The Infamous Pumpkin Bread Incident

Who would have thought that Maren would win a blue ribbon for her fantastic pumpkin bread only a week after her infamous baking mishap?  I would, that's who!  I had complete faith in my daughter because she has generations of baking genes (and some amazing recipes)!

During a particularly busy week, I wanted to make something yummy to take to a neighbor, but I didn't have time to make it myself.  I asked Maren to make a batch of mini loaves of Pumpkin Bread, and being the thoughtful daughter that she is, she said, "I would love to, Mother!"  Okay, it wasn't quite like that, but she gave it a good try.  When I got home from work, I was quite impressed.  They looked perfect!  There are few smells more irresistible than pumpkin bread, so I quickly cut a slice of warm bread and prepared to enjoy it.  Unfortunately, I immediately bit into something woody and then felt my tongue begin to go numb.  On closer inspection I found that the bread was dotted with a smattering of whole cloves!  I started to laugh and asked her what she had done to the bread!  She replied indignantly that she just followed the recipe. It called for cloves and that was what she had put in!  Apparently, she thought they would dissolve as they baked...or something like that.  Everyone who came to the house had to try some of it because it smelled so good, and she got teased quite a bit about her bread with its extra fiber!

The following week was the local fair, and the girls were trying to find as many items as they could to enter (because they get paid for every ribbon they earn!).  I convinced Maren that she should try her hand at baking again but follow the recipe a little closer.  After some encouragement, she decided to give it a try and entered pumpkin bread and whole wheat bread.  She took first place in both categories even though she was competing against bakers years older than she is!  I was very proud of her!

Not to be outdone, Emma entered Oreo Truffles, and she won first place for the candy category!  They were delicious and very pretty.  My girls are off to a fabulous start!  They each won several ribbons at the fair and are determined to enter even more next year.  They're going to be tough to beat!