Our Crazy Cook for October is Lori S. from Coon Rapids, Minnesota. Lori’s story hit home because I’ve been testing apple and pumpkin recipes this week and Jenna and I have a “date” this afternoon for a lesson in pie crust making. Lord, give me patience☺ Here’s Lori’s story:

A number of years ago (I won't say how many) when I was just learning to cook at home, I asked my mother if I could make some pumpkin bread. She was excited about my enthusiasm for cooking so she willingly gave me the go ahead. I followed the recipe that I had copied from a cookbook and put the two loaf pans in the oven to bake. About 30 minutes later I checked my masterpiece only to discover that they were still very runny. I looked over the recipe to see if I had forgotten anything - nothing seemed all that unusual except for one thing. My mother was working outside on the the yard when I walked up to her and asked, "Mom, isn't bread supposed to have flour in it???" The look on her face was enough to tell me that it should. Together we looked over the recipe and discovered that instead of writing down 4 cups of flour, I had mistakenly written 4 cups of water. Needless to say the pumpkin bread, or more appropriately, soup, didn't turn out. Mom was always a good sport however, and didn't banish me from the kitchen. It is because of her that I love to cook and bake today. My family loves to help out in the kitchen too and I always try to remain as positive with them as my mother was with me. My mother had the gift of patience I believe. Who knows, maybe I will instill the love of cooking into their hearts as well.