Cinnamon Bun Demo and Massena talk meet and greet

Good Sunday morning. It is a chilly -20c (-4F) today in Mont Tremblant, Quebec.  Lorraine (my sister, best friend, and publisher) and I had a wonderful fun-filled Friday and Saturday. When I decided to write and self-publish my cookbook we never imagined that it would be so much fun. Through writing the book and writing the Ship to Shore Chef blog we have met so many wonderful people and enjoyed so many new experiences. On Friday we had one of these new experiences. We were invited to a 4-H club to demonstrate how to make my cinnamon bun recipe. It was such a wonderful rewarding experience.

I have decided to do a video of making cinnamon buns to share with you in the future. Seeing the delight on the faces of the 4-H members and their parents when they took a bite of the warm cinnamon buns at the end of the demonstration was inspiring. Everyone should have the chance to eat this delicious treat when it is fresh out of the oven. I love working with yeast, and the results are always worth the extra time it takes to wait while the yeast works together with the ingredients and rises. The dough has a promising aroma even before it is baked. The 4-H group was of varied ages and after about 10 minutes, the hesitation of meeting us was set aside and the room started to fill with laughter and excitement. Some of the young people who came directly from school were greeted by the 4-H Leaders with hot dogs, which would hold them over until they could taste the cinnamon buns. We met at a beautiful church in Addison, Ontario. The church kitchen was perfect.

We said that we would bring everything that we needed and they just had to supply the stove. The stove was the one thing I was a little concerned about, like when I get on a new ship. Is there a hot spot in the stove, will it cook evenly, what a lovely surprise when I saw the brand new beautiful convection oven. Perfect! I decided to make a handout recipe to be printed for each member. I wrote out the ingredient list with all the directions. As I wrote the list of ingredients and instructions I took notes and then sent the list of items we would need for the demonstration to Lorraine trying to think of each detail. Lorraine is so organized and we set up our station on the extra-long counter.  Making cinnamon buns takes time so we started as soon as everyone got there. I had already located a warm spot by a heater where we could set our bowl of dough to rise. I invited the group to ask questions, let each of them feel the dough, and knead the dough. Yeast dough sometimes needs a little extra flour or water to get the right consistency, so it was important to me that they got to feel the dough, giving it the pinch test before we covered it and set it by the heater to rise. We made the cream cheese frosting while the dough was rising.

Lorraine is so organized and had everything packed that we would need for making the cinnamon buns.

Everyone had a chance to knead the dough

We used the hand mixer that my mom had gifted Lorraine so it was like my mom was at the event with us. During the time it took for the dough to rise, I answered questions about what it is like to work on a ship. The questions were fun and I laughed when one young member asked "Do you have a YouTube channel?" We made the cream cheese frosting while the dough was rising. We used the hand mixer that my mom had gifted Lorraine so it was like my mom was at the event with us. During the time it took for the dough to rise, I answered questions about what it is like to work on a ship. The questions were fun and I laughed when one young member asked "Do you have a YouTube channel?" The next step of laying out the dough and adding the butter, sugar, and cinnamon filling added excitement, one step closer. We placed the buns in aluminum pans and let them rise again for 15 minutes. We finally placed the buns into the beautiful convection oven just as the youngest member questioned "How much longer?"  (This reminded me of the road trips we made with our parents, our voices from the back seat of the blue station wagon asking When will we get there?)

Rolling up the cinnamon buns before slicing and placing them into the pan for the final time to rise.

Lorraine was in charge of covering the trays

We baked our cinnamon buns in aluminum pans.

Lorraine and I using the hand mixer my mom gifted Lorraine

The blue interior of the new convection oven was a beautiful backdrop for the finished cinnamon buns.

It wasn't long before the aroma of cinnamon filled the air. I felt the excitement as the group anxiously waited for the buns to bake. The buns came out beautiful and before long the tray was empty and the night was over. It was great fun. I was asked by one member to autograph her cinnamon bun handout recipe. I looked at the perfect white paper and imagined it after multiple uses. The edges starting to fold up, a few notes jotted down in pen, and perhaps a little butter stain on the paper. The rest of the group lined up and also had their recipes autographed. It was a memorable evening.

Patiently waiting for the cinnamon buns to bake

The finished product!

We stayed overnight with friends and before going to sleep watched some of my @shiptoshorechef  YouTube videos on their 65-inch TV. I was amazed at how watching the videos on the big screen was like actually being on the ship. Saturday was off to an early start for our next event. Our overnight hosts were wonderful and we had a delicious breakfast before making our way along the road running beside the St Lawrence River. We were on our way to the Massena post office and the Massena Public Library for a talk and book signing/meet and greet. We chose to cross into the US in Cornwall. The woman working at the Massena post office was so nice and didn't mind when I asked her if I could photograph the boxes that would be making their way to the Lake Superior Marine Museum Gift Shop in Duluth MN. They ordered both the cookbook and the Children's Stowaway Adventure books so they will be available for purchase there. We wished we could deliver them in person.

We had such friendly service at the Massena Library.

You will soon be able to purchase the cookbook and the Children’s book at the Lake Superior Marine Museum Gift Shop. We mailed them from Massena on Saturday.

The Massena Public Library is a beautiful library with big windows. They had a nice area set up with chairs. Each time I do a public speaking event I am more comfortable speaking in front of a crowd and when they had to add more chairs to accommodate the extra people that came in it did not make me nervous. It was fun to share my stories and answer questions. Lorraine filled in when I searched for a detail. It was a great afternoon and we met so many nice people. We felt so welcomed.

Lorraine helps to fill in with the story telling.

We enjoyed our time at the Massena Public Library Talk/Meet and Greet.

After signing the last book, we packed up and made our way to drive home via the Eisenhower Lock. We wanted to see how it looked since I saw it last November when I was sailing on the Atlantic Huron. We heard from a gentleman who has seen the new visitor center inside and he said it was beautifully done. We were contacted last fall from the Eisenhower lock about doing an event there and we met with the woman's colleague at the Library, sharing with her that we would be interested in participating. We stopped for dinner and then made our way home, choosing the route that takes us through Montreal. It was Saturday so we knew the traffic would be light. Driving north of the city we commented on how beautiful the night sky was with the full moon lighting the winding highway that makes its way through the Laurentian mountains.

The new Eisenhower lock visitor center! It looks so nice.

I can’t wait to be making a trip through the Eisenhower Lock to see the visitors at the new observation decks.

The end of another beautiful day. I hope you are enjoying your day today and I will dress warm and go out for a walk with Lorraine. Have a great day. See you soon. www.shiptoshorechef.com

We have lots of books in stock and will be happy to mail them to you.