We asked people of all ages all over the world one question…
These are the replies we received from over one hundred people, many of whom are the great bloggers of WordPress. We are thrilled to share them with you:
Behind the scenes of this year’s GREAT BLOGGERS’ BAKE OFF, scores of bloggers have been helping us with a secret project. In fact, we now know that at least one hundred people have taken part in this project, and we think others (friends, family and colleagues of those we invited to take part) – making this special project a truly international collaboration.
Very soon, we are about to reveal the results of a collaboration between over a hundred men, women and children (and also dogs), the majority of whom have never met each other. The collaborators are spread all over the world, Asia, Australia, Africa, Europe, North and South America, even two of our colleagues in Kabul have collaborated on this project.
Some of you know exactly what we are referring to, others may be wondering what it is that we have been working on behind the scenes. Well, in an hour from now, we are going to publish what we call THE GREAT BLOGGERS’ PATCHWORK OF LOVE. It will display over a hundred replies to one question that we asked people of all ages, all backgrounds and in all parts of the globe.
The question we asked them was:
The result, the patchwork we are now thrilled to be able to present to you is something that has truly warmed our hearts.
We left everyone we asked to interpret that question however they wished. Some told us what love feels like inwardly. Some told us about how love manifests itself outwardly. Others told us what or who they love. Some gave us just a one word answer – “family” of course being by far the post popular. Others gave us a fascinating sentence. One or two, were unable to stick to the one sentence limit we asked of them. So, because what they said was so special, we decided to try to squeeze their response into the patchwork.
But the point is – there are no wrong answers. We received replies from over a hundred people in all parts of the earth telling us what love means to them. When one person told me that to them “love is money”, at first my heart sunk. But I realized, it would be wrong to leave that reply out, it has to be in the patchwork. All of the replies had to be in the patchwork.
You will see a variety of replies, which tell a story. You will see common themes. You will see that some seemed to think when we asked what love meant to them, we were asking about romance, others interpreted the question completely differently. Every single reply matters! Over one hundred strangers sharing their heart – that’s an insight into the entire human family!
Actually, it has become quite fascinating. They have created something very special between them, something that will make you smile, warm your heart, and in some cases provoke tears. We have been faffing around with graphics for several days now and the patchwork is finally ready!!! The result is a powerful creative piece. Take your time over it. Over a hundred people, a hundred beating hearts, worked on this project with you, and it has produced something exceptional!
Of course I was absolutely determined to bake from the heart for THE 2021 GREAT BLOGGERS’ BAKE OFF FESTIVAL OF LOVE. You may have seen my attempt at Greek baking for my beloved Jack yesterday – baklava! I have all the ingredients to make him galaktoboureko as well (yes, it is a very real thing, I am not making it up!)
However….well, I suddenly had a thought earlier this week. There was one recipe which suddenly seemed absolutely essential. There is a story behind it. In fact, quite a long story, which I will not relate right now, because it just takes to long. But when I began this blog, three and a half years ago, one of the very first posts I wrote was this one:
PEANUT-BUTTER COOKIES (THAT’S THE WAY THE COOKIE CRUMBLED)
Back at the height of the stress between the two of us, Jack and I had a slight misunderstanding over a batch of peanut butter cookies I had baked. Now believe you me, the issue was not him eating the whole batch in one evening, of course not. Some of you may remember that when I started blogging, Jack and I were estranged, after a lot of hurt, a lot of drama, a lot of trauma. In addition, I was in love with Goldfinch, who helped me very much to enjoy romance again.
However, I always did believe in the power of love. I had no great expectations when it came to Jack, I just hoped that one day, we would be at peace. Well, things happened!!! Yes, things happened indeed, and now Jack and I are planning our wedding! All down to this crazy little thing called love!
So in honour of love, love, love, I realized that I just had to find my recipe for peanut cookies again, I just had to bake another batch of peanut cookies for my Jack! And here it is!!!
Ingredients
These are so much easier to make than baklava!!
I started by mixing together the butter and peanut butter, and then adding the granulated sugar slowly, beating it so that the mixture is smooth. Then I gradually combined the beaten egg.
Next, I sieved the flour, baking powder and salt into the peanut butter mixture. The chopped peanuts were last into the bowl, and at that point, the mixture was easy to bring together as a soft dough.
The dough needs to be wrapped up in some baking parchment and chilled in the fridge for about half an hour. In the meantime I greased a baking tray.
Then I devided the dough into around twenty small balls. I can only fit nine cookies on a tray (I only have one tray!) They need slightly flattening before they bake. I also sprinkled them with a little demerara sugar, as this makes them look sparkly and gives them a crunchy bite. As you can see, they spread out and become large cookies!
