I owe my mother and grandmother -- and others in my family who bake -- a huge debt for letting me mess up the kitchen, week after week, for 4-H baking. My brother and I were second-generation (and possibly third-gen) 4-H members, and Mom's and Grandma's tutelage (in conjunction with 4-H food projects) led to my passion for all things homemade and made with love today. They taught me how to measure flour and liquids properly, among other lessons, and the family always ate up my efforts toward those coveted blue and purple ribbons. I took a variety of 4-H projects every year of my 10 years, but a baking or cooking project (and dairy and beef cattle) was the constant. I am now almost 32, and I am proud to say that I have been baking and cooking since I was at least eight years old. Without my family to guide me, this would not be true.

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