Step into the warm and inviting kitchen of Minnesota native Leah Rodriguez, where baking isn’t just a pastime for her, it’s a way to honor tradition, celebrate family, and embrace joy and faith even in life’s hardest seasons. 

Get ready to laugh and cry in this episode as Leah shares what she puts in her pumpkin bars that make them extra special, a recipe for funeral hot dish with an Asian flare, and how growing up in a family of 11 kids played a part in raising six children alongside her Juan & Only husband.

She also explains how her magical oven got its nickname, and she takes us on a flavorful journey of her favorite bakeries near New Richmond, Wisconsin where she lives, including a Mexican bakery and restaurant in Chaska, Minnesota. 

Photos of Leah, her magical oven, goodies, and recipes for banana bread, pumpkin bars, funeral hot dish, and Crisco chocolate chip cookies are on my blog for you randomsweets.com.

In this episode:

Keys Café & Bakery 9 locations in the Minneapolis and St. Paul area and Hudson WI.

Knoke’s Chocolates & Nuts

El Paisano Bakery, 117 W. 4th St., Chaska, MN, 952-361-9337

Staci Mergenthal, host and producer

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