Hello. It has been like forever since I have posted. Here is an update with an overview of what I have been up to the past few months.

November 2017:

Work: I started baking at work. I learned how to make many of the products we sell including cupcakes, cookies and scones. There is still a lot to learn, but I really enjoy the baking I do each week. As a baker I have a better understanding of our procedures and how we can avoid cross contact. This helps me when I work the front counter and steer those with allergies willing to take the risk of cross contact to the products least likely to come in contact with their allergens.

December 2017:

Tree Lighting x2: I volunteered at two different town tree lighting events where I helped at a table serving hot chocolate and cookies to families with children. At one of the two events we took into consideration children with food allergies by offering nonfood items in addition to the food items. It seems that many town events feel the need to have food.

Sweet Cases: This is an organization that puts together duffel bags for foster children who do not have a bag to carry all of their belongings in. The local service group I am part of joined with a few other local groups to make these bags and make blankets as well. We were served pizza and they also had desserts, which I avoided. The different groups bonded over eating together, but it may not have really been necessary to have food. After all we were there to do a project and even though including food does add to the connecting part of the experience, it still does not always have to be a part of volunteering. For more information about Sweet Cases, click here.

Holiday Party: I went to a friend's house to celebrate the holidays. Everyone who attended brought food to share. I ate before the party and also brought chicken to share. It was fun to sit around a table with a bunch of friends in such a festive setting.

January 2018:

New Year's: I went to a different friend's house for New Year's. We ordered in pizza and watched TV. It was exciting to celebrate the new year and not have to worry about the food.

Pineapple Dance: I went to a state sponsored dance where all the chapters of the local service group I am in got together to celebrate our accomplishments from the year. I did not eat anything at the event because when I attend a dance, I am there to dance, not eat. I probably could have eaten the food provided, but I didn't want to.

February 2018:

Baby Shower: My cousin had a baby shower, which was a very happy event. The restaurant it was held in was really cute and in the end almost all of the food was safe for me to eat. I ate before in case I could not eat anything. I was surprised and excited to learn when I got there that I could eat the food. The food was amazing and definitely some of the best food I have ever had out at an event like this.

Gourmet Club Bake Sale: For Valentine's Day the college Gourmet Club put together a bake sale with items we made in the teaching kitchen. I made sugar cookies from a recipe I got online, but I left out the almond extract, so there were no nuts. We also had chocolate covered strawberries and chocolate ravoli with nutella. There were a few instances when working the table where students were interested in the ravoli until they found out there was nutella in them. I think trying to sell items with nuts in them at a school bake sale has disadvantages and was something we could have avoided. We also had to be clear about there being nutella in the chocolate ravoli to make sure we did not sell it to anyone who could not eat them.

March 2018:

Conference at Columbia University: I went to a conference for two days at Columbia University during my college's spring break. I will be doing a separate post next week detailing this experience.

It has been a very busy and exciting few months. I am so thankful I finally got to share some highlights from them. Stay tuned for more new posts coming soon.

#review #time #work #fun