i'd rather be baking

I’m writing this post because in the past two days, I’ve bathed my formerly well-behaved dog twice after her white fur turned brown. I’m writing this post because only after I did three loads of laundry today, my other dog threw up in the car.

Because there’s something wrong with the vacuum and it’s spitting out everything it inhales. Because I’m not eating meat any more and my favorite take-out place made me a beef burrito instead of a bean one (so okay, I ate meat tonight). Because it’s been a busy week at work and all I really want to do is sleep in my sweats for three days.

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For the better part of the year, we’ve belonged to a community supported agriculture program in our area. It’s run by a local market that sources produce from multiple family farms in Utah and California, and we love it. Programs like this are a great opportunity to try produce you might not normally pick up (gai lan, anyone?), and everything is fresh, local, and organic.

We’re generally game to try whatever’s in the bag each week, but honestly, I really don’t like beets. We’ve received beets several times and each time I just sort of look at them sadly. They’re a lovely color and all, but really, I’m just not a fan.

This last time I was determined to make use of the beets, and turned to an idea that’s been brewing in my brain for awhile. At the bakery where I work, we use beets in our red velvet cupcakes to add moisture and (mostly) color, and I decided to try it. Because the sort of math involved in reducing our large-scale recipes into a more home-friendly version makes my  brain hurt, I turned to Epicurious.

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I have something of an affinity for recipes with weird names. I’ve also recently discovered the joy of cookies as pre-workout fuel. One cookie, of course. Because I’m so good with the willpower and all.

Does anyone else like to flip through cookbooks while watching their favorite shows? There’s something oddly comforting to me about doing this. I don’t pretend to have a logical reason. It’s okay. The point is that these so-called “ranger cookies” immediately stuck out at me when I found them in good ol’ Better Homes and Gardens. The author gave some sort of cutesy description about how they’re perfect for afternoon hikes. Sorry friend, it’s still a weird name.

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These muffins have been one of my favorite things to bake since college. My whole-wheat-loving Oregonian roommate (with whom I share many a chai-loving, vegetarian sensibility, despite my Southern roots) and I pretty much ate these things like it was our job. And if you know of any such jobs out there, please do let me know. It’s safe to say we’ll both drop our current career paths and get right on that.

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Caramel and apples are two of my most favorite things, and I don’t really know why I haven’t made them into cookies sooner. I’ll admit, I love these flavors more than most things in the world, and I’ll happily use the impending chill of autumn as an excuse to enjoy them.

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