Big, scary things are on the horizon. Conceptualized in September, turned on it's head in January, and put into motion in March. It's a new day. It's a new dawn. It's a new life... for me, and I'm feeling good. Thank you, Nina Simone. Only I'm not as sultry as Nina. And frankly, I'm more than a bit terrified under all this enthusiasm and excitement. But in my heart, I have never felt so sure of something.
In September I decided I was ready to return to the mainland. Bainbridge Island, a tiny yuppy community built up around old farmland just a ferry ride from downtown Seattle. For most of the fall and winter I fantasized about buying an old 1900's farm house on Bainbridge and turning it into a Bed & Breakfast. I wrote a business plan. I stalked the housing market. I researched cryrogenics (sperm banks) and built a life of single parentdom on a small farm in my head, glued together with wishes and dandelion tufts. I sent an addendum to my Christmas letter to about 15 of my closest friends revealing this decision, feeling conversely excited and disappointed that I was not one of the few that could make Hawaii work for them (frustratingly, this feeling of defeat still occasionally chafes me). I had it all planned out. And. Then. January 9th happened.
January 8th my old buddy from college, Erik Fong, sent me an email letting me know he was possibly going to be on Oahu for a few hours. He was vacationing in Maui and wanted to see Pearl Harbor. He thought he might get an hour in Waikiki if i was around. Why not? I hadn't seen Erik in 10 years, and though I thought very highly of him, I thought little of the meeting. I wore no makeup that day and hadn't even the notion that I should even think of having (or not having) expectations.
The next day Erik appeared. His once long hair shorn into a tossled chin-length cut. His smile bright enough to light up the world. WOW. When did this happen? We had only 30 minutes before his tour bus picked him up to take him back to the airport. We both talked a mile a minute- trying to squeeze 10 years of catching up into 30 minutes- the whole time I kept wondering how I'd never noticed how handsome he was. And then, after 25 minutes, the tour bus driver gave him the signal that it was time to go. We had the longest hug goodbye, and at the very last minute, he surprised me with a quick peck on the lips. I was in shock. And then he climbed on the bus drove away.
What had just happened??? Within 20 minutes we were texting. Within 24 hours we were talking on the phone daily. Within a month he was back in Hawaii. Within a month and a half I was second guessing my Bainbridge Island/ single mother plans. And now, a smidge over 3 months later, I am committed to giving Erik, and San Jose (where I have 2, soon to be 3, of my closest girlfriends within an hour), a shot.
Moving isn't a decision I am taking lightly. A few factors helped my decision though:
1- Dating in Hawaii has been pretty pathetic- lots of Peter Pans and Playboys. If Erik wasn't Erik, who I've admired for nearly 13 years, I don't think I would have given him (and a long distance relationship) a second glance. But I've known his kindness, his sensitivity and his goodness for more than a decade. I knew I was already planning on leaving Hawaii. And I knew immediately after feeling the spark between us that this might be a connection worth fighting for.
2- Most of my close Hawaii friends have left the island and I am struggling to replace them. Something that comes with the territory of living in such a transient place. But knowing that doesn't make it easier.
3- My parents are getting older and my Dad is having some health problems. At 3,000 miles away, I'm too far away to be of much help (let alone to get straight answers about his health over the phone).
4- Up until September, it had been 3 years since I had seen my sister & Mom and almost 4 years since I had seen my Dad. No one in my family makes much money, and a $500 plane ticket is a huge expense. Waiting years to see family (who you love and get along with!) is not a decision that I want to live with.
4- The real estate market is heating up and I stand a chance of making some money on my house- maybe enough to allow me to get into the Bay Area housing market- a market even pricier than Hawaii!
5- The longer I am in Hawaii, the more lonely it has become.
So, after much contemplation on top of much drawn out planning (even painting the house in November was a part of the grand scheme to eventually sell it), I hired on a real estate agent and started decluttering my life.
The house went on the market the last week of March. We had our first open house last Sunday, a broker's-only open house on Wednesday, and more than a handful of showings throughout last week. Today is Offer Consideration Day. I know of two offers in hand. At last check, the real estate agent was expecting two more by this morning. By noon today I should have an idea of what the house may sell for. And once we're in contract I'm gonna get to work packing things up. I will likely be out of Hawaii by June 1st. Possibly as soon as May 17th. I'm scared and stressed and feel a bit like I can't breathe. But I am also so excited to start fresh with close girlfriends near by, a quick flight to both mom and dad (less than an hour and a half flight!!!) and close to Erik where we can give this relationship the 'real world' shot it deserves. I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I haven't felt so sure of anything, perhaps ever.
So that's where we're at. I'm so sad at leaving behind the gardens, the fruit trees, the hammock and the chicken that have been my fulfilling projects over the past 3 years... but I am certain that I will use this Urban Homestead project as the template for sketching out my next home. I will take lessons learned and inspirations gleaned to build my next home's outdoor living spaces even more beautiful than this. And for that, I am bursting with excitement and even, as Nina Simone croons, I'm feeling good.
Thanks for reading- I'll keep you posted!
