About

About Me:

My name is Haley and I am a Junior at graduate of the University of Illinois studying psychology and philosophy. While I am often completely oblivious when it comes to my school's Big Ten successes or failures, I am no slacker when it comes to food. From investigating new restaurants and bakeries while traveling to researching practical and approachable sustainable food options to figuring out exactly how much flour and sugar I can cram into my cabinets, food takes up a great amount of thought and focus each day.

I was no baking prodigy wielding spatulas and pulling perfect souffles out of the oven at the age of four. In fact, I've never even made a souffle. However, I grew up around lovely yet humble bakers with my mom and grandmothers. Their seeming ease in the kitchen inspired my own curiosity and eventual comfort with measurements, techniques and bit of daring. I like to think that my creations can be a testament to their knowledgeable influence.

Now I find myself turning to the kitchen no matter the situation, be it academic stress, relationship strife (I imagine "I'm sorry cookies" will be my go-to for years to come), a treat for coworkers or for the simple need to outwardly express contentment in my life. The act of baking is greatly therapeutic and the results are even more wonderful to share.

The realizations that my life seems to revolve around food and that I am constantly grabbing sticks of butter from the fridge inspired the name of this blog: Bake or Bake. For me, there is no other option.

About the Blog:

After following other food blogs for years and toying with the idea of beginning one myself, I decided to jump into the water in May 2012. Through it, I would like to see my writing and photography skills improve, connect with other bloggers and inspire readers to creatively tackle their own baking goals.

For the time being, my best photography device is my iPhone. At 8 megapixels, it outstrips my 6 years old digital (which speaks volumes to technology). I picture (see what I did there?) myself investing in something with a bit more substance, perhaps a Canon Rebel, when I've saved up down the road. I don't do much photo editing, but when I do I use Gimp 2 (I like free things).

If you have a question about a specific recipe, the blog or anything else, I would be happy to answer. Leave a comment! I would love to hear from you!