baked cookies coming out of the oven, my mind wanders to when I used to bake with my 8-year-old son. He loved to be in the kitchen to help me bake cookies. My son was so happy to stir the ingredients and try the inevitable job of cracking an egg without getting the shell pieces in the mixture. It was one of our mom-son times that we had together, and I will never forget how much fun we had creating memories.

One day we made a cake, and my son wanted to do most of the measuring and stirring, so I let him. I turned my head to get the sugar and as I looked back, I saw that a cup of salt was being poured into the mixture. The first word out of my mouth was “Nooooooo” which then turned into laughter. We had fun in the kitchen that day. I think more flour ended on us than in the batter.

One day while we were making chocolate chip cookies, Brandon looked up at me and said, “Momma, when I grow up, I want to be a cooker just like you.” With that said, I did my best not to laugh out loud. A cooker? How funny! I loved to cook and bake, and so did my son. My heart burst with joy because he wanted to be just like me. That day made me a proud parent! My son was young, and he wanted to learn from his mom, which of course filled my heart with joy!

Does this season provoke you to bake? If so, why don’t you include your little ones to help in the kitchen. Who knows, maybe you’ll get more flour on the kitchen floor and your shirt than what was intended. Who knows, maybe you’ll have the time of your life! Who knows, maybe you’ll create memories to last a lifetime.

I encourage you to have some kitchen time this Autumn. Bake those cookies and muffins, and have fun doing it.