How do you have Valentines if you can't bake?

“But Coach, our family doesn’t bake!” This was Andy’s response when he was told it was his turn to bring in baked goods to sell in the school store. It isn’t that we don’t like baked goods because we do, a lot. It is just we (I) seem to lack the basic skill set to do it well. Here are a few examples:

• I once made cookies and accidentally added a cup of oil instead of a cup of water. The cookies eventually baked into large, flat, sweet clumps. How do I know they were sweet? I ate them. Not all of them, that would be weird, but I did try them and found they were okay. It took me a few hours to realize my mistake, at first I just though they baked wrong.
• Maddy entered a cookie contest. The cookies looked a little thin so I suggested she add more oats. She did. The judge told her that the cookies tasted good but were too dry, next time add fewer oats. She didn't win and I think still harbors a little blame toward me.
• Once after church Andy ran up to me raving about the incredible cookie he had just eaten. I asked him to find out what kind it was – he returned to tell me it was a homemade chocolate chip cookie. Poor boy was so used to slice and bake he didn’t even know homemade was a possibility.
• This past Thanksgiving I made brownies. The kids each took a bite and groaned “they taste like medicine”. Yes, I invented medicine brownies. Let me know if you would like a copy of the recipe.

And that brings us back to the story of Andy and his turn to bring in baked goods. He took them to school on Tuesday. By Thursday I wondered how the sale was going. He didn’t sell a one. Next time I am just sending him to school with $10 – save us all the grief and humiliation.

Assignment: If you can’t bake – support those who do. I just returned from a local pie shop with scones, pies, and cheesecake in hand. Tomorrow is going to be a very good Valentines Day!