It started about seven or so years ago. Looking for a bonding-with-the kids-project on a free Friday afternoon that didn’t involve Play Dough, Legos, or fingerpainting, I turned to my reliable flour, butter, sugar, and spice bins for an answer. A family tradition was born. While still a messy, intense endeavor, baking and bonding on Fridays turned into a much anticipated weekly event for both mommy and kids. Baking together melted away any troubles that accumulated over the week. Nowadays, by the time the clock strikes five, our homemade sweet treats are ready to be tasted, and the weekend is officially launched. The kids’ appetites aren’t even spoiled for dinner–it’s a win-win situation.
Friday Bake Day has become a strictly enforced tradition in our household, skipped only on rare occasions. More recently, Saturday “one hit wonder” baking day emerged, then experimental cooking day, chocolatiering, candy-making, and now we might as well call it weekend escapades in the kitchen. These add-on ventures are typically accomplished sans kids, but the whole family manages to add in their two cents along the way nonetheless, culminating in a family taste-testing event at the end. This leads to just about two years ago when Holly Trail was born. Through Holly Trail, we hope to share our weekend baking and cooking successes and failures, as we navigate classic American and international recipes in our everyday kitchen. The blog is a little heavy on cakes and cookies and all things sweet. Caramel sauce anyone?
Thanks to our son, we also have added a new feature, called “Photos of the Day,” which is focused on photos of nature and other curious shots. Here’s a photo of a darting meteor.
Our favorite photos follow a family of foxes.
Join us for a little cooking, a lot of baking, and for some glimpses of Nature doing its thing in the burbs of Northern Virginia.
Best wishes,
Ania Kleczek