Hi, my name is Sarah, and I'm a bake-aholic.

It sounds silly, but it's true.  I cannot stop baking.  I like to cook too, but baking is an obsession.  I bake two or three times a week.  Fresh whole wheat bread at least once and one or two desserts.  Every week.  I put the ipod in my ears and lose myself in the recipe. Sometimes I make up my own, but it's usually a recipe I found somewhere.

My poor girls have never known the pleasure of store bought pastries or cakes.  Eva asked for a Beauty & the Beast cake for years, but she never got one.  I don't do "character cakes" because I can't make them look the way they're supposed to.  I know my limits. 

And, I don't do all of this because I'm fantastic at baking.  I'm pedestrian at best.  But I pour every ounce of my emotion into everything.  So, some cakes are steaming angry while some cookies are blissful.  But they're all straight from the heart.

This year, I bought myself "bon appetit Desserts" for Christmas.  I've decided to make every single thing in the book... even the things that I know no one in my house will eat.  Kumquat-Cardamom Tea Bread anyone??  I'm going in order of difficulty, so I can ease my way through.  So far, I've done the Banana-Oatmeal bars with chocolate chunks, Apple-Spice cake with brown sugar glaze, and Chocolate Panforte candies.  With any luck, I'll make it to the White Chocolate and Lemon Wedding cake sometime before my baby gets married (in 40 years).  I plan on enjoying every moment of it.

There are worse things to be addicted to, and I know that first-hand.  At least this one will only hurt my waistline.