I bake for the office. This is not CEOish behavior, I know, but I grew up as the oldest child in a large hungry family, and I cooked my first meal at eight (I still have the handwritten recipe card–aptly, for a meatball dish called “Poor Boy’s Supper”). I cooked on a commune when I was 14, and had cooking jobs all through my teens and into my early twenties. I still double recipes without thinking, and the result, especially now that Tom is away at college, is that I am grateful to have other people to take an extra loaf too. And it’s a way for someone whose personal style is not overtly nurturing to do something to care for the team that means so much to her. (This week’s Maple Pecan Bread, perfect for Thanksgiving, was popular with coffee at work, too. Feel free to write me for the recipe.)
Domesticity at work
About the Author: Karen Christensen
Karen Christensen is an entrepreneur, environmentalist, and scholar who writes about the many ways women have gained and wielded power. She is the owner and CEO of Berkshire Publishing Group, a former trustee of the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Press, a member of the National Committee on US-China Relations, and the founder of the Train Campaign. Subscribe to Karen’s Letter @Substack https://karenchristensen.substack.com or try her Home Ecology newsletter. She can also be found on Twitter @karenchristenze.
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