This is my new favorite cookbook. It's perfect for me because there are very few recipes that could be used to make dinner. It's all about the extras (and bread). It also helps me use my powers for good since recently I have found myself baking a lot more and with the use of whole grains I can at least pretend I'm making healthy food for my husband and family. (Baking is so much easier than cooking; just mix it up and throw it in the oven!) My absolute favorite recipe is the Chocolate Zucchini Cake (p. 426), which I made with pattypan squash quite successfully. I'm really excited to try baking gingerbread and honey cakes. I also want to tackle graham crackers (no high fructose corn syrup here) if I can ever manage to keep my counter empty long enough to roll out the dough. (Why do counters collect things?)

The recipes range from the very simple to the extraordinary. Instructions are explicit enough for beginners with lots of tips and extra suggestions for the more adventurous baker. Honestly, I've had fun just reading this book and the chapter on breads had made me confident I can bake bread without using my bread machine (though I haven't had the time to tackle that project yet). None of the recipes specify using King Arthur Flour of any kind.

I've considered setting myself a goal to try every recipe in this book. I think that might be a little extreme (there are more than 400), but it's very tempting...

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