About

"I was going to write a poem
I made a Pie instead."

- Grace Paley

Hi! My name is Christa. I am a baker located in Boston's South Shore area. I have a passion for baking from scratch and discovering retro recipes. This blog is focused on old-fashioned, all-American desserts like Grandma used to make - Layer Cakes, Icebox Pies, Chewy Cookies, and fresh fruit pies tucked into flaky crusts. I am not a trained pastry chef, and I am not a food photographer. I am a home baker taught by generations of home bakers in my family. So the recipes I share are usually things that any home baker can make with some practice. The photos, while never magazine-worthy, are of real food, made by me.

My philosophy on scratch baking is simple: Baking is like therapy for me - I actually enjoy the time it takes, so I don't want to take short cuts by using box mixes. I don't judge people for using a box mix, BUT I do think it's a shame that marketers (and modern society in general) try to put us in the mind-set that cooking (and especially baking) is something to be dreaded and to get done as quickly as possible. Fight that mindset - Scratch baking is truly a dying art form!

I think there are a lot of people out there who like to bake, but are intimidated by the idea of scratch baking. They don't realize that many things can be made pretty easily from scratch. If you are one of those people, then this blog is for you.

In addition to baking and blogging, I am also the mom of two small children, who (along with my husband) are my eager taste-testers. Okay, so they won't try mincemeat, and they don't like raisin cookies. But I'll win over the picky eaters eventually.

Happy Baking!