a week of baking

I feel like I've done little else but bake this week.  My feet are tired and I grated my fingers a few times but it was a lot of fun.

Whoever is attending this Thanksgiving feast next week is lucky enough to enjoy my pecan pie for dessert.  It's going to be a big gathering.  I made three pies for this customer.

The sweet little girl who is turning 5 next week (and we will sadly miss her birthday party), will have a delicious pink ice cream cake.  This cake has a graham cracker walnut crust and EIGHT alternating layers of vanilla cake that has been brushed with strawberry puree and strawberry ice cream.  The top is vanilla ice cream and the strawberries have been candied and frozen.  It almost didn't fit in my cake box. Seriously yum!

I baked for Market Day tomorrow as well.  I couldn't pass up the opportunity to feature traditional Thanksgiving baked goods.  I made sixty mini pies.  Not kidding. Pecan and pumpkin.  Mini pies take THE. MOST. TIME.  All the butter grating and rolling and shaping. Phew! It's so time consuming. Making the big pecan pies are a piece of cake compared to all the tiny ones.

I adore pumpkin pie with whipped cream on top though. Don't you? It's so perfect for Thanksgiving and I never make it because I'm a good wife and make pecan pie instead since it's what my husband loves.  But you know what? I think I'm going to make a pumpkin pie just for myself from now on during the holidays  I love it that much.  I'm going to plead with my folks back at home to not buy their pumpkin pie at the grocery store this year but instead roll their own crust and make their own filling.  Please!  It's so much better from scratch.  But honestly, if I were in a pinch, store bought pumpkin pie is better than no pumpkin pie.

I also made ginger sandwich cookies with date filling because I loved them so much last week and had numerous people compliment them when we ran in to one another at the Marine Ball.  My favorite comment was from a friend's husband who was sick last week.  He said that he ate one of the ginger cookies and felt like he was at home.  I had a few people ask me if I am originally from the South (I guess that gives my pecan pie props) and a few others that said the ginger cookies were "off the chain".  Awesome huh?!  I love hearing stories about people eating my food.  One friend said that his wife "doesn't like scones" but she broke off a piece of the scone her husband took home that afternoon and a few minutes later came back to break off another piece.  That happened for awhile until she ate the whole thing.  People like talking about food and there isn't a whole lot of great food here in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia worthy of food conversation among friends.  I love that some of the things I'm creating is filling that gap.  

Of course I also made scones but I'm bracing myself because I just couldn't muster any more energy or time to bake my chocolate chip cookies.  People get a little touchy when these aren't available.  Some people are aghast when they get to the head of the line and see that their favorite whatever is already gone.  No lie.  

Did I mention I love doing this so much?  Ashlynn loves it when I make ice cream and her sisters are at school.  She's learning really quickly if she hangs around Mom in the kitchen she gets handed spatulas, spoons, and paddles covered in sweet delicious concoctions.  So she has her PJs on in this photo which means she's licking that ice cream paddle before her first nap this morning...which means Mama needs a vacation from the kitchen.  

And just because I can't help myself...Ashlynn with spaghetti face.  Adorable.