A Woman, 1 oven, 6 hours, 270 desserts, and 2 little rugrats...

Well, that pretty much explains it all! Wednesday I prepared a grande assortment of fine little fancies for a Spring boutique in the area. 270 of them to be exact. The entire day was a blur of baking frenzy, interspersed with clouds of powdered sugar and taste-testing spoonfuls of yummy. The oven was hot, the kitchen was messy, the kiddos were restless, and the desserts were delectable. All in all, a very pleasing day. I hope for many more days of such tasty chaos. À bientôt!

A Rainy Day for Baking...

On Monday we reached 93° here. Perfect for playing in the park and giving my children those pinkish cheeks indicative of Summer fun. Not, however, the best weather for baking. I was a bit dreadful of the coming days when I was to be baking scrumptious goodies for my first "job". But to my great surprise we made it back down to a rainy 58° on Wednesday. Perfect for sending my little ones downstairs to play while I baked trays full of brownies, hello dollies, and yes, more chocolate chip cookies. It was so exciting to awaken with a sense of purpose more than just dressing and feeding kids (not that that isn't rewarding in it's own unique and marvelous way). I suddenly felt like I had re-entered the real world - the world where adults interact with other adults and have conversations pertaining to things other than school work and play dates. And as I folded my first pastry box, filled it with homemade treats, and taped my card to the side I felt a sense of exhilaration. I delivered the boxes of little fancies to a "So, You Think You Can Dance" premiere party and went home to enjoy the sweet, sweet satisfaction of a rainy day baking and my first successful job as Très Sucré... Salut!

Très Sucré. Very Sweet.

Can you smell that? Mmmm... The ever-sweet aroma of chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven. I can almost taste them - and I will, in about 3 minutes, still hot and the chocolate dripping as I break one apart... I guess you could say I like to cook. In fact, I might even say I love to. I don't know if there is any thing else in the world that offers such sweet and instant gratification as does cooking. I have not the patience for scrapbooking, sewing, or any and all activities that require hour upon hour of labor before reaching the outcome. But cooking, baking, I can spend a few hours in my kitchen and create somewhat of a masterpiece. I can look at a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie as I would a Renoir or Monet, a fine work of art. With each curve of the dough and every morsel of melted chocolate I see beauty. And what's more? I can eat it.

I hope this to be the first of many posts as I take you along on my journey to Très Sucré and what I know will indeed be a very sweet adventure.