Delving back into the baking

I'm not sure if this is how my "nesting" instincts are kicking in (I mean, who would be surprised? Really?) but I suddenly have the desire to bake EVERYTHING. And by everything, I mean bake my way through Good to the Grain, by Kim Boyce, which I've owned for four years and have only cracked open a couple times.

Yes, I pulled that off Amazon, no, I don't have an affiliate link. And, in fact, I didn't buy this book from Amazon. I bought it at one of the very best bookstores in the world, Omnivore Books on Food in San Francisco. (I would title it the very best bookstore in the world but I visited Book Larder in Seattle this past spring. They are equal in awesomeness.)

I threw myself into baking a couple years ago when I had the small gluten-free baked good business at a farmer's market, but then in the midst of recovering from that, getting engaged, planning a wedding and cooking dinner most nights, I let the baking go by the wayside. I've had coworkers ask why my baked goods don't show up in the office kitchen anymore. Minus a stint at Christmas where I was buying two packages of butter every week or dessert for Sunday night dinner, my focus has been on the savory side. But now, especially with the heat wave over, baking is at the forefront of my consciousness, and with good timing too. You see, Brian plays some sports thing having to do with frisbee every Tuesday night. Early in my pregnancy that was a nice time to lay on the couch for long, uninterrupted hours but now, with my energy back, I have declared Tuesday to be Baking Night!

Last week I made the first recipe in Good to the Grain, Whole-Wheat Chocolate Cookies. I was surprised by the fact that Boyce doesn't soften the butter for these cookies, instead you blend the butter cold, like a pastry dough. I wish I had taken a picture because it turned out to be one of the most beautiful cookie dough's I've made. I edited the recipe a teensy bit and substituted 1 cup of whole wheat flour for AP, mostly to save my whole wheat flour stash. But I believe that an all-whole wheat cookie would still be outside. These cookies made the trip to the lake this weekend and were gone, gone, gone by Saturday morning.

On our trip to the Amish community I picked up a bag of graham flour for a song at their country store. (All bulk items! Lit by skylights! I put my phone number on my check like they might call me! Dumb). So the graham flour recipes are up next. I promise to take pictures tonight.