A book and a blog
12/20/2006 by Connie Veneracion · Filed under The Mommy Journals
I never denied the fact that I’m a lousy baker. I mean, I can do simple cakes and cookies but the really complex ones, especially cakes that require decorating, have simply been beyond my skills. But everyone in my family knows I want to learn.
My daughter Alex went shopping with some friends last Monday and she came home with two Christmas gifts for me. The first is Memnoch the Devil, the fifth volume of Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles, and the second is a cookbook.
I was really touched. My daughter knows me. She knows the kind of books I read and she is aware of my interests. Most 12-year-olds are at that stage of self-centeredness that they are often hardly aware of other people. And that makes the gifts even more meaningful. I was so inspired that I created a new blog — a baking blog, if you can believe it — and I have already transferred all of my baking entries from Pinoy Cook. And, after posting this entry, I will be posting the sponge cake that my daughters and I baked from a recipe in the cookbook that Alex gave me.
Life is grand. Really. 
Carol on Wed, 20th Dec 2006 3:05 am
Hi Connie,
I’m so glad you started a baking blog. Just like you my knowledge in baking is next to nothing. I am an accountant by profession but my passion is cooking and my impossible dream is baking. My canadian friends here was shocked when they first learned that I don’t even know how make dough. Kasi for them it is part of their everyday cooking. Sabi ko sa kanila, bakeshops kasi dyan sa atin is just walking distance from my home kaya why bother baking. Besides mahal ang electricity. Dito kasi sobrang mura ang electricity kahit lahat ng gamit sa bahay ay powered by electricity.
Anyway, after getting my professional designation here, I will seriously pursue my dreams. I started collecting stuff for baking pero lahat nasa original package pa rin kasi wala talaga akong time to use them. Nagta-try na kasi akong mag-bake before kaya lang laging palpak kaya stop muna ako. Reading your entry today made me see a flicker of hope that I will soon learn how to bake. Request ko lang pwede ba paki-una ang chocolate mousse. I don’t like their chocolate mousse here, too sweet for my taste kasi.
I’ll be a regular visitor of your new blog. Promise!
noemi on Wed, 20th Dec 2006 6:23 am
Baking blog is grand. I consider myself as a baker more than as a cook having practically growing up in a bakeshop. These days, I am just so lazy to bake. But when the kids were little,I baked , iced and decorated their birthday cakes. Labor of love talaga . These days, it’s just cookies, desserts and pies. Hoping to see your baking blog soon,
Connie on Wed, 20th Dec 2006 6:01 pm
Uy, carol, that’s the favorite of my bunso — chocolate mousse. i hope it’s not too ambitious a project for a newbie like me.
It’s up, Noemi. Sassy Foodie.
Ah, pies. More than the fattening cakes, I really want to learn how to bake scones and pies. Meat pies especially and quiche. Oooh, I’ll get there.
pinkalou on Wed, 20th Dec 2006 7:09 pm
hmmm, actually baking is a precise science… i a food technologist yet im not good in baking… skills and dedication is the best recipe for this stuff though… meri xmas
KK on Tue, 26th Dec 2006 1:52 pm
I wanted to learn how to bake because my mom was a great baker(she was great in alot of things). But thanks to low-carb revolution, I’ve been brain-washed to stay away from the “white stuff.”
My daughter(5 yrs old) begs me to bake with her. I will bake with her because I’d like her to have baking memories with me as I have with my mom.
You might want to check out http://www.foodtv.com for videos about baking and icing decorating, I find it easier to learn if I see another person demonstrating on how it’s done.