A bit of background

So i figured i should at least share some background before i start randomly posting recipes on the internet. So here goes!

I come from a family of bakers. My grandmother (on my dad's side) had 6 kids. Back some 60 odd years ago, the main job of the woman was still mostly stay at home and raise the babies, which is what she did. After raising 6 babies, she had 8 grand-babies, so my Grandmother had LOTS of people to feed. Apparently the only thing she could not make was homemade bread.

My father grew up in a small town called Grand Bay. It is approximately 15 minutes West of Saint John, New Brunswick. The family moved there when my dad was 6 years old, into a one room house in the middle of an apple orchard and slowly converted it into a beautiful house. Now called Grand Bay - Westfield, it is a beautiful small town with all the perks of both city and country living. My father lived there until he was married. We moved when i was 11 years old, so he lived there about 35 years.

About 20 minutes West of Grand Bay, is a community called Welsford. Small spot on the map that has a golf course, Irving store and a diner, as well as some of the best rock climbing in the area. This is where my Mom grew up, and back then there was a ski hill as well. This is where we moved when i was 11.

My Mom's mother worked for a living. My mother grew up on a farm and so while her father worked that and raised the 2 kids, my grandmother worked for the local Post Office. Apparently, my grandfather was able to grow anything he tossed into the ground (my mother says i have the same talent), and he was also able to cook. My grandfather passed when i was just a preschooler, so i do not remember a lot of his cooking talents. My mother is mostly self-taught, though. She can bake just about anything! She recalls a Home Ec class in school where the teacher had them make tea biscuits and hot chocolate every week, so she did not learn it there!

So with three girls to raise, and with both my parents only working seasonal as i grew up, my mother baked for our lunches. Everything from mini pies to cookies. Christmas time revolved around baking. I recall going to my Grandmother's in Grand Bay on Boxing Day and finding her dining room table stretched from end to end with sweet delicacies. After she passed, i found out that she had used a lot of shortcuts to make such splenderous treats, but it still does not take away from the magic.

As for myself and my two sisters, we all have inherited our mother's and grandmother's gifts in some way. My older sister can cook any meal from sctratch, baking...well she has a few recipes that are successful. I have the baking gift but i can never get pastry right; my cooking usually turns out somewhat odd...but usually edible. My younger sister can bake or cook anything she puts her mind to. I enjoy baking, and do it alot. I do not eat alot of that i bake, i usually give it away. Of the three sweet breads i made last night, at least 2 will either go into the hands of another or make it to the freezer for a future potluck.

So this will be a place to share all my baking secrets, i have a binder packed full of recipes that i want to try and a lot of old ones that my family and i have made many times over.

So, bon appetite!