Last night, I walked into a cupcake bakery that recently opened in a local shopping center. There were about a dozen different flavors to choose from, each looking delicious in its own way. My friend and I each picked out a flavor, I chose red velvet and she chose carrot cake, and then we brought them back to my house to eat. However, it felt wrong to enjoy such delectable treats without the proper entertainment. We decided to watch DC Cupcakes so that we could watch professionals make amazing cupcake creations while we enjoyed our desserts.
As we watched, I began to think about the different ways that desserts bring people together and help form relationships. For example, my friend and I bonded over our common love for cupcakes as we ate them together while the sisters on the show bonded as they ran their company together. Families pass down dessert recipes through generations and, at least in my family, often bake and eat them together. My best friend and I have a tradition of finding a new cupcake place to try each time we go on a vacation together, which is one of the yummiest traditions I have. Today is your lucky day because I am going to share our findings and some of my other favorite dessert places with you!
Cupcakes Across America:
Cup of Cake- Glenview, IL
Sprinkles- Los Angeles, CA
Sweet Mandy B's- Chicago, IL
Crumbs- New York City, NY
Other Delicious Treats:
Dairy Bar- Glenview, IL
Berry Moon- Chicago, IL
Yogurtopia- Los Angeles, CA
Tiggani's- Granada, Spain
Ghiradelli- South Beach, FL
Satisfy your craving for sweets, give these a try! Bring somebody with you, it may just become your new tradition.
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
The Taste of Tradition
All families have traditions. These traditions may be big or small, but either way they are a part of that family's unique identity. In my senior peer group, we have our own tradition that celebrates a certain type of family tradition: food. Each of the seniors in my group was assigned a certain month of the school year to bring in a "memory food" that means something to them or their family. By doing this, we have learned something about each of our group members and their families that we probably would not have otherwise.
Because the school year is nearing its end, we have gotten through most of our group. Each person has brought in a delicious food with a personal story to go along with it. Something that I have found very interesting is that none of us have brought in foods that are similar to anybody else's. Each different memory food is as unique as the person who brought it. I didn't get to bring my food in until recently, but I discovered that choosing what food to bring was more difficult than I imagined. I discovered that sharing a tradition with people who aren't a part of it can be frightening because you're afraid of what they may think. Especially within a family, traditions are very personal, so opening them up to possibly being criticized is a scary thought because that tradition has become a part of your identity. I never really realized that something as simple as a dessert that my grandma makes at her cabin could be such an integral part of who I am until I decided to share it with people outside of my family.
Eventually, I decided to bring in one of my favorite desserts, Special-K Bars. I worked up the courage to share that tradition with my senior peer group and it went over well, so now I've decided to share it with you. Ever since I was a little girl, I have been going up to my grandparents' cabin with all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins. My grandma would make us all Special-K Bars and I would eat about half of them all by myself. As we got older, she taught my older cousins how to make them and then they were able to bring them to the cabin. Eventually, my mom put together a family recipe book and that recipe is one of the ones we put in. Now I have learned how to make them and can share them with my entire family.
Because the school year is nearing its end, we have gotten through most of our group. Each person has brought in a delicious food with a personal story to go along with it. Something that I have found very interesting is that none of us have brought in foods that are similar to anybody else's. Each different memory food is as unique as the person who brought it. I didn't get to bring my food in until recently, but I discovered that choosing what food to bring was more difficult than I imagined. I discovered that sharing a tradition with people who aren't a part of it can be frightening because you're afraid of what they may think. Especially within a family, traditions are very personal, so opening them up to possibly being criticized is a scary thought because that tradition has become a part of your identity. I never really realized that something as simple as a dessert that my grandma makes at her cabin could be such an integral part of who I am until I decided to share it with people outside of my family.
Eventually, I decided to bring in one of my favorite desserts, Special-K Bars. I worked up the courage to share that tradition with my senior peer group and it went over well, so now I've decided to share it with you. Ever since I was a little girl, I have been going up to my grandparents' cabin with all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins. My grandma would make us all Special-K Bars and I would eat about half of them all by myself. As we got older, she taught my older cousins how to make them and then they were able to bring them to the cabin. Eventually, my mom put together a family recipe book and that recipe is one of the ones we put in. Now I have learned how to make them and can share them with my entire family.
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