A crazy love of baking, creating memories and making an old house a home!

So this newish thing I have for cooking and baking is rather insane. Thoughts of baking and cooking occupy my thoughts for a good part of any day and lately I have even found myself dreaming about it or thinking about it if I find myself awake during the night.

Even as a kid I loved to cook. Being the oldest of 5 children and the only girl it seemed inevitable that I would end up helping my mum in the kitchen. Not long ago I was going through some old letters and cards of mine and I stumbled across a note from my dad. It was from a family home evening lesson I had done as a young child where I remembered distributing cards to everyone in my family and I told them that they had to write something we liked about each family member and then give it to them. This one from my dad said something along the lines of "Nat is a good helper and is good at cooking. I like it when she cooks things for me" or something to that effect.

I have said it before that the arrival of my precious little boy sparked in me this need or desire to be Martha Stewart. It is somewhat difficult to put into words why. I guess I have just always admired Martha's ability to cook and create wonderful things making a house feel more like a home with her talents. More importantly though, Gabe's arrival brought out in me a desire to be the best I could be in everything. It is my hope that as he gets older, he too will enjoy helping me in the kitchen, baking, cooking, and creating memories. I love to hear people talk about the fun things they remember doing with their mums when they were younger and love it even more when I hear a husband or a child say "My mother/wife is the best cook!".

This past Saturday when I got home from the gym I was all fired up for a day of cooking and baking. I had a few recipes that had been burning holes in my brain that I really wanted to try. A while back Brad and I were invited to dinner with the Treu family (Liz's parents). I love Liz's mom. She is a very classy and passionate (in a nut shell) woman that I have always admired. At dinner she served the best Creamy Chicken Velvet soup that I had ever tasted. I just had to have the recipe. Thankfully Liz was willing to share and it has been a family favorite ever since. In fact the last time we had it for dinner Brad had mentioned that it was one of his favorite dinners. So this past Saturday I made the soup and also homemade bread bowls. I still can't believe it myself, that I actually made them and they were beautiful and delicious. I got the recipe from My Kitchen Cafe. It didn't stop there however. I had enlisted the help of my sister in law Shanna and we also made Vanilla Pudding Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Shanna and I both had a blast. I love having her come over to cook and bake with me. My sister in law Liz and her husband Blake went to the BYU v Utah football game and so Shanna and I spent the afternoon and evening baking up a storm whilst watching two one year olds. It was lots of fun. At one point (after the boys had bonked heads trying to give each other "loves")Shanna and I were in fits of laughter because we were each holding a one year old whilst stirring, rolling or kneading the cinnamon rolls. It was quite the day. The cinnamon rolls were huge and heavenly just as cinnamon rolls should be and Blake and Liz arrived just in time to help us eat them. It was fun to all be together eating yummy cinnamon rolls whilst laughing at the antics of our cute little boys. I love so much that us married Bentley kids live so closely to each other. My sisters and brothers in law have been such a tremendous blessing in my life and I love them all dearly. I am looking forward to spending more time together over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Our yummy bread bowls. They were surprisingly quite easy. The best part though was how dense and soft they were. They were the perfect addition to the yummy soup.







THE Cinnamon Rolls





All that baking wore the boys out too! Notice how Andrew was nice enough to give Gabe a little foot rub whilst they enjoyed a bottle with Brad. They are such good friends. At one point Shanna and I were in the kitchen and the boys were suddenly VERY quiet in the lounge room so Shanna went in to check on them and they were having a big bear hug. Love those kids!