Countdown begins. T Minus 7 till Farmers Market Day.

Remember how I promised more pictures and less wordy words? I am such a liar!  Actually, I left my camera adapter cord at work and I have some fun stuff to share, so no pictures this time. Sad face sorry. Pictures next time. Promise. Like, for real, promise.

7 Days. Can I do it? Only 7 days to finalize insurance. Only 7 days to shop and prep for my first foray into Commercial Kitchen. Only 7 days to figure out how to brew a decent cup of coffee. Only 7 days to finalize my booth layout, including creating a few more custom chalkboards. 7 too-short days.

But these past 7? They've been busy too!

First- I brought my curds and Dulce de Leche into a Food Quality testing lab. Man oh, man... was I scared or what?! 90% of all advice I read online said home canners should never attempt to can dairy, or they could kill people with botulism. 99% of advice I read online about canning homemade caramel said the same thing. Based on those, it seemed the FDA's super strict guidelines would never approve my home canned dairy-heavy delights. But the online naysayers were wrong. My Ph levels and Water Activity levels tested within legal standards. Which means, not only that I won't kill you, my lovely friends, with my now-proven-safe concoctions... but the FDA won't shut me down either. Big, HUGE relief!

Next, I bought a new laptop this week. I'm slowly entering the realm of the tech savvy! I may even be able to Skype someday soon. Someone's just gotta show me how to do it! And I am soooooo happy to have Spotify back in my life! (My old iBook's operating system became to archaic for Spotify on their last upgrade and I have been musically deprived for a few months). If you don't know about Spotify you should google it. It's only the most amazing invention for music since the internet itself.

Then, I met with a business mentor this week and polished up a second draft of my business plan. I did a lot of the writing with 4-6 baby chicks crawling all over me & the keyboard... but more on that in a minute. I also opened a few business bank accounts and will be working on my application for a small business loan later tonight.

In making investments this week, I turned my pockets inside out, buying a small chest freezer that I singlehandedly (and perhaps small-brained of me) pushed, pulled and heaved up a flight of stairs and into my 'man cave' in the back of the house by myself. (yeah, yeah.. I know I shouldn't call it a 'man cave'- but I guarantee when I finally find Mr. Wonderful, that is what he will proudly call this roofed in space with Power Tools galore behind the house. And truth be told, 'man cave' is pretty fitting for the space, despite it being more of a 'Shay-Cave" these days.)

And I bought a small flock of chicks. After seeing the estimate for my annual insurance premium (over $600!!!!) I realized that keeping my business small and hobby-esque just doesn't make sense. I will never dig out of the investment hole.  Now, it's not quite "go big or go home"... I'm not leaving my day job, I'm not baking more than 1 day a week and I'm honestly not planning on making any money in the next year (sadly, that's the realistic outlook)... but it's more of a 'go medium, or go home' mindset that I'v adopted.  If I am going to pay out a few hundred dollars to be able to sell eggs, I better have more than a dozen eggs a week to sell (because Lord knows that they are poop smeared eggs more often than they are golden eggs). So my little flock of 3 'plus' is becoming a flock of a minimum of 5. Hopefully more like 7, but no more than 9.

I bought 2 more 'Browns' that are guaranteed to be hens. They are a Rhode Island Red & White Leghorn mix.  The lighter of the 2 has already been named- Hilly- short for Hillary- short for Sir Edmund Hillary. At one day old, she was running straight up my chest without hesitation, and perching on my shoulders. Quite the mountain climber.

I also bought 2 Silver-Laced Wyandottes. They will be gorgeous birds, but right now they are the bullies. Constantly pecking at the other chicks and letting all the babies know who's in charge.

And finally, I bought 2 Black Autralorps, which I am absolutely enamored with. They look like little penguins now... deep black eyes that stare at me wondrously from their black bodies and white fluffy chests. They are the most docile of the bunch and they will grow up to be solid black with a red crest. The smaller of the two loves to curl up in my hand or on my keyboard (warm places) and fall immediately asleep. This one's been named Chilly Willy. Whether it will be Chilly William or Chilly Wilhelmina remains to be seen. I won't know if they are hens or roosters until they are about 3 months old. I pray they are both hens, as I can't even think about sending Chilly Willy away.

(BTW- that 'plus' in the flock is the rotating roster of errant roosters. There is one trapped in the coop right now that I've been calling Chris Farley. He's a bit overweight with a huge waddle like a double chin. He's pretty chummy with the ladies, but tomorrow he's gonna be pretty chummy with the rooster patrol when they pick him up.)

