There'll be more than goodies at the Cobleskill Agway Saturday when friends of the Animal Shelter of Schoharie Valley hold a fundraising bake sale.
There will also be a chance to buy a cookbook with some auspicious connections:
Linda Blakely, who with her mother, Dorothea Gaetz, wrote "Creature Comforts in the Schoharie Valley, A Family Cookbook," was a winner in the 2012 Pillsbury Bake-Off.
The 142-page cookbook sells for $15 with all proceeds going to the Shelter Building Fund.
Ms. Blakely will be on hand at Saturday's bake sale, which begins at 10am, to autograph copies of the book.
She'll also be there to support the Shelter, which after the arrival of 99 cats and kittens taken from a Town of Wright home, needs the help-and donations-now more than ever.
Ms. Blakely, who lives in Middleburgh, said both she and her mom are longtime cat and dog lovers who see the self-published cookbook as a way to give something back to the Shelter.
"Neither of us is any good with a hammer," she said with a laugh.
The book was originally "soft-released" in mid-2011; Ms. Blakely said they didn't publicize it because she was starting to receive her own publicity about her participation in the Bake-Off and didn't want to confuse people.
Less than 100 copies remain.
When they're gone, the two women hope to continue mining their collection of recipes to put together a revised and expanded second edition.
"My mom and I are cookbook collectors," Ms. Blakely said, with a collection that numbers more than 1,500 cookbooks.
Writing "Creature Comforts" gave them a chance to go through and consolidate about 100 of their favorites with comments and tips on each.
Ms. Blakely said they worked hard to make the cookbook "a cut above" others of its kind; it emphasizes locally-grown rather than processed foods and is part of their mission to make home cooking fashionable again.
During her childhood, Ms. Blakely's grandmother was chef-owner of the Canterbury House in Scotia; her grandfather owned the Albany Pork Store in Schenectady.
"I think I've always been destined to write a cookbook," she said.
In addition to being available Saturday, "Creature Comforts" will also be sold at other upcoming Shelter bake sales and at its April auction while supplies last.