Shay
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
The things we do for friends (or, how to make a wedding cake)
4 months ago, my dear friend Tim took me aside and told me "I'm getting married and we want you to make our cake." I blushed, but offered back "I'm so flattered, but though I'm great with muffins, cookies and ice cream, I don't know how to make cakes." Tim didn't skip a beat. "Yes you do, and you're making ours." And there it was. A terrifying challenge. A request. And made by a friend I love dearly. Anyone else ever been faced with this? The only other cakes I have ever made have been yummy, but from a box. I hold true to always making my own frosting, but I have never successfully made a from-scratch cake. I have actually tried on a few occasions. Each time, the cake or cupcakes have been dry and overcooked, despite looking pale on the surface. Like from-scratch scones and biscuits, cake baking is just not a skill that I process.
Luckily, through a purchase at a garage sale or goodwill or some used bookstore in the recent past, I already owned (but had never even opened) The Cake Bible, the tome written by the genius baker Rose Levy Beranbaum. I have a tendency to buy used cookbooks if they seem like I might someday be interested. Thus, I own more than my share of Indian cookbooks (have I ever cooked Indian food from scratch? Nope), Sushi books (the same) and the aforementioned Cake Bible. Luck? Or just my intuition telling me someday it might come in handy? Regardless, once Tim's request had been made, I cracked the book and started taking notes.
I'd be amiss if I didn't mention I didn't religiously read through Joy the Baker's (www.JoytheBaker.com) multi-part blog entry on building a wedding cake (http://joythebaker.com/2010/06/wedding-cake-the-beginning/). But, surprisingly, I read Joy's notes and reverted to Rose's scientific wisdom. Yes, super scientific. It made me trust her. And I'm glad I did.
So first, there are some major tools you MUST have in order to make a fancy tiered cake successfully.
#1- get yourself an offset spatula. It will work miracles on your frosting and save you the headache of dragging a butterknife around your cake and pulling up all those unsightly crumbs into the finished product and getting sticky frosting on your palms (ok, it will reduce the frosting on your hands. In my case, I am way too messy to ever eliminate that).
#2- invest in a food scale. This is probably the best advice I ever took. Turns out that 1 cup of flour is probably way heavier and way too much flour for the recipe that calls for 1 cup flour. Confused? I was, until Rose broke it down for me. The perfect cake is all about ratios. The ratio of flour to sugar to butter and more. Once I started weighing things rather than measuring, it all started to make more sense and the batter became the right consistency. I bought myself a $20 scale from Costco that weighs in both ounces and grams. I've found it useful for weighing a multitude of things- including weighing my chicken eggs. Now I can properly size eggs L, XL & Jumbo based on their weight. And I could sell my eggs for more $$ if they were officially larger. I say 'could' because my chickens are no more. A sad story for another day. But I digress.
#3- Don't try to use all purpose flour. Splurge for the fancy stuff (aka, 'Cake Flour') in the box. Its designed to build a cake that has proper cake texture.
#4- Use a kitchen timer. If Rose says beat for 90 second, you should beat for 90 seconds. There is a fine line between under blended, perfectly blended to 'build structure' (Rose's words) and overblended to the point that you 'break' the batter (meaning it separates and you're kinda screwed). If Rose says 90 seconds, believe her.
#5- Boba Drink Straws are awesome as cake support. Rose recommends straws. I recommend Boba Straws (the big fat straws that you get in 'bubble drinks' with tapioca balls. Is that just a Hawaii thing? I think it might be a Vietnamese thing. The drinks are available everywhere on the island.) They cut easily and are wide and solid, so are not easily bent by the weight of cake layers.
#6- Cardboard cake rounds are great. They give each tier of your cake a solid foundation so the cake is less likely to collapse under its own weight. They are fairly cheap from Walmart (made by Wilton). You can easily make your own from cardboard you have lying around the house. I thought about doing that... but I can't guarantee how clean and bacteria-free the cardboard laying around the house is (most of it came from Costco where who knows how many people handled it). For the extra few bucks I think its worth it to buy clean cardboard.
#7- Parchment Paper is a baker's secret weapon. Great for muffin liners, great for cake pan liners, great for cookies. And its cheap.
So let's walk through the process shall we? Something worth noting though first- as I completed each step of this process, I was plagued by fear, dread and the threat of waterworks (tears). Its only after completing the cake that came together in a satisfactory way less than 5 minutes before the wedding ceremony finished that I breathed a sigh of relief (ok, downed a huge glass of wine) and am content writing this blog. It was a nail biting process and I was fairly certain that it would be an epic failure most of the way through the process. I write this only to offer encouragement. If you attempt to make a wedding cake it might look lumpy, lopsided, crummy, and off-kilter for the entire process. BUT, even if it does, all is not lost. Hang with it. Fancy flowers can save most disasters.
Let's make a fancy cake!
First- set your kitchen properly (your 'mis en pace', or 'everything in its place' as they say in the cooking world). This way you don't have to run to the store cause you've forgotten you're out of salt while your batter sits idle on the counter attracting fruit flies. Lay out your ingredients so that the eggs and butter can come to room temperature. Lay out your cake pans, cooling racks, your parchment paper, your spatulas, bowls and whisks. A note on this recipe: if you have a HUGE mixer- like a 10 or 20 qt Hobart- you can make this in 1 go. I made it in 2 batches in my 5 quart Kitchenaid, mostly because I calculated 4 batches of the original recipe would make the 3 tiers. Hardly. 4 batches make the bottom tier and another round of 4 batches made the top two. If you have a hand mixer you may want to make 4 double batches to keep the mixing manageable. Just divide the recipe accordingly.
