Channeling My Inner Betty

......Crocker that is! I have officially joined a Baking GALS group. I stumble upon Baking GALS while I was trolling the army wife blogs. I went to the Army Wife Network and their blog website, Loving A Soldier Living the Life, had an entry that mentioned the Baking GALS organization. And let me tell you I was EXCITED. There is nothing that this chicky loves more than to bake..... well, after hanging with the family and trying to get a good nights sleep. I love challenging myself with increasingly difficult recipes and I have won a place in the hearts of my co-workers by being the official baker of the office.

My fascination with cooking/baking began early. I come from a long line of women who won over the stomachs then hearts of their men through cooking (on my mother's side.... my dad's side, not so much). I have a great aunt known island wide for her fantastic cakes. My grandmother fed all 6 of her children on a tight budget and still came up with some recipes my mother passed on to me only after swearing me to secrecy. I toyed with the idea of becoming a professional chef but two things stood in my way. The first, my mother who was ever afraid that I would divulge family recipes in my quest for foodie praise. The second, while I like winning just like the rest of you, I'm not an outwardly competitive person. I like besting myself but don't really worry about how I stack up against others. I was told that the world of chefs is a competitive one, especially when you're a woman, and I wasn't sure I was equipped to deal with it. I find joy in cooking and didn't want my career choice to diminish that joy. So now I'm a wife and mommy and I share my love of cooking with my close circle of friends. And much to my mother's surprise and joy, I have managed to keep Pandora's recipe box firmly shut.

Although I turned away from a career in cooking I thought of participation in the Baking GALS group as a good use of the skills. Maybe one day, if The Hubs gets deployed, somebody will be kind enough to start a group for him.

So it's off to the kitchen for me. Hopefully I can make a good first showing :)

Have you thought of participating in Baking GALS? Any go-to recipes you think the troops would appreciate?