The beginning...

Welcome to almond and ginger, my very own baking and tasting blog! I called it almond and ginger, because, quite frankly, that's what I like. And regardless of whether you like them too, they will be central to this blog. That's why it's my blog. Suck it up.

Of course, there are other things I like, too. Otherwise this would be a very dull blog. Dark chocolate is one (milk chocolate and white chocolate are merely perversions of a beautiful thing.) Dried blueberries are another (though I'll settle for the real thing, too.) I am a big stickler for unsweetened fruit in sweet pastries, and am adamant about the importance of good nuts. Yes, I said that. This is the internet.

A little about me. Around three or four years ago, for god knows what reason, I became addicted to baking. I tell people this and they laugh and say that there's a difference between a hobby and an addiction. That's true--I understand the difference. And I stick to my claim that it was an addiction. It started with Mark Bittman's how to cook everything book--nothing serious, just an apple bread here or a blueberry muffin there when the fancy struck me. But one thing led to another...it was like a gateway pastry...soon I found myself kneading dough...so I started selling. Baked goods, that is. Oh, I'm corny.

So yes, I sold my obsession with baking in the form of part-time labor at a couple of bakeries around town (Baltimore, the greatest city in america and home to charm city cakes--I didn't work there. you have not seen me on t.v.) Between smashing thousands of cookies on baking trays, developing odd vegan muffin recipes, and seeking to perfect the perfect spiraled pumpkin cheesecake brownie, I began to deteriorate...physically...emotionally...morally. Last winter, it hit a crisis point. I baked seven different pastries in 4 days (my version of holiday spirit.) It was time. I knew I had to cut myself off. I quit cold turkey.

Five months later, I'm feeling much more in control, and have even messed around with some simple granola recipes and a banana bread here and there...but I know that there's an ever present danger of returning to those days, so I'm very wary. In the meantime, I live vicariously through EATING and ASSESSING baked goods on my standards of quality and reading blogs about baking like the daring bakers gals and the like.

So this blog is intended to be both about my own adventures with baking (featuring friends, naturally) and with EATING baked goods--reviews, advice, personal views, etc...on the pastry industry. Like a police dog--I know good dope when I see it.

I hope you enjoy this blog and that I keep you entertained.

Best,

A&G