by Laura Everage

The thought of pulling another cake pan, muffin tin or loaf pan out of the cupboard this week is just too much for me. Yet, this morning, once again, I pulled a muffin tin from the cupboards and began measuring out fixings for banana muffins. 

This time it for a small birthday celebration for Nicole at school, and it is requested that a healthy treat (i.e. a treat low in sugar) is brought in for that celebration. The reason I was making it this morning, 90 minutes before she headed off to school, was for one reason and one reason only: I’m tired of baking and didn’t have the energy to do this last night. 

But, because I am of the practice of baking instead of buying, here I find myself smashing up the bananas for muffins once again.

I find baking very satisfying. It is often relaxing and gives me a satisfaction I just can’t get when I go the store-bought route. And, no matter what day it is, regular ol’ Monday, or a birthday, baking is a cause for celebration. 

But, ever since Thanksgiving rolled around, I’ve been in super-baking mode. I’ve baked several pies for the holidays, countless loaves of bread for daily consumption, cookies, holiday bread and caramel corn for Christmas, two birthday cakes – added to the one Greg made for Nicole – muffins for two school celebrations, and something else I have momentarily forgotten. 

All this, coupled with Greg’s contribution to baking (several loaves of bread, a pie and a cake), has finally put me in bakery overload.