Did you know what you wanted to be when you grew up? What was it? Are you that person today? Raising 5 kids, I find that whole thing fascinating. As a parent, you see certain inclinations in your kids when they are young and you wonder, “Should I nurture that? Should I let it develop naturally?” I have kind of landed on doing both.
My second son, AKA Baker Boy, loved food from day 1! How did I know when he was a nursing infant? Because, he wanted to nurse 24/7! My mom loves recalling the story when I called her in tears and asked, “Can he *insert sob* eat TOO much?!” He loved to eat. I even have a sweet picture of him eating dirt when he was about 2. Not to mention, one of my favorite stories…he was about 3 and my husband had brought home donuts on a Saturday morning for our kids and the neighbor kids to enjoy. We put them on the back porch where all the kids were playing. After a while, with kids under foot, I said, “Where is Baker Boy?” We found him on the back porch finishing the box of donuts. I asked him to come in and get cleaned up. As he walked through the back door, he got sick…all over the floor. Poor baby! He ate too many donuts. He looked up at me with a squeamish smile and said, “Can I have a freezy pop now?”
The kid has a knack…a gift for food. It may have something to do with his dad, who was a chef for many years, or an innate gift. He can even smell food and tell you what’s in it and what’s not.
One year, I think it was his 5th birthday, I made a sheet tray of sugar cookie for each kid. They all got a chef”s apron and hat and food coloring to paint their canvases. Yup, we nurtured it!
Today, Baker Boy is 14. He still loves to bake. Now, I will say, on some days he will tell you he aspires to own a bakery and lately, he’s been saying he wants to be a surgeon. I’m not sure what path he’ll pursue (we’ll support whatever he decides) but, for now, I’m thrilled (my thighs aren’t) that he loves to bake! (It’s let me off the hook.)
When GE Appliances sent us the GE Profile™ Advantium® oven to try out, I immediately enlisted Baker Boy for a few of the recipes. He tackled Buttermilk Coffee Cake with his Mini Me then he chose the Luscious Lemon Squares to make on his own.
The one challenge to using the Speedcook setting on the Advantium, is you can’t bake in a metal dish. Now, most of our baking dishes are industrial, very metallic, pans. For Christmas we bought Baker Boy these little orange ceramic beauties.
Little did we know they’d be the perfect baking dish for the Advantium! They are easier to use in the Advantium because the base of the oven is a flat round surface, not a wire rack. Baker Boy used them for the Lemon Square recipe.
These little lemony babies cooked up in just 21 minutes. The only thing he noticed was the two in the center cooked a bit quicker than those on the outside. Next time he said he’d rotate them mid way for even baking. (This is the crust that is pre-baked before adding the lemon topping.)
But, the finished product was delicious!
Baker Boy gave them a thumbs up!
What about your kids, do you see a gifting in them that you are nurturing?
As part of our partnership with GE, Kristin received an Advantium Oven. The experiences and opinions expressed here, are our own. For more posts on the GE Advantium read HERE and HERE.