Second- get some good music going. It's gonna be a long haul and you'll need motivation and stress relief. (unless, that is, you have a HUGE mixer and a HUGE oven. If you do, then hire a live band to entertain you or something, as you can probably afford it and you'll be done much faster than the rest of us. ;)
Third- eat a meal before you start. If you're like me, its less temping to lick beaters if you're totally stuffed.
Fourth- Before preheating the oven, test to see how your cake pans will fit. There needs to be room for air circulation around them. Don't let the pans touch each other or the oven walls. You may be able to bake all 6 pans at once, or you might need to do it in phases. I baked by both 12" pans on a shelf by themselves and then the 9" and 6" together in 2 phases. Once you've got your racks planned, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Finally- prep your pans. Grease them. Then line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper. Then grease the parchment paper and lastly, flour the greased parchment. Tap off the excess flour and set your pans aside. I used spring form pans for the 12" and 9" but was forced to use a regular cake pan for the 6" due to what I could find in the store (Hawaii is pretty darned limited). There are probably pros and cons to using spring form vs. traditional. As I used a mix of pan forms I can attest both kinds work fine. Now that you've done your prep work, you're ready to bake.
Golden Butter Cream Cake to serve 150 (with much reliance on the section
titled "3-Tier Yellow Butter Wedding Cake to Serve 150") from The Cake
Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum.
In a large bowl, lightly combine the egg yolks, 16 tablespoons (1 cup) cream and vanilla and set aside. An idea for those egg whites: When cracking the eggs, I usually set each egg white into an ice cube tray and freeze (a 12-cube tray works great for each dozen eggs). I recently learned that egg whites freeze fantastically and you can thaw and beat months in the future to create meringues!
In your mixer bowl (or jumbo-sized bowl if you're using a hand mixer) combine all the dry ingredients and mix on low speed for 30 seconds to properly blend the dry mix. Add the butter and remaining cream. Mix on low until just incorporated. Then up the speed to medium (which is bloody fast on a Kitchenaid. I'm still getting used to that) or to high if you're using a hand mixer. Beat for 90 seconds to properly aerate and 'develop the cake's structure.' Scrape down the sides and add the egg & cream mixture in 3 additions (add egg mixture/ beat for 20 seconds. scrape. add/ beat for 20 seconds. scrape. add/ beat for 20 seconds. scrape.)
Then scrape the batter into the prepared pans and smooth the surface with your spatula. You should fill the pans about half way full.
Bake the 12" layers for 40-50 minutes. Be sure not to underbake this base layer of the cake. If you pierce the cake with a steak knife, it should come out clean and the sides of the cake will begin pulling away from the sides of the pan.
Bake the 9" layers for 35-45 minutes. The knife should come out clean and the sides should barely be pulling away from the pan (they will continue to pull away and the cake will shrink as it cools).
Bake the 6" layers for 25-35 minutes. The knife should come out clean and the sides should barely be pulling away from the pan (they will continue to pull away and the cake will shrink as it cools).
I rotated the pans about 2/3 of the way through the baking (half way through the time they were still super soupy and I was afraid it I moved them the cake would fall). I baked the 6" and 9" together, so I took out the 6" pans a few minutes before the 9" ones were ready.
When removed from oven, set the cake in the pan on a cooling rack for at least 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove from the pan and let it cool completely on the rack. This is where I LOVE spring form pans, as I didn't have to maneuver the 12" cake onto the cooling rack, as I am fairly certain the floppy cake would have broken in half. I removed the sides of the pans and let them cool completely on the rack while still sitting on the spring form pan bottom. The 6" pan for me was a regular pan, so I flipped it onto my palm (the parchment sticks to the cake bottom but removed from the pan) and the gently flipped it back onto the rack so it sat with the flat side on the cooling rack.
Once they are cooled absolutely and completely you have 2 choices. If its the day of the event, you can proceed on to assemble and frost the cake. If it is the day (or two) before the event, you can wrap the cake layers tightly in plastic wrap and then foil. They will keep in airtight wraps for 3 days at room temperature, 1 week in the fridge and 2 months frozen.
I wrapped mine up and went to bed. The wedding was the next day and, with my habit of late-night baking, I was exhausted.
Day 2- making frosting and traveling with and assembling the cake
Day two is where the stress really started setting in. I made 8 batches of frosting with my Kitchenaid, in 2 phases of quadruple batches (divide the recipe accordingly to accommodate your mixer). The first batch turned out great. While the second batch whirred away I ran to my bedroom to pack clothes, toothbrush, and makeup for the wedding. Bad idea. Make sure you watch your frosting as it blends. Somewhere between the 2 and 3 minute mark, I 'broke' the frosting. When I returned to the kitchen it looked curdled. This also may have been because again (silly me), I thought 4 batches of frosting would be enough. When it was evident that 4 wasn't gonna cut it, I had to pull unsalted butter from the freezer. To thaw it to room temperature, I popped it in the microwave for 25 seconds. This resulted in some room temp butter, but also some soupy, melty butter. This may also have been the reason for the curdling. Its funny how melted and room temperature can make a huge difference in baking. The heat plays with the molecules or something like that. Bottom line- don't microwave butter before adding to frosting or important baking projects if you don't have to.
