Suggested Reading

I don't have too much dessert reading to offer...  but here's what I could find.  Leave more in the comments!

Smitten Kitchen has a wonderful everyday cake collection:
http://smittenkitchen.com/category/cake/everyday-cakes/

Up in the mountains, I am told butter just doesn't cut it for most baking.  You really need to use a more solid oil to keep cookies from becoming lacey.  Crisco's no good either as it is filled with poly-saturated fats.  Turns out lard is the way to go...

An article explaining why lard is healthier:
http://www.slate.com/id/2219314

An explanation of how to render lard:
http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2009/04/how-to-render-lard.html

I'm planning on picking up some leaf lard tomorrow at the farmer's market to render myself.  I'm a little nervous, but as the second article points out, lard passes the 'real food' test.  An easy way to eat healthy is to not purchase anything with ingredients that your grandmother would not recognize.  I'm sure my gram knows what lard is!