Sunshine and Dreams

It's been raining here for 4 days straight. The kids are getting restless and I'm running out of places to hang the laundry to dry.

Then today as I was pulling my last tray of sesame seed/anise cookies out of the oven, the brightest light came shining through the kitchen window. I went to take a look, gasping at the brightness and half expecting to see Jesus riding on a white horse. But, alas, it was just the sun shining through the yucky gray clouds. Finally some sunshine! Now, maybe we can get on with business and actually have a SUMMER before Autumn gets here.

I don't think I've ever mentioned it on my blog before, but one of my lifelong dreams is to run my own cafe. There you have it. Maybe you expected me to have a more noble dream, like becoming a midwife or something along those lines. But the truth is, from the time I was little I loved experimenting and baking in the kitchen. Many of those sessions ended in disaster, as I thought it was so boring to follow silly rules such as letting cookie dough sit in the fridge for 2 hours before baking it, or letting yeast dough rise twice.

But I did learn a lot throughout the years and I dream of having a simple, down-home, New Orleans-y, comfy feeling cafe. In Mongolia. In Darkhan to be exact. I really think it would be a good place to start as there are no other places like that here. There are "cafes" but they are more like restaurants and they serve food. I would only serve yummy coffees, teas and maybe smoothies along with delicious baked treats. It would be a place where Mongolians and foreigners alike would gather to relax, check email (I'd have wireless internet, of course) and grab a yummy snack.

My cafe would also be a place where women could work and be taught skills that will benefit them.

The truth is, I don't know a thing about running a cafe but I hope I have the opportunity to learn someday.

All this rainy, cloudy, cold weather has gotten me inspired all over again! It's my favorite weather for baking and cooking, and the cookies I made today are going on my "One day, when I have a cafe" list. Yes, I have a list.