Lilikoi Cream Cheese Frosting for a really big 3-tiered cake
Once the frosting was finished, I dumped all 8 batches of frosting into a 5-quart pail (a re-purposed ice cream pail worked great for this), then dumped the 4 batches of Lilikoi Curd (see last year's posted recipe for Lime Curd on my blog and substitute 1 cup of Lilikoi Juice for 1 cup of Lime Juice. Heat the curd up to 170 degrees rather than 160, and voila, Lilikoi Curd) I had made earlier in the week into another 5-quart pail, finished packing all the decorating tools (pastry bags, frosting tips, offset spatula, scraper, cake plate, Boba straws) and beautification tools (curlers, makeup, toothbrush, dress and cute shoes) and threw it all in the car to head north.
A few tips on traveling with cake or sweets in your car in Hawaii. Make sure the cake is wrapped tightly to discourage any bugs living in your car from investigating the sweets. I will proudly note that no ants or cockroaches dared come near the goods.
Also- good to know information on traveling with ice cream in the car. If you layer an ice chest with ice and salt, it will keep ice cream frozen for over a day in HOT Hawaii Summer weather. I also made 25 quarts of homemade vanilla ice cream for this wedding, but I'll talk about that in another post.
My dear friend Kelsey's house served as the initial staging area for the cake. I had two staging areas- pre-wedding and at-wedding. You never want to try to drive with a fully assembled tiered cake. You will inevitably swerve wrong on the road, your cake will slip and you will cry. No joke. Travel with an unassembled cake! But travel with a slightly prepared unassembled cake.
Once at Kelsey's, I set to work in 90 degree weather, in a non-air conditioned house, to assemble the layers of the cake. This heat was no joke. I was sweating from stress and from humidity. The cake was sweating just to make me nauseous with nerves. It was really upsetting. But, stress aside, here's what was done.
Start with your 12" layer. This is the toughest one to do. And if you can manage to not break your cake in half and you don't cry, you're gonna rock your way through the other layers. If it does break, and you do cry... wipe your tears and pull yourself together. The stress has barely begun.
First- prep your cardboard circles by trimming them if needed (depending on how much your cake shrunk in the pan) and then put a large dollop of sticky frosting in the center of the cardboard circle. You're gonna use that as glue to stick the cake to.
Carefully run a knife or metal pancake flipper between the cake and the spring form bottom to loosen it up. Very carefully, using the knife and flipper and any additional hands of friends sitting around, slide the first 12" cake from the spring form bottom onto a 12" cardboard round (leaving the parchment paper on the spring form pan's bottom). I almost cried. My cake split but didn't fully break. So stressful!!! Luckily, once its on the cardboard, you're onto the easy part. Using a serrated knife, saw the very top of the cake so that it is a flat as possible. Because my Curd filling was slightly runny (the damn heat!), I used the Boba straws to poke shallow (1/4") holes sporadically across the top of the cake to give the Curd a place to go. I ladled and spread about 1 1/2 cup of the Curd across the top of the cake. It was so hot and the Curd was so runny it kind of slid right off the cake. Damn. But what could I do? Nothing. So I finished composing the layer, while cursing. Take your serrated knife and trim the second 12" cake so the top is as flat as possible. Then take the second 12" cake and center it over the Curd-topped one. Carefully, and using your palm to prevent a disaster, flip the cake upside down so that the trimmed 'tops' of the cakes sandwich the filling. Watch runny Curd ooze down sides of cake. A thicker Curd, frosting or filling probably wouldn't do this, but mine did. Nudge the top layer to line up with the bottom layer if needed and set aside. Pull off the parchment paper if its still stuck to the cake. Repeat with the 9" and 6" cakes. The smaller cakes are MUCH easier to handle.
Yay! You should now have 3 layers of cake sandwiching filling, with a cardboard round as the foundation.
Now we're going to create support pillars that will be made out of those Boba straws. The only person that will know they are there are you and whoever cuts the cake. Starting with the 12" cake, stick a Boba straw into the center, pushing down through the layers until the straw hits the cardboard bottom. Mark the point where the straw is exactly (or like 1/32" shorter than) the height of the cake layers and pull the straw back out. Then cut the straw to the marked size and use the cut straw as a measuring tool to cut 4 more straws the same length. Using a spare 9" cardboard circle or the bottom of the 9" spring form pan as a diameter size-guide, insert the cut straws into the cake. You want to put one in the center, and four making a square around the center straw that is about 8" in diameter or so (so that the 9" cake will center over the pillars of support).
Repeat this with the 9" cake, centering to hold the 6" cake.
DO NOT ASSEMBLE THE FULL CAKE! (see the earlier note about cakes sliding and people crying if you don't remember that part).
You're getting ready to travel, but you're not quite ready yet.
Using a rubber scraper or large spoon, ladle a large dollop of frosting onto the top of the 12" cake. Using your offset spatula, spread a thin coat of frosting over the entire cake and sides. Do this to all the tiers. Try not to get too many crumbs onto the frosting, but try not to cry when it happens anyway. With only a thin layer of frosting and the runny, oozy curd, your unassembled cake tiers will look like hell. Do not cry. Even when the caterer's assistant makes the snide comment "Who made that cake? snicker." It is not finished yet. I repeat, Do not cry.
