More then Baking

What a day we had. We started this morning by making bread for the first time. We made enough dough for 4 loaves. One of the kids suggested we make a pizza for lunch so we set aside a portion of the dough for two pizzas. We started by grinding our wheat. The flour made by fresh wheat berries is so different then what we buy at the store. The two younger kids were in the kitchen the entire process from milling, to mixing, to kneading, to baking. They even stayed for clean-up. My oldest was in and out. As a twelve year old boy he didn't want to look too interested.

After the bread was in the oven we started on the pizza. The kids were impressed when mom demonstrated how she used to toss the pizzas one summer, when working at a pizzeria. They were impressed that is until I missed and the flying dough disc landed on the other pizza, which had already been spread with tomato sauce. Oh yes, all over myself, the kids and the white cabinets. We all giggled and the kids cleaned up the mess while I finished lunch. The kids set the table, it is 1:30 by now so we wake up dad who works 3rd shift to enjoy our homemade delicacy.

After lunch the boys went to town to take care of yard work at the house we are selling later this summer. My daughter and I stayed home to continue our baking. We made more bread, noodles, and cinnamom rolls. We talked and laughed. I told her how blessed I was to have her. She said, "Mom I like doing this stuff with you, you know woman's work." I almost jumped down her throat and said, "What do you mean, woman's work!" Then I realized. She was honored to be with me in the kitchen. Learning to do skills she CAN use the rest of her life. The world is an open book to her. Baking and being with me is fun. It is not politically incorrect. It is the kind of gratify work that woman have been doing for hundreds of years. Today she became a part of history. She gained an appreciation of how pioneer women had to feed their families. If it wasn't for Saturdays like today this is an art that could be lost. It was so much more then baking.

It was so fun to learn this skill with my kids. Trust me, I am no Betty Crocker or Martha Stewart! I encourage you to take a Saturday to step back in time. Please enjoy the fruits of our labor today. I wish there was a smell attachment as well.