Rollin' in the Dough

One afternoon I went to my friend Zane Senkane’s house to teach her and the her boys how to make cinnamon rolls. Jekabs (6) and Gustavs (3) , her older boys, used to be a little leery of me - this tall woman whose words were nonsense to their ears. But today they met me at the door with hugs and full-on grins. Gustavs chattered away at me and I was actually able to understand a lot of what he said. I guess the good news is that I can finally understand a little Latvian. The bad news is that I apparently have the vocabulary of a 3 year old. These little boys were so excited to help with the baking – they measured (with supervision!), stirred, and kneaded with great delight. When it came time to roll out the dough and form the pastries, Jekabs learned the string-cutting technique and did a great job, so pleased about his new skill as he cut the tube of dough into separate rolls. We let the rolls raise again, then baked and frosted them. What great little chefs! I wonder how many batches of cinnamon rolls I've made over the past 3 years. Sometime I'll have to "guestimate" it. Must be thousands . . . .