Now is the tricky part- transporting the slippery, slidey tiers in 90 degree heat up a twisty, turny mountain road. Luckily I had Kelsey to sit in the back of the truck to curse hysterically every time the cake tiers slid. I lined large grape boxes from Costco with foil, then using a sharp knife I cut off one of the sides of the boxes, so I had 2 low and flat boxes with only 3 sides to them. This way I could slide the tiers in and out without having to vertically lift them. Pack lots of frosting, decorating tools and edible flowers (make sure they're edible.. the last thing you need is to poison people. Note- plumerias are poisonous) and your cake plate. Do NOT forget your offset spatula and rubber scraper or spoon at the house. Not that I would ever do that. It will force you to return to Kelsey's house and miss the ceremony. And that sucked.
Once you've reached the wedding destination, carefully unload the boxes with the cake tiers and all the decoration goodies. Ignore Caterer's Assistant's remarks (or, confront. "I did, that's who. Don't make fun.") Curse the wedding planner who set the cake table in the sun. Wait impatiently for 20 minutes until the sun starts to set. You're missing the ceremony now. Lame. But your heart is beating so fast and you're staring at your hellish tiers trying desperately not to cry thinking "PLEASE let a cake miracle happen!!", that you use adrenaline to push you through a 10-minute cake assembly and decoration marathon.
Assembly time. Ready? Go!
First- make sure the cake table is flat and not tilted at all, so that the cake doesn't slide off the flimsy table into the grass.
Second- Place the cake plate in the center of the table and put down some sort of rags around the cake plate to catch any drips of frosting so that you don't soil the pretty cake table.
Third- Ladle a large dollop of frosting onto the center of the cake plate to glue down the 12" tier. Carefully slide the 12" tier out of the foil-lined box and set it centered on the cake plate. Put a large dollop of frosting on the top of the 12" tier and set the 9" tier into place, making sure it is securely and levelly resting on the straw pillars. Then do the same for the 6" tier. Now the cake looks like a hellisly decorated 3 tiered cake. No tears yet. Pull out that offset spatula and start globbing on the frosting. Really thick. Don't let any crumbs show- bury those suckers under at least an inch of frosting. You're going to use a LOT of frosting and don't be afraid to keep ladling it on. Lucky, as the sun set and the temperature dropped, the frosting is thickening back up and is not dripping. Hooray!
Once the cake is frosted, pull out scissors and flowers and quickly start adorning the cake. I used a 4" pot of mums that I bought for $3.99 at the grocery store. Way cheaper than loose blooms or a bouquet, AND I get to plant the pot in my yard when all is said and done. I snipped off all the blooms and shoved the heads into the indentation between the layers- one circle of blooms between where the 9" met the 12" and one where the 6" met the 9." I topped the cake with 2 simple hibiscus flowers I picked roadside near Kelsey's house. I had brought many more flowers- white mums, orange hibiscus, orange bougainvillaeas and nasturtiums, but decided that the simplicity of the mums and hibiscus topper were all that were needed. Within 2 minutes of me stepping away from the cake, the ceremony finished and guests began approaching the reception area. Wow. Tight timing. I cannot believe I pulled that off.
Stepping back, I finally can take it all in- the hellish looking cake that almost made you cry a ridiculous amount of times not more than 15 minutes ago actually looks pretty. I'd almost say beautiful, in a homespun sort of way.
So? Success. The cake lasted the night without any frosting dripping onto the cake table, and only a few finger swipes at it by the bride and groom's 2-year-old son. By the way, would you look at his face? Pure joy and excitement over the cake cutting. Pat yourself on the back for that alone. Then drink wine. Flirt with boys. And dance under the stars. Well done.
One more note... according to Rose, people stuff themselves at weddings and many refuse cake so you don't need to make as big of a cake as you'd think. That wasn't the case here. 140 people polished off that 150-person cake. I know more than a few people that had 2 slices. And more than a few people that didn't get any at all. Wow. Final compliment of the night? A random woman grabbing me drunkenly on the dance floor shrieking "You're the cake lady!! You ROCK!!!" After all that stress? I'll take it.
 |
| The book of magic spells. |
I'd be amiss if I didn't mention I didn't religiously read through Joy the Baker's (www.JoytheBaker.com) multi-part blog entry on building a wedding cake (http://joythebaker.com/2010/06/wedding-cake-the-beginning/). But, surprisingly, I read Joy's notes and reverted to Rose's scientific wisdom. Yes, super scientific. It made me trust her. And I'm glad I did.
So first, there are some major tools you MUST have in order to make a fancy tiered cake successfully.
#1- get yourself an offset spatula. It will work miracles on your frosting and save you the headache of dragging a butterknife around your cake and pulling up all those unsightly crumbs into the finished product and getting sticky frosting on your palms (ok, it will reduce the frosting on your hands. In my case, I am way too messy to ever eliminate that).
#2- invest in a food scale. This is probably the best advice I ever took. Turns out that 1 cup of flour is probably way heavier and way too much flour for the recipe that calls for 1 cup flour. Confused? I was, until Rose broke it down for me. The perfect cake is all about ratios. The ratio of flour to sugar to butter and more. Once I started weighing things rather than measuring, it all started to make more sense and the batter became the right consistency. I bought myself a $20 scale from Costco that weighs in both ounces and grams. I've found it useful for weighing a multitude of things- including weighing my chicken eggs. Now I can properly size eggs L, XL & Jumbo based on their weight. And I could sell my eggs for more $$ if they were officially larger. I say 'could' because my chickens are no more. A sad story for another day. But I digress.
