A Pinch of Love by Barry Timms
A Pinch of Love by Barry Timms is an ideal fit for our theme of A Feast of Stories. Check out his guest blog below and get baking!
A Feast of Stories
Barry Timms, writing about A Pinch of Love
We don’t often talk about its ancestral origins, but eating together still holds a firm place in our distraction-heavy modern world. On a good day, we disengage from our phones and the TV, opening up a space in which we more clearly see each other’s hopes, worries and what we mean to each other. With shared mealtimes come feelings of safety, connection and love. The flavours of our food add spice to that love. And the love adds richness to the flavours.
In my book A Pinch of Love it’s baking that’s celebrated. Baked goods hold a particular magic. Though often inexpensive to make, they always feel like a treat, conveying a sense of plenty, not necessity. It’s there in the rich colours, the speckled textures, and the patterned paper cases and napkins. Baked goods smile to us and say: These are the good times! Enjoy!
Baking engages our senses with every step. There’s the clink-clink-clink of the whisk while the oven hums its way towards 180 degrees. There’s the dusty snowfall of icing sugar – the prettiest mess known to cooks. And the endless spiral of chocolate folded into cream. . . A caramel fragrance fills the kitchen, and we imagine how good the results might taste.
Sweet treats are among the easiest foods to share. Snack-sized, they straddle moods, palates and times of day. In A Pinch of Love’s beautiful scenes by illustrator Tisha Lee, the cookies and cakes are a perfect ice breaker between strangers. They’re thoughtful apology offerings. A gentle hug for the sad. A party on a plate.
Baking also exudes personality. Are you a chocolate chip or a sprinkles person? Red velvet or lemon drizzle? Dainty fork or sticky fingers? And how much is ‘too much frosting’? Whether we’re the baker or simply the eater, we know what we like. And the sugary small talk brings us closer.
A Pinch of Love is not all about fun and frivolity. Its characters perhaps don’t have all that much. But there’s no shortage of care in this story. These people know the power of small things. That a cookie can sooth a grazed knee. That cutting a cake takes the winter chill away. As the book’s title suggests, just a pinch of love can sometimes be enough to make a better day.
Small things add up. And just as many cakes make a bake sale, so these characters form a community with a warm, beating heart.