Baking on a Rainy Day

     I love to bake, in fact, I have been baking since I was about 10 years old.  My grandmother on my father's side was a baker too.  She made cookies and froze them so that when company stopped over, she would have cookies available for them.  She was a true 1950's housewife.  My grandfather was a teacher in Livonia NY when my dad was growing up, eventually he would become the principal of the high school there, and my grandmother stayed home, kept house, and raised four children.  I always wanted to be just like her, she wore an apron, she made cookies, she cooked and cleaned, and she was my hero.  I was only 10 when she passed away, but I still remember her, and how her house smelled of burnt toast and coffee in the morning (my grandfather liked burnt toast.) It is crazy the things you remember as a child.
    My mother's mom was a teacher too.  She was the high school librarian in Livonia, so the two families knew each other well.  My mother was not a baker.  She baked occasionally, like if we wanted to bake something together she would, but my mother was not a big fan of cooking or baking.  She took after her own mother, who wasn't really much of a baker either.  Neither woman was particularly bad at it, it just wasn't something that they personally enjoyed.  So from as early as I can remember, whenever anyone in our family wanted something baked, they always turned to me.  I didn't mind, I loved baking and I still do.
     I bake whenever I have the opportunity.   I love the smell of fresh baked bread, cookies, cupcakes, or pie.  I love feeling the dough in my hands and creating something that people are going to eat and enjoy.  Since my children were born, we have only purchased one birthday cake (I was pregnant and we had the party at Chuck E Cheese), all of the others have been made and decorated by my two hands.  I love providing that for my family, it saves us a TON of money on party supplies and I have the satisfaction of seeing how excited they are when they see their cake.
     So when I woke up this morning and it was raining and the air has a nice soft chill to it, I immediately thought about baking something.  But what?  Yesterday I made these super delicious Spice Cake Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Icing, and they are still looking at me from inside the cake container, begging me to eat just one...but I digress.

     So that brings me back to what I should make today, I did promise the "cookie monster" in our house (my husband) that I would make chocolate chip cookies this week, so I could follow through on that promise and make those, but what else?  I could make the hamburger rolls that we need for the pulled pork dinner I have planned this week, but we aren't eating that until Saturday so I wouldn't want to make them so early in the week.  I know, I can make a pie.  Today the weather is perfect for making a pie...it is cool outside so the dough will be happy and I have all of the ingredients to make a cherry pie in the house.  That's it, we can have a beautiful cherry pie for dessert tonight.
      One of the things that I love most about living on such a tight budget is that I have the opportunity to make a lot of our food from scratch.  I have learned to keep my house supplied with eggs, sugar, butter, and flour so that I can make delicious treats for my family with fresh ingredients, whenever I have the time.  I know that baking seems like a lot of work, but it doesn't have to be, simply make the dough ahead (when you have the time) and freeze it; both cookies and pies can be made ahead, frozen and then baked later.  Baking isn't for everyone, but if you like to bake, take some time and make something.  It looks like a great day to create something really yummy!