#3- Don't try to use all purpose flour. Splurge for the fancy stuff (aka, 'Cake Flour') in the box. Its designed to build a cake that has proper cake texture.
#4- Use a kitchen timer. If Rose says beat for 90 second, you should beat for 90 seconds. There is a fine line between under blended, perfectly blended to 'build structure' (Rose's words) and overblended to the point that you 'break' the batter (meaning it separates and you're kinda screwed). If Rose says 90 seconds, believe her.
#5- Boba Drink Straws are awesome as cake support. Rose recommends straws. I recommend Boba Straws (the big fat straws that you get in 'bubble drinks' with tapioca balls. Is that just a Hawaii thing? I think it might be a Vietnamese thing. The drinks are available everywhere on the island.) They cut easily and are wide and solid, so are not easily bent by the weight of cake layers.
#6- Cardboard cake rounds are great. They give each tier of your cake a solid foundation so the cake is less likely to collapse under its own weight. They are fairly cheap from Walmart (made by Wilton). You can easily make your own from cardboard you have lying around the house. I thought about doing that... but I can't guarantee how clean and bacteria-free the cardboard laying around the house is (most of it came from Costco where who knows how many people handled it). For the extra few bucks I think its worth it to buy clean cardboard.
#7- Parchment Paper is a baker's secret weapon. Great for muffin liners, great for cake pan liners, great for cookies. And its cheap.
So let's walk through the process shall we? Something worth noting though first- as I completed each step of this process, I was plagued by fear, dread and the threat of waterworks (tears). Its only after completing the cake that came together in a satisfactory way less than 5 minutes before the wedding ceremony finished that I breathed a sigh of relief (ok, downed a huge glass of wine) and am content writing this blog. It was a nail biting process and I was fairly certain that it would be an epic failure most of the way through the process. I write this only to offer encouragement. If you attempt to make a wedding cake it might look lumpy, lopsided, crummy, and off-kilter for the entire process. BUT, even if it does, all is not lost. Hang with it. Fancy flowers can save most disasters.
Let's make a fancy cake!
First- set your kitchen properly (your 'mis en pace', or 'everything in its place' as they say in the cooking world). This way you don't have to run to the store cause you've forgotten you're out of salt while your batter sits idle on the counter attracting fruit flies. Lay out your ingredients so that the eggs and butter can come to room temperature. Lay out your cake pans, cooling racks, your parchment paper, your spatulas, bowls and whisks. A note on this recipe: if you have a HUGE mixer- like a 10 or 20 qt Hobart- you can make this in 1 go. I made it in 2 batches in my 5 quart Kitchenaid, mostly because I calculated 4 batches of the original recipe would make the 3 tiers. Hardly. 4 batches make the bottom tier and another round of 4 batches made the top two. If you have a hand mixer you may want to make 4 double batches to keep the mixing manageable. Just divide the recipe accordingly.
Second- get some good music going. It's gonna be a long haul and you'll need motivation and stress relief. (unless, that is, you have a HUGE mixer and a HUGE oven. If you do, then hire a live band to entertain you or something, as you can probably afford it and you'll be done much faster than the rest of us. ;)
Third- eat a meal before you start. If you're like me, its less temping to lick beaters if you're totally stuffed.
Fourth- Before preheating the oven, test to see how your cake pans will fit. There needs to be room for air circulation around them. Don't let the pans touch each other or the oven walls. You may be able to bake all 6 pans at once, or you might need to do it in phases. I baked by both 12" pans on a shelf by themselves and then the 9" and 6" together in 2 phases. Once you've got your racks planned, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Finally- prep your pans. Grease them. Then line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper. Then grease the parchment paper and lastly, flour the greased parchment. Tap off the excess flour and set your pans aside. I used spring form pans for the 12" and 9" but was forced to use a regular cake pan for the 6" due to what I could find in the store (Hawaii is pretty darned limited). There are probably pros and cons to using spring form vs. traditional. As I used a mix of pan forms I can attest both kinds work fine. Now that you've done your prep work, you're ready to bake.
- 24 large egg yolks
- 4 cups heavy cream (a quart of whipping cream), divided
- 6 teaspoons vanilla
- 12 cups cake flour (but weigh it instead of measuring it. It should be 42 ounces of cake flour (remember, 16 ounces is a pound)
- 6 cups sugar (but weigh it instead of measuring it. It should be 42 ounces of sugar (remember, 16 ounces is a pound)
- 84 Tablespoons softened (room temp) unsalted butter (but weigh it instead of measuring it. It should be 42 ounces of butter (remember, 16 ounces is a pound)
- 10 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons salt (I love using coarse sea salt and no longer bake with Morton's from the cardboard box. I think the coarser salt brings out the flavor better without being overpowering)
In a large bowl, lightly combine the egg yolks, 16 tablespoons (1 cup) cream and vanilla and set aside. An idea for those egg whites: When cracking the eggs, I usually set each egg white into an ice cube tray and freeze (a 12-cube tray works great for each dozen eggs). I recently learned that egg whites freeze fantastically and you can thaw and beat months in the future to create meringues!
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| Weighing flour. |
Then scrape the batter into the prepared pans and smooth the surface with your spatula. You should fill the pans about half way full.
Bake the 12" layers for 40-50 minutes. Be sure not to underbake this base layer of the cake. If you pierce the cake with a steak knife, it should come out clean and the sides of the cake will begin pulling away from the sides of the pan.
