"Reflections Of, The Way Life Used To Be...."

Sometimes while I'm cooking, I think about funny things. Today, it was a flashback to my "Easy Bake Oven", a prized, but sometimes dangerous, childhood toy.

I remember baking "teeny-tiny" cakes and cookies, mini pretzels and hard candy drops. One bite and the dry, tasteless concoction was gone. If you were lucky, your appointed taste tester (usually my poor mother) would comment on how delicious it was before downing a glass of water.

You could watch your creation take shape under the light of a 100-watt bulb. By peeking in through a little window at the front of the oven, you could patiently observe it rise and bake. You would slide the food in with a little spatula, and then remove it the same way. I have wondered why I don't have fingerprints on my index fingers. I believe it's due to the burns I received trying to remove my little cakes before they started smoking (just kidding).

I've come a long way since my Easy Bake Oven days. It was this little gift from childhood that stirred a love of food and creation inside my soul. I was hooked, and have been ever since.