Confections of a Closet Master Baker – Gesine Bullock-Prado

With all the recent press on Sandra Bullock and her lyin’ cheatin’ cold dead beatin’, two time, double dealin’, mean mistreatin’ lovin’ heart (thank you Patti Loveless) of a husband Jesse James (did I say that he was an ass?), Sandra’s sister Gesine Bullock-Prado has come up in the press too with her lovely blog Confections of a (Closet) Master Baker. Gesine’s blog was mentioned in some story about her sister and as I am a closet baker myself, the blog title intrigued me so I had to have a look. The mention of Gesine’s blog was more interesting than the story about Sandra!

(an aside, just an interesting tidbit – the name Gesine means “strong spear”, is German in origin and is a diminutive of Gertrude according to www.babynames.com)

Not only is the blog really cool, with lots of very tasty recipes that I need to try (but not eat since they are not low carb!) but it lead me to Gesine’s book Confections of a Closet Master Baker – One Woman’s Sweet Journey from Unhappy Hollywood Executive to Contented Country Baker.

While my heart goes out to Sandra for the crap her husband has put her through, my intellectual mind goes to her sister Gesine for the awesome book that she wrote and I thoroughly enjoyed – $14.04 at Amazon Confections of a Closet Master Baker – One Woman’s Sweet Journey from Unhappy Hollywood Executive to Contented Country Baker. I really related to this book (except I have never lived in Hollywood, never been a movie executive and don’t have a famous sister LOL).

Gesine talks about her love of baking and her mom, both subjects that endeared her to me right away. The fact that she has followed a childhood dream after living a lifestyle that undoubtedly taught her a great deal about what she didn’t want in life is inspirational and shows that anybody can achieve their dreams, even with the bumps in the road that are the realities of life. Following her dream lead her to Montpelier, Vermont where she appears to have achieved what makes her genuinely happy.

She is not necessarily a warm fuzzy kind of person, is quite blunt and even she admits that she is not a people person and the anonymity of the bakery kitchen enables her to not deal with people. Even with her self proclaimed “flaws” one needs to appreciate the honesty of the author. Montpelier, Vermont seems to have gotten around these quirks of Gesine’s and can see that baking is really Gesine’s way of spreading goodness around her and have made her an integral part of their small town.

Montpelier, Vermont is actually the smallest state capital in the US. Montpelier became a city in 1895 but with a population of only 8,000 I imagine it has a lovely small town/village feel, no matter that it is technically a city. This is defiantly a place that I want to visit. As a Canadian, there are many places in the US that are on my list to see – Georgia, South Carolina, Texas and Colorado are some states that are at the top of the list – Vermont is now there too. As its only a 12 hour drive from my home in Nova Scotia I might get to Vermont before I get to Texas!

The recipes that the author shares at the end of her chapters are truly delicious looking – I have not yet tried any of them but I have no doubt that they will be as mouthwatering as they sound. Gesine’s memories about her childhood in Germany and Austria are ones that invoke fond remembrances of my own childhood in Germany. I am thinking that Gesine and I would get along famously if we met in person!

Gesine Confectionary in Montpelier, Vermont would most definitely be a destination to go to. If you can’t get there in person, I highly recommend reading her book Confections of a Closet Master Baker – One Woman’s Sweet Journey from Unhappy Hollywood Executive to a Contented Country Baker. I would also suggest going to www.gesine.com to order some macaroons to munch on while you read

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