Cooking Through "The Baker's Man": Blueberry Pie

One of my favorites movies is While You Were Sleeping, starring Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman. I can watch (and have watched) this over and over again. The comedic lines still make me laugh, the romance still gives me the butterflies, and I still get teary-eyed at the end when she admits she loves "the other son."

One of the lines from this movie that comes to my mind often (mostly during times of disappointment or trials) is: "Life doesn't always turn out like you planned." I make lots of plans, I use a calendar, and I make lists. However, there are times when life has other plans for me, and my own plans go awry.

Chapter 7 in The Baker's Man is titled Blueberry Pie because Anna's plans have gone completely awry. Her mother isn't listening to her, her boyfriend isn't calling, and her heart isn't listening to her mind. She's a bit blue.

Cooking Through Fiction: A Giant Problem — Hobgoblin Doughnuts

I like to think I’m a rebel, that I’ve bent the rules, swam against the stream, bucked conformity. I had a college professor tell me once that I was a square peg trying to pretend I could fit in a round hole. He didn’t mean this as a compliment. That screams rebel, right? Right?! Bueller?

My sister would likely say that I am about as far from a rebel as a person can get. But I object! I’ve lived dangerously (I once ate escargot). I’ve tempted fate (I underage bungee jumped). I told an English professor that I found her judgment questionable (She gave me a C for sass.). I’ve eaten doughnuts after midnight (Unlike my Gremlin friends, it’s okay to feed me after hours.).

Cooking Through "The Baker's Man": Dark and Stormy Ganache

I'm picky when it comes to rain. I like it in doses. I don't want days and days of rain, but I do like the occasional rain-filled afternoon.

Rainy days make me think of naps beneath the Mickey Mouse twin-size quilt I used in my college dorm. Rainy days make me want to sit at my desk and write while periodically staring out the window, listening to the pitter-patter against the panes, staring at the rivulets running down the window.

Chapter 6 in The Baker's Man is titled Dark and Stormy Ganache. In Mystic Water, a storm is coming, both outside Anna's bakery and inside her heart.

Cooking Through Fiction: The Nixie's Song — Nick's Buffalo Chicken Pizza

I don’t like change (unless it involves the seasons). I’m a creature of habit. I’ll even admit that I don’t like change even when it’s for the better. I eventually adapt to the new situation or habit, but at first, I resist. I grumble. I whine.

“Nothing endures but change.” Heraclitis

Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles, created by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, follows a new set of characters as they find out the faerie world is closer than they imagine. The story opens with Nick reluctantly giving up his room to his new stepsister. Nick, like me, does not like change. He likes his room. He likes being alone to build his model ships, and he likes his life. Now he’ll have to share a room with his older brother, he’ll have to accept his new stepsister and her weird affinity for faeries and unicorns, and he’ll have to accept that his life will never be the same.

Cooking Through Fiction: The Wrath of Mulgarath Crackerjacks

 

Remember when cereal boxes had awesome prizes inside? Decoder rings, those weird red viewfinder sheets, secret codes, masks you could cut out and wear, and mazes on the back of the box. Remember when you could disassemble the whole cereal box and make a board game or even a house? I remember one cereal box had a “ghost finder” inside. Zoinks! Did I ever test it out? Heck yes! Was it a success? What do you think?

When I think of hidden prizes, I also think of crackerjacks. Although I wasn’t a fan of crackerjacks, I was a fan of the prizes. I guess I’m just in it for the free gifts. Or maybe I just like the suspense of wondering what’s inside. Most of the time I gave away the box of crackerjacks with the deal made that I’d get the free prize in exchange for the sticky popcorn.

Cooking Through "The Baker's Man": Chocolate Caramel Bombe

When I got the idea to cook my way through The Baker’s Man, I wasn’t immediately thinking of how challenging some of the recipes would be. Today’s recipe is inspired by Chapter 5: Chocolate Caramel Bombe. At this point in the novel, Anna feels as though a bomb has gone off in the center of her life, and although she doesn’t know how to fix the damage, Eli is more than willing to help her. She’s just not sure if this is a good idea or a bad one.

Cooking Through Fiction: The Ironwood Tree — Soft Pretzels

When I think of sporting events, I immediately think of the food I’ll want to eat when I get there even before I think of the game. I love going to live sports, and I’m excited when I have good seats (close enough to see the game without looking at the giant screens). But if I’m honest, I’m more interested in the food because some foods I eat only when I’m at sporting events.