Hello friends and fellow bakers,
Welcome to the September 2024 issue of Betterbaking.com!
I’ll make this brief since this issue is late and the month is short. I’m gently reminding you that for a final time this year (until a year from now) that you have until September 30th 2024 to partake of the two-years-for-one-year-price sale going on. I dislike self-promoting but essentially this half-price promo might enable more people to enjoy all-access Betterbaking.com recipes. Scroll down for the details. This said, if you don’t partake of the paid subscription, there is always at least one new and free unique recipe each month for all. You won’t go hungry.
So long summer….
As much as I hate seeing summer seep away it’s been a good one in a warm and wonky way. I’m sorry to see it go but when it comes to the fall, my arms are akimbo in welcome. It’s my favorite time of year (until the beauty of the first snow).
I’ve also been honored with some beautiful emails of late from some of you extending some good words about my recipes and my website. It’s so appreciated. This is a solo-woman effort, i.e. there’s no ‘team’, technical, editorial, photography or otherwise –it’s all moi. Each month it also seems there’s something new and technical to master which befuddles me but it seems I prevail. There’s always YouTube or Reddit or WordPress communities and oddly, the more I have to know, the easier it becomes to learn new things.
But I do have that sense of what am I doing here and why at times. Writers are self-led but writing online is a curious beast. The eighteenth-century Irish British philosopher George Berkeley is credited with posing the question: If a tree falls and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Berkeley's argument is that “to be is to be perceived”. I like that because it implies just one’s presence or the doing itself is sufficient but I wonder, “if you bake a cookie and no one eats or shares the recipe, does it make a….crunch? Every writer wonders, unless they’re considering their own journal, if their work is being read or if you’re a recipe creator, if their work is being consumed. So your notes to me confirm that I’m not in a vacuum. I’m not so lofty (yet!) that the communiques are casual things. They make my day. I also see in those notes evidence of similarly- minded people on the planet: sane, kind, civilized, humour-filled kind kindred spirits (who bake or like reading about baking) who are in fact, a wee community where I always feel at home.
Ask a Baker
On that same subject of baker/reader connection I thought I’d share this with you.
On the front page of the Betterbaking.com website I have an “Ask a Baker” box that was meant to offer free baker’s advice to those of my readers who could use the input of a professional in trouble-shooting or finding a heirloom or unique recipe. I thought I’d hear from more of BB constituents but what’s occurring more often of late is that complete strangers who don’t know me or BB are outreaching with family recipes they need help with. Search engines seem to pick up that phrase, ask a baker and they end up at my doorstep.
It used to be I got funky recipes that just needed TLC or queries on how to make a homemade Oreo. But now a few times a month someone writes to me with their great grandmother’s fudge recipe or their mother’s apple cake or a late aunt’s brownies attached, asking for help to replicate these treasured foods. I’m always happy to help and I fancy I am a recipe whisperer. I also find these recipes interesting. As a baking professional, I can usually see some technical issue or ingredient thing that needs a tweak. It’s also fascinating seeing eras of food trends and styles in vintage recipes or the particular methods of someone I’ll never meet uses or used. Some of the recipes seem wonderful and I’m introduced something new; some seem retro (applesauce and molasses pork ribs or cakes with ‘oleo’) but are equally beloved by the sender.
Between the lines, I also see the love and perhaps a little nostalgia for the loss of someone who not only made a great pie/cake/preserve was a center post in someone’s life or their family. The person is gone (or on odd occasion, won’t share a recipe or write it down!) but their beautiful spirit is lively and here, at least through their food.
Naturally I can’t replace the love or specific culinary energy the recipe’s originator had. I also don’t know how they measured or what their bakeware was like, the size of the eggs or the special quirks of their oven. But I do know baking and to some extent, I know people and I can read a room. I can discern the intention of the person who queries me. Generally they want to recreate something exactly the same way as the person who originally made it for them did. That is a tall order because appetite is one thing but the flavor of something in recall is heightened by memory and love. It’s how family recipes and legacies continue and a person is kept near. So, I can replicate a recipe only so far and the rest – the love part – that has to be filled in on the other end. For me, as the side-line chef, I’m so honored to be part of these conversations and be of service. I feel so moved that I get to participate, for a short part of a recipe’s journey but also, be a guest at a stranger’s table and become adhoc family. To those who have written me (most of whom I never hear from again –it’s the oddest thing!), thank you for the invite to your remembrance kitchens. Each recipe and loving letter that comes with it and sometimes, the photos of the actual recipe card is a gem I get to treasure. For the recipes I’ve become part of, the pleasure is mine.
In other news, tango is busy and I’ve worn out three pairs of dance shoes since spring. I found the only not-hot yoga class in the city, my book club meets next week for the first fall gathering (still room for 1-2 more and it’s free on Zoom). I’m presenting The Frozen River by Arielle Lawhon which I highly recommend. I’m also glad Rosh Hashanah is ‘late’ this year because a tango friend bestowed me with 20 kilos of preserving grapes that demand to be made into jelly and jam and my friend Cheryl gave me her two blue-ribbon pickle recipes that I have to make – so the pre-holiday kitchen is busy. I’m also testing breads like there’ is indeed a tomorrow but I worry there just might not be enough toast. Only Murders in the Building is back and I don’t have to watch Dancing with the Stars since this season there’s an actual felon in the cast complete with an ankle tracking cuff; I’m boycotting. Despite all the things to do, eat, read, and listen to I have a touch more free time since I’m in quarantine, i.e. I’ve decided to never again engage online with anyone on any site or platform and I’ve quit Instagram, which is the worst time gobbler I know. It’s been two weeks; I’ve had one relapse (kitten videos are so cute) but I’m back on the wagon and I’ve inherited more calm, my house is cleaner and my Visa bill is down (no more odd electronics, crazy under-eye creams or viral handbags).
Hola autumn – I’m pleased to bake you! And hola fellow bakers – meet you in the baking aisle, stocking up.
From my kitchen to yours, much love, light and joy,
Free Recipe!!
https://betterbaking.com/recipe-items/pepperidgefarmsausalito/
Pepperidge Farm-ish Sausalito Cookies
Wow – did I ever love these cookies once until I recently looked at the ingredient label! Best to make your own buttery, all-natural, gorgeous white chocolate and macadamia nut cookies.
Triple Cinnamon Scones
https://betterbaking.com/recipe-items/triple-cinnamon-scone-bites/
These are ridiculously easy and cinnamon-infused with three levels of our beloved atutumn spice.
Tim Horton Chocolate Chip Muffins
https://betterbaking.com/recipe-items/tim-horton-style-chocolate-chip-muffins/
Sometimes you want a commercial sort of muffin but made wholesome with pure ingredients and nothing ‘weird’ that commercial muffins can feature. These are like the Canuck coffee chain variety but all-natural.
Caramel Apple Squares
https://betterbaking.com/recipe-items/caramel-apple-squares-marcy-goldman-apple-baking-caramel/
There’s a few ways to make these faster and easier: buy caramel sauce and use canned apple pie filling but nothing beats real apples and homemade caramel sauce in this stunner of a fall apple treat.
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