I remember when I started baking in earnest and was asking my mother for all sorts of crazy things (like a KitchenAid mixer, or a springform pan – I know, totally crazy), she was obviously quite confused. First, the woman can’t bake or cook to save her life. The first time she made my father a “home-cooked” dinner it was pea soup. Except that her soup turned out gray. My father, though not the most adventurous eater, ate it. This a true testament to how much my father loved my mother, despite her ineptitude in the kitchen, because I have tried to re-create gray pea soup, and am resolutely convinced it’s not possible. Bless his soul it didn’t kill him and I am here to tell the tale.

Second, my mother was convinced that all these items I was asking for are only found on a wedding registry. Perhaps she was confused because I was not (and am not) engaged, but still I was asking for a KitchenAid mixer. She would complain for hours, “But Aislinn, what are you going to put on your registry?” I told her not to worry, I still wanted a champagne saber and a kitchen blowtorch and those are surely things one finds on a registry. I also recently found out that REI has a wedding registry, and that’s pretty cool too, so I think I’ll probably just register there, since my kitchen will already be filled to the brim with equipment. Continue reading →