the prairie of west central indiana is our home.

 

     you can see for miles and our neighbors are within view but still distant sights on the horizon. 

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     we settled down here in 1997 and made a simple quiet life. we aren't a homestead and we don't farm. we have a small business that we have been operating since 2008 and it has afforded us the freedom to just be.

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     i didn't have to adapt to prairie life and it seems right and natural for us to be out here. i was raised

on my grandparents farm in a prairie space similar

to ours

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     i had a creek to play in and a small woods to explore. we had cows and pigs and chickens. we all lived within 1/4 mile of each other. my grandpa milked cows at 4am and farmed the ground all around us.

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     my grandparents were simple and hardworking. they were some of the best from that generation. 

i learned to bake mostly from my grandma. my mom baked too but she was a single mom and worked. mom and i were responsible for making the noodles for Thanksgiving and Christmas-she was a pro.

and mom made the best hot fudge sauce.

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     i spent the summers with grandma. i would ride my bike the 2-3 minutes to their house nearly everyday.

i can barely recall a day without being there. she would let me help in the kitchen. we made lunch for grandpa or supper for everyone.

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     i remember her showing me how to use the mixer. she cooked and baked a lot. one of her star dishes was macaroni and cheese. we loved sharing a lunch together of fresh garden tomatoes with cottage cheese.

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     food memories are very strong for me. they stir up  flashbacks with my mom and my grandma. sunday dinners, birthdays, those Thanksgiving noodles, and aunt marilyn's snickerdoodles.

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     my path into baking started there...those summer days and holiday meals with extended family. surrounded by family. loving each other by sitting at the table, passing the serving bowls around, and giggling at my grandpa's 100 shakes of pepper

on his food. young and old all sharing time in the

same space.

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it brings me happiness to remember those days just by fixing lunch in the summer or grabbing the pepper shaker for my mashed potatoes.

 

food brings people together. it can bring a smile, or some comfort during a hard time. and its not even the food really. a good cake matters but the purpose of it is everything.

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     i am so grateful to God for the life He gave me growing up and the life i have now. He has made good on His promise to bless my life. i hope to always remember the grace He has shown me and easily give it to others. 

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     prairie bake house is just what it says it is.

in my house i bake.

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     i bake for just the two of us, for family, for friends, and for anyone who wants to experience a food memory with me.

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     in every baked item there is an element of my family traditions blended with todays innovations and resources. i didn't know anything about brown butter back then. i couldn't conceive of swiss meringue buttercream. and some recipes are better just as they are in their vintage form. oleo and all.

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so welcome to the prairie.

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     i'm going to bake while you are here. i'm going to try new things, reinvent old things, and show you those traditions that made me into a baker.