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| Carefully spaced pans in the oven. |
Bake the 6" layers for 25-35 minutes. The knife should come out clean and the sides should barely be pulling away from the pan (they will continue to pull away and the cake will shrink as it cools).
I rotated the pans about 2/3 of the way through the baking (half way through the time they were still super soupy and I was afraid it I moved them the cake would fall). I baked the 6" and 9" together, so I took out the 6" pans a few minutes before the 9" ones were ready.
When removed from oven, set the cake in the pan on a cooling rack for at least 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove from the pan and let it cool completely on the rack. This is where I LOVE spring form pans, as I didn't have to maneuver the 12" cake onto the cooling rack, as I am fairly certain the floppy cake would have broken in half. I removed the sides of the pans and let them cool completely on the rack while still sitting on the spring form pan bottom. The 6" pan for me was a regular pan, so I flipped it onto my palm (the parchment sticks to the cake bottom but removed from the pan) and the gently flipped it back onto the rack so it sat with the flat side on the cooling rack.
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| Stages of cooling. |
I wrapped mine up and went to bed. The wedding was the next day and, with my habit of late-night baking, I was exhausted.
Day 2- making frosting and traveling with and assembling the cake
Day two is where the stress really started setting in. I made 8 batches of frosting with my Kitchenaid, in 2 phases of quadruple batches (divide the recipe accordingly to accommodate your mixer). The first batch turned out great. While the second batch whirred away I ran to my bedroom to pack clothes, toothbrush, and makeup for the wedding. Bad idea. Make sure you watch your frosting as it blends. Somewhere between the 2 and 3 minute mark, I 'broke' the frosting. When I returned to the kitchen it looked curdled. This also may have been because again (silly me), I thought 4 batches of frosting would be enough. When it was evident that 4 wasn't gonna cut it, I had to pull unsalted butter from the freezer. To thaw it to room temperature, I popped it in the microwave for 25 seconds. This resulted in some room temp butter, but also some soupy, melty butter. This may also have been the reason for the curdling. Its funny how melted and room temperature can make a huge difference in baking. The heat plays with the molecules or something like that. Bottom line- don't microwave butter before adding to frosting or important baking projects if you don't have to.
Lilikoi Cream Cheese Frosting for a really big 3-tiered cake
- 32 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 8 sticks salted butter, softened
- 8 teaspoons vanilla
- 16 Tablespoons Lilikoi Juice (add more to taste if necessary)
- 24 cups powdered sugar
A few tips on traveling with cake or sweets in your car in Hawaii. Make sure the cake is wrapped tightly to discourage any bugs living in your car from investigating the sweets. I will proudly note that no ants or cockroaches dared come near the goods.
Also- good to know information on traveling with ice cream in the car. If you layer an ice chest with ice and salt, it will keep ice cream frozen for over a day in HOT Hawaii Summer weather. I also made 25 quarts of homemade vanilla ice cream for this wedding, but I'll talk about that in another post.
My dear friend Kelsey's house served as the initial staging area for the cake. I had two staging areas- pre-wedding and at-wedding. You never want to try to drive with a fully assembled tiered cake. You will inevitably swerve wrong on the road, your cake will slip and you will cry. No joke. Travel with an unassembled cake! But travel with a slightly prepared unassembled cake.
Once at Kelsey's, I set to work in 90 degree weather, in a non-air conditioned house, to assemble the layers of the cake. This heat was no joke. I was sweating from stress and from humidity. The cake was sweating just to make me nauseous with nerves. It was really upsetting. But, stress aside, here's what was done.
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| Putting down a dollop of 'glue' for the cake. |
First- prep your cardboard circles by trimming them if needed (depending on how much your cake shrunk in the pan) and then put a large dollop of sticky frosting in the center of the cardboard circle. You're gonna use that as glue to stick the cake to.
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| The curd before it slipped off the cake. |
Yay! You should now have 3 layers of cake sandwiching filling, with a cardboard round as the foundation.
Now we're going to create support pillars that will be made out of those Boba straws. The only person that will know they are there are you and whoever cuts the cake. Starting with the 12" cake, stick a Boba straw into the center, pushing down through the layers until the straw hits the cardboard bottom. Mark the point where the straw is exactly (or like 1/32" shorter than) the height of the cake layers and pull the straw back out. Then cut the straw to the marked size and use the cut straw as a measuring tool to cut 4 more straws the same length. Using a spare 9" cardboard circle or the bottom of the 9" spring form pan as a diameter size-guide, insert the cut straws into the cake. You want to put one in the center, and four making a square around the center straw that is about 8" in diameter or so (so that the 9" cake will center over the pillars of support). |
| Assembled layers with straw supports. |
DO NOT ASSEMBLE THE FULL CAKE! (see the earlier note about cakes sliding and people crying if you don't remember that part).
You're getting ready to travel, but you're not quite ready yet.
Using a rubber scraper or large spoon, ladle a large dollop of frosting onto the top of the 12" cake. Using your offset spatula, spread a thin coat of frosting over the entire cake and sides. Do this to all the tiers. Try not to get too many crumbs onto the frosting, but try not to cry when it happens anyway. With only a thin layer of frosting and the runny, oozy curd, your unassembled cake tiers will look like hell. Do not cry. Even when the caterer's assistant makes the snide comment "Who made that cake? snicker." It is not finished yet. I repeat, Do not cry.