They need just fifteen minutes in the oven on 190°C /Gas Mark 5.
It was such a pleasure to be able to say to Jack, “I baked these for you!” In fact, it is so truly wonderful to be able to love him, and bake for him, and give to him and to plan to do so forever! It was such a rocky road for us – but love won!!!
I have learnt so much about love – about patience, about forgiveness, about endurance, about sacrifice – and it is still amazing to me, that love could not be beaten even by years of hurt. Love won.
And now….I breathe in love each day, like never before. Love has healed so much pain and brought so much joy as well as hope for the future.
Gary, the creator of A Dad trying to cope with the loss of his Partner and becoming a single parent. has yet again exceeded all expectations, not only with his baking, but with his poetry too!! Admit it – you are really going to miss seeing what on earth Gary will come up with next! I know I will!
I have sometimes see Gary throw extra ingredients into a baking mixture, a very tailored bespoke mix of spices and flavourings that defy imagination. Yest this weekend, Gary’s kitchen experiments are leaning an entirely different direction. Yes, you may have noticed already that Gary is leaving out the key ingredient.
Earlier today, you may have seen his banana bread – without a single banana in it. Now we have Gary’s carrot cake – without any sign of carrot.
https://bereavedsingledad.blog/2021/08/22/no-carrots-hurt-during-baking/
Gary – it is always an absolute pleasure collaborating with you!!! You make everything so much fun!! Which I love!! It’s been not just a beautiful day, but a beautiful weekend!
Please forgive my teasing….xx Well, until next year anyway! You know how much we love you don’t you!!
I was so glad when the following blogger popped up in my inbox. It is Kushi (which means “happy”) Kalpesh! He promised me he would be baking a few weeks ago and was eager to share with us flavours from Gujarat where his parents lived as children, but I know he had difficulty finding the ingredients for the Indian sweets he wanted to make originally.
But determined to take part, Kalpesh, the creator of Kushi Kally took over the kitchen and with his mum overseeing him, Kalpesh made us naan bread – a garlic and coriander bread, which he said had butter brushed over it when it was piping hot out of the oven.
This is the post Kalpesh published about his naan:
Kalpesh, I really did not mind waiting for your baking photos, they were worth waiting for….and they gave me the chance to feature these two great love songs!
This weekend has been everything we hoped for and so much more!!! And it is all down to the truly great bloggers that make WordPress so much fun! We have seen so many beautiful bakes, so many heart warming personal accounts, and swayed along to so many famous love songs!
And there is still more!! The gorgeous Ribana, creator of Popsicle Society, has been baking!! These are her Torta Del Nonna (or Grandma’s cake), with a sweet dough casing, lemon pastry cream filling and decorated with pine nuts and icing sugar. I am feeling slightly faint here Ribana! They sound devine!
This is Ribana’s superb post sharing her brilliant baking with us, including a link to her recipe page:
https://popsiclesociety.com/2021/08/20/the-2021-great-bloggers-bake-off-festival-of-love/
There is still more to come! In fact, what we have for you is very special!
I asked Ribana if she had a favourite love song, and I was thrilled with her reply – I wanted to save this one until the end of our BAKE OFF, and she has chosen the perfect song!
And it is more than time for some Italian love!! It is nighttime here in England – so an Italian night of love is in order. 🙂
Included amongst the phenomenal line up of heartfelt baking creations we have been privileged to exhibit in THE 2021 GREAT BLOGGERS’ BAKE OFF FESTIVAL OF LOVE, we have been so impressed by the exquisite productions from Julie, the co-creator of One More Bite.
I loved reading the background behind these cornmeal, cardamom, almond cookies with orange marmalade, which are like a cross between biscotti and thumbnail cookies. They look as if they would melt in your mouth. Julie’s posts are excellent, and detail all the ingredients and techniques behind her creations. Please take a look at her fabulous site:
https://onemorebitedelara.com/?s=Cornmeal+cookies
As well as the adorable cuties, we received a photograph of perhaps the most glamorous choux pastry production I have ever seen. These are her showstopping strawberry eclairs with lime/mint mousse and strawberry mousse. Aren’t they marvellous!
This wonderful weekend is drawing to a close, and I have to go to sleep!!! But I am leaving you with the remaining baking photographs from truly great bloggers, and a very special treat, which we are sure will warm everyone’s hearts!
We are so excited at what is to come as the conclusion of the FESTIVAL OF LOVE, including our BAKE OFF judge Jeanne announcing the 2021 STAR BAKER accolade, draws close!
Caramel 