Junie Moon: Rolling Along Julia Child’s Way

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Rolling Along Julia Child’s Way

Three years ago, I read about Julia Child and her rolling pins. She favored a no-handled pin made of hard wood such as maple about 18-inches in length and a diameter of about 1 3/4 inches. Around the same time, my friends and I were taking a series of classes where we learned special cooking or baking skills from each other. One of those classes was for making donuts and other assorted goodies. On the supply list was bringing a rolling pin.

Source: Unknown

Remembering Julia and her rolling pin, I set about finding one and then decided I’d simply make a pin using Julia's specifications. That thought led to the idea of making a pin to gift each of my friends attending the baking class. Not having any previous wood workshop experiences other than some minor efforts with my dad, I ordered lengths of unfinished solid maple from a wood company and asked my friend Paula’s husband Sam to help me as he has every tool known to man. The following pictures show my progress.

To add a small note of grace, I personalized the pins by stamping each attendee’s initials into one end of the pin with a metal alphabet stamp set attached to a wood-burning tool to finish it off.

Sam was such a sweetheart to help me with this effort. I learned so very much from him and am grateful for his willingness to do this and his patience.

The final step involved using a special sealant made for wood items that come in contact with food.

Since a dish towel was also on the supply list, I tied a new dish towel around each pin.

Here are my friendship gifts—I loved this project and think Julia Child would have approved.

The class itself was so much fun and we made all sorts of yummy treats: maple bars, donuts, and so on. The series of classes/workshops helped us learn more about each other and the amazing skills each woman has to offer.

I miss my friends back in Tucson—they are such awesome people! Maybe I ought to start a similar sort of group effort here with my new friends as they all have skills in a variety of ways, too.

And these are the homemade cinnamon rolls I recently made using my own special rolling pin.

4 comments:

tealeafquilts said...: You are always so thoughtful and generous! thank you for being my friend! Lets start that class. Well, maybe next year.; January 22, 2014 at 6:35 AM
meg said...: That is such a cool gift and amazingly outside of the box. You never fail to inspire!; January 22, 2014 at 6:55 AM
larrouxgirl said...: What an absolutely fabulous idea! My grandson is determined to open a restaurant at some point after he graduates with his shiny new business degree. I've helped him amass a fitting collection of knives, but he has just your standard big-box store rolling pin. I'm putting this on the list for his birthday or next Christmas. Thank you tons, Junie Moon. You rock.; January 22, 2014 at 8:54 AM
Thimbleanna said...: You're adorable June! And amazing -- those rolling pins are an inspired gift idea. Thanks for the inspiration!; January 27, 2014 at 8:10 AM