And I've been baking. I perfected a recipe for the Dulce de Leche that passed the FDA tests and is an 'original' recipe that I feel proud of. I made a batch of Lemon-Lavendar-Zucchini muffins tonight that are nearly spot on. Maybe one more batch worth of tweaking them and they'll be a hit.

And (drumroll please) I had a date. With a boy that has never tasted my baking. And we're going on a second date this weekend. He's taking me whale watching. This could be good. More to come on that front soon.

So keeping busy on the farm, keeping busy in the kitchen and still finding a little time to play. So far, so good.

More again soon.

A hui hou!!

Shay

The Dragon is on the move!

I was told (warned?) in January by the store manager at Asagi Hatchery that '2012 is the Year of the Dragon, and this is a "Water Dragon" year. Water Dragon years mean that life will be prosperous, but things will happen very fast and you need to stay on your feet and not be swept away.' My oh my, was she spot on or what?
So, since my last exited post about Lolo Gardens (remember the 'look at me! look at me! I'm so official I've got a website and stuff' post?), the Water Dragon has started swimming with a vengeance.

There are updates in many areas, all important, and some more amusing than others. I broke them out by Homestead, Bakery & Love Life to make it easier to get through this gargantuan post. Sorry to be long-winded, but there is just so much going on!!

So, without further ado...

Lolo Gardens, An Urban Homestead-

First- here's a snippet from a Facebook post about the victorious capture of Freeloading Rooster #10 on February 6th. Yes, #10. That makes 5 roosters caught since Jan 19th. Today is Feb 7th.  That's a hell of a lot of rooster catching in the past 4 weeks. I've had the Rooster Hotline on speed dial. It's been more amusing than frustrating, but I do find myself hurling rocks at the bloody birds with some serious ferocity and I can't tell if the rock throwing relieves stress or adds to it. 

How did you spend your lunch break today? I spent mine chasing a rooster in a rainstorm. Caught the bloody rooster by the tail and said rooster spun in circles like a plummeting bi-plane. I quickly changed grip to his feet to prevent him tourniqueting himself loose by cutting off his entire tail. Then I panicked- what do I do? I have a screaming rooster (yes- they actually scream) in my grip, I'm literally dripping wet & muddy in my work clothes and I know the damn bird's capable of escaping from the coop (as proved yesterday). Upon advice from the rooster patrol, he's now sitting duct taped into a cardboard box on the porch, waiting for the patrol to pick him up. The box is taped, not the rooster. This has seriously become my life. Oi. Freakin. Vey.

Annie's Pocket Garden

In less dramatic Lolo Gardens, An Urban Homestead news, I recently helped two great friends get their own backyard gardens started. I helped fellow garden enthusiast Annie plant raised beds made from re-purposed cedar drawers with a huge assortment of veggies. It was awesome to work with her confined space and 'discover' an unused pocket in the backyard perfect for a growing space that is out of the way of 'people paths' but receives plenty of sunlight AND the existing hose reaches it!

I also joined a fun birthday party that centered on building a garden for musician friend Kilen. Kilen loves Kale, so he thought if he bought a bunch of dirt and made 1 raised bed with a few Kale starts it would make his 2012 excellent. Little did he know that his friends (including me) would bring seeds and starts of our own and re-purpose all sorts of beds and boxes in his front yard. We helped Kilen plant 6 raised beds with 3 kinds of Kale, Peas, Sage, Mint, Basil, Nasturtiums, Arugula, Lettuce, Corn, Sunflowers, Bittermelon, Tomatoes, and Lilikoi! Such a fun way to celebrate a birthday! I've asked him to take pictures (doh! I remembered to bring muffins, but forgot to bring my camera)  so I can share pictures of his garden soon.

I was approached by a local chocolate company, Madre Chocolate, asking me to sell them some of my Lilikoi about 2 weeks ago. After exchanging a few emails about my baking needs, they were impressed by the photo on the front of my website with all the Lilikoi. Hopefully I can start selling to them soon (though the Lilikoi season is waning, so I may need to wait until the next harvest to have enough).

This is a Black Australorp.

I'm receiving a new hatch of chicks this weekend! Technically, these must be 'feral chicks that I have so graciously decided to care for', as I am only allowed 2 hens per City & County zoning.  The fact that they are purebreds (I'm getting pretty greenish black Australorps and Silver-laced Wyandottes) with their shots must totally be a coincidence. Regardless of how they arrive, I am stoked to get the new babies and grow my flock (technically, they've just flown into the yard, of course... just like the 10 roosters prior to them. ehem.).

This is a Silver Laced Wyandotte- but it's the mini verison. Mine will be full size.

I had an acquaintance email me and ask if I was hiring and wanted to become of part of Lolo Gardens. So amazingly flattering. I had to tell her I can't even afford to shop outside of Goodwill right now, let alone hire someone. But it's exciting to see that there is interest in not only the product, but also in how I am running things.

I 'sold' my first batch of eggs. Technically, there was no money exchanged, we exchanged eggs for Meyer Lemons. But its super exciting to know there is a market for my eggs and the lady would have paid cash if I hadn't asked if she had Lemons to trade for.

And finally, I have started getting estimates for finally installing a better gutter system on the house and finishing the rain barrels that were started almost a year ago. I'll fund this project with my tax return, AFTER I get the house painted. Not sure when I am going to find the time to paint the place, but it needs to be done badly, so the paint/ gutters/ catchment are a solid priority for the spring.

Now what about the Bakery?

Chef Chang and her inspirational bangs.

In late January I attended a Lecture and Demonstration given by Chef Joanne Chang, of Boston's beloved Flour Bakery chain. She's not much older than me, with no formal culinary schooling. She learned all she knows from her mama and from experience working in kitchens after she chucked her corporate management consulting gig and career path after only a few years of using her Harvard Economics degree. Not only did she make me realize that I am capable of following my baking dreams, she made me realize I really want bangs. Seriously. Inspired 'baker' haircut coming soon.

I applied for Williams Sonoma's Profession Chef's Program and was accepted. I don't know how selective they are... basically I just had to send proof that I owned a Bakery and *poof* I'm a professional chef in their program. But I get a 20% discount at their stores now. Totally worth the bragging rights.

I was approached by a friend to cater her summertime, sunrise wedding. We're meeting next month to iron out details. I'm terrified. But I think I'll be ready by August.

I was also approached by a different, very good friend who asked me to bake a wedding cake for him and his fiance this summer. Again- equal amounts terrified and flattered. I've started practicing my cake recipies to be ready. I made a good friend some Lilikoi Curd filled White Cake cupcakes with Lilikoi Cream Cheese frosting over the weekend for her birthday. Reviews were all raves, so maybe I'll be able to pull off a cake in July after all.

Lolo Gardens, Artisan Bakery Boxes

Curds and Spreads. Each flavor a colored label and coordinated fabric top

With the magic of Office Depot's custom sticker templates and a bit of simple creativity on my part, I have beautiful boxes for my muffins and curds. Hopefully I can get a wholesale rate on the boxes in order to keep the packaging affordable. Individual curds & muffins won't be wrapped, but bulk orders will look like they came from a real bakery. Because, actually, they will have.

I had a positive meeting with the Market Managers of the Ala Moana Farmers Market. They spent over a half an hour with me at an impromptu meeting, slicing into 3 types of muffins and 4 kinds of curds and spreads. They raved about taste and packaging. And aired concern about conflict with their current baker (who doesn't make muffins) and current jelly maker (who doesn't make curds). I am now in the waiting game with them to see if they will take me on as an additional vendor.

AND... I was invited to sell my items at the Kaneohe and Ewa Beach Farmer's Markets!!! I took the phone call with this news while in the milk aisle at Safeway. You should have seen the happy dance that happened near the creamers. People stared. It was awesome. So these two markets are not as big as the Ala Moana market (where my previously mentioned meeting was), but its a start. It will get my feet wet. And they are ready for me as soon as I am ready for them. (Yikes! Water Dragon, here we go!) I told them I'd be ready with my Insurance, Health Permits, Certified Kitchen and paperwork in order in 2 weeks. I'm scrambling. But I'm excited!

And the reason for the Blog/Bakery/ etc? (Shay's Life/ Love life/ et. all)
Shoots. The good thing is, I've been so busy I've hardly had time to think about dating. The bad thing is, I've been so busy I've hardly had time to think about dating. Gotta work on that.
But I didn't say I haven't had time, I said I've hardly had time. I met someone. I felt a spark of something... it was more of a warm connection that made my heart skip a beat and made me want to be around this person- to be a part of his dorky humor and good man aura. And this man is dating someone else. Which kind of crushes me. But also had given me a glimmer of hope that there are potential men hiding under rocks here in Honolulu. The timing isn't right on this one. But maybe there's another one like him hiding... just waiting for me to stumble upon him.


Pretty sure Valentines Day will be spent by my lonesome self... drinking tequila till I'm seeing "Twighlight: Breaking Dawn" with double vision and alternating between cursing at the stupid story line and lamenting that I don't have my own sparkly vampire whispering sweet nothings in my no-longer virginal ears. Pathetic. But true.

So, Good Lord there is a lot going on. That Dragon means business. Next update, I promise more pictures of the Homestead/ Chickens/ Yard/ Baking and less wordy words. But now you're caught up.

A hui hou (until next time),

Shay