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| They may look awful, but its just for transport. |
Once you've reached the wedding destination, carefully unload the boxes with the cake tiers and all the decoration goodies. Ignore Caterer's Assistant's remarks (or, confront. "I did, that's who. Don't make fun.") Curse the wedding planner who set the cake table in the sun. Wait impatiently for 20 minutes until the sun starts to set. You're missing the ceremony now. Lame. But your heart is beating so fast and you're staring at your hellish tiers trying desperately not to cry thinking "PLEASE let a cake miracle happen!!", that you use adrenaline to push you through a 10-minute cake assembly and decoration marathon.
Assembly time. Ready? Go!
First- make sure the cake table is flat and not tilted at all, so that the cake doesn't slide off the flimsy table into the grass.
Second- Place the cake plate in the center of the table and put down some sort of rags around the cake plate to catch any drips of frosting so that you don't soil the pretty cake table.
Third- Ladle a large dollop of frosting onto the center of the cake plate to glue down the 12" tier. Carefully slide the 12" tier out of the foil-lined box and set it centered on the cake plate. Put a large dollop of frosting on the top of the 12" tier and set the 9" tier into place, making sure it is securely and levelly resting on the straw pillars. Then do the same for the 6" tier. Now the cake looks like a hellisly decorated 3 tiered cake. No tears yet. Pull out that offset spatula and start globbing on the frosting. Really thick. Don't let any crumbs show- bury those suckers under at least an inch of frosting. You're going to use a LOT of frosting and don't be afraid to keep ladling it on. Lucky, as the sun set and the temperature dropped, the frosting is thickening back up and is not dripping. Hooray!
Once the cake is frosted, pull out scissors and flowers and quickly start adorning the cake. I used a 4" pot of mums that I bought for $3.99 at the grocery store. Way cheaper than loose blooms or a bouquet, AND I get to plant the pot in my yard when all is said and done. I snipped off all the blooms and shoved the heads into the indentation between the layers- one circle of blooms between where the 9" met the 12" and one where the 6" met the 9." I topped the cake with 2 simple hibiscus flowers I picked roadside near Kelsey's house. I had brought many more flowers- white mums, orange hibiscus, orange bougainvillaeas and nasturtiums, but decided that the simplicity of the mums and hibiscus topper were all that were needed. Within 2 minutes of me stepping away from the cake, the ceremony finished and guests began approaching the reception area. Wow. Tight timing. I cannot believe I pulled that off.
Stepping back, I finally can take it all in- the hellish looking cake that almost made you cry a ridiculous amount of times not more than 15 minutes ago actually looks pretty. I'd almost say beautiful, in a homespun sort of way.
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| WOW! Flowers saved the day! |
So? Success. The cake lasted the night without any frosting dripping onto the cake table, and only a few finger swipes at it by the bride and groom's 2-year-old son. By the way, would you look at his face? Pure joy and excitement over the cake cutting. Pat yourself on the back for that alone. Then drink wine. Flirt with boys. And dance under the stars. Well done.
One more note... according to Rose, people stuff themselves at weddings and many refuse cake so you don't need to make as big of a cake as you'd think. That wasn't the case here. 140 people polished off that 150-person cake. I know more than a few people that had 2 slices. And more than a few people that didn't get any at all. Wow. Final compliment of the night? A random woman grabbing me drunkenly on the dance floor shrieking "You're the cake lady!! You ROCK!!!" After all that stress? I'll take it.
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Happy Anniversary, House!
Today I celebrate two years of owning my little pad in Hawaii.
Cue The Beach Boys: "Dit du du, da da da do do, dim duh did doo Did did did doo di... If I only Had a Little Pad... in Hawaiiiiii...." (Don't know what I'm singing? Check out 1967's Smiley Smile... or listen on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZGPxesVlUo This song was my anthem from 2008-2009 as I scraped and saved to make this dream come true!)
But I digress...
Two years ago, keys newly in hand, I was sleeping on the couch in the living room as the house underwent its initial up-to-living-standards renovation. The peacock blue shag carpet still covered the living room floor (and don't forget the yellow shag in the office and the orange shag in the bedroom) and the only power coming from one socket near the couch with an extra-long extension cord and a construction spotlight. I was showering late at night in the back yard (or on a few special occasions I'd go to a friend's house). I ate nothing but McDonalds and Jack in the Box for at least week. Luckily, I had one toilet that flushed and the weather was almost warm enough to merit a hose shower. I showed up every day to work with streaks of paint hidden behind elbows and in my hair. I was having the time of my life making my falling-apart-house into my cozy little home.
So much has happened since that day. I changed jobs. I painted walls, ripped out carpet, patched holes and oversaw a bathroom overhaul. I built a pergola and hung a hammock. I changed roommates, twice. I got chickens. Then I got more chickens. Then I got crazy-person amounts of chickens. I planted gardens. I planted fruit trees. I caught wild roosters. I made friends with my neighbors. I said goodbye to my Mustang-car and bought an old SUV. I planted more garden beds and more fruit trees. I started a farmers market-based bakery. I dated more than a few loser boys. I decided that running a bakery part time was neither profitable or fun. I took trips to the mainland to visit new nieces and nephews and see old, dear friends. I started baking simply for the joy of baking again. I oversaw minor renovations on the