Anytime I’m invited to wear my chef’s pants, flour-dusted clogs, kerchief and an apron, I’m happy, happy, happy!

So yesterday I was thrilled to be back in the kitchen at West on Centre in West Roxbury where I – with some help from the Rose kids – assembled and baked off 25 apple pies for Community Servings’ annual Pie in the Sky fundraiser.

West on Centre, owned by Eleanor and Joe Greene, is only one of the hundreds of restaurants and bakeries in the area that donate traditional Thanksgiving pies – apple, pumpkin and pecan – to the social services agency. Community Servings takes orders and sells them for $25 each.

Unfortunately, I didn’t prepare the pie dough or the filling. So for a baking control freak like moi, that was a bitter pill. Chef Dan and his crew in the downstairs kitchen had everything ready when I arrived. So it was just fill, top, crimp, decorate and bake.

Eleanor was in charge of the scale, and quickly made up a third batch of filling when we ran out. Jeremiah, Alana and Tucker Rose were enlisted to make boxes, peel apples and help decorate with fancy leaf cutters Eleanor found at Williams-Sonoma.

Our production line buzzed along. Jeremiah and his little brother took frequent breaks, but the girls plowed on! As we do…

Alana, 11, was so enthralled with the process she made her own pie. And, I was told by her aunt, Peggy, that she was proud to share it – topped with scoops of Brigham’s vanilla — at her family’s early Thanksgiving dinner Sunday night.  (Earlier, my freckled-faced apprentice confessed to me she’s only a fan of Boston Cream Pie, so it was unlikely she would taste her handiwork.)

It’s was a good feeling to spend a Sunday helping out Community Servings which does wonderful, important work in the community. But I also took home something I didn’t know about myself: somewhere along the line I picked up the patience to teach kids.

That was a jarring discovery for childless me since I have zero-tolerance with other adults in the kitchen — or out.

The well-behaved Roses probably thought I was a crazy lady considering how many times I told them to wash their hands. I’m a chronic hand-washer in the kitchen. Sort of like a culinary Lady MacBeth.

Wash-your-hands, wash-your-hands, wash-your-HANDS!

Some of the leaves were missing a stem, others were too thin to show up on a pie after a milk wash, Alana had on a pair of new UGGs (whatever was her aunt thinking?) and Tucker was thwarted when he told us he wanted a “FOOD FIGHT!!!!!!” Ah, no.

At least they enjoyed themselves. Oddly enough, I did, too. What’s happening to me?

Tags: #applepie, #bakingwithkids, #charity, #communityservings, #LauraRaposa, #pieinthesky, #TheFoodsmith, #westoncentre