Proofing My Passion

I couldn't resist sharing this with all of you.  I entered a contest tonight (ok more like 2:15 this morning), that required me to write about my passion for baking.  The grand prize is a huge culinary school scholarship (fingers crossed)!  Most of the people that entered wrote serious stories about their love of baking or about how it is a family tradition, while I on the other hand opted for a light hearted poem about my need for this scholarship because I suck at baking bread/dough related things.  Here it is...I hope you enjoy my....errr...prose?...maybe I should find a writing scholarship? :-P

Proofing My Passion

I learned how to cook

at a very young age,

but the story is too long

for the size of this page

So here’s the story,

a condensed version if you will,

about a girl who longs to bake

with CIA level precision and skill

My mom taught me the basics -

boiling, frying, and baking.

I knew early on that the culinary world

was mine for the taking!

As I got older and wiser

my kitchen adventures grew,

and I soon learned the hard way

there was little about baking I knew.

Cookies, cheesecakes, cakes, and pies

were mine for the taking,

but that darn loaf of bread

I have always had difficulty making!

Many years at college,

and several loans later,

I learned the hard way

that I did not want to be an educator!

Soon I lost my job,

and mom got cancer.

Time in the kitchen

became my only answer.

With books by Julia Child,

and some by Julie Powell, too,

I had piles of inspiration,

And lots of dishes to do!

I soon took back the position

I had at a deli in high school,

and  remembered that a job

can be fun and not cruel.

I have spent the days since

chopping, slicing, and dicing -

knowing all along that

My future I was not sacrificing!

Recently a brand new business

has branched out all alone,

A new catering company

which I can call my own!

I love treating others

to the homemade, savory, and sweet,

and hope that I can soon

offer them a yeast risen treat!

In the years my cooking has grown,

and skills are what I've learned,

but making delicious and edible carbs

is a skill for which I still yearn.

Many attempts at baking were made,

and at most of them I failed,

so I know that this scholarship

would give me the chance to prevail!

I hope this poem has given you

a chuckle or a laugh,

but also reflect my passion

for unleashing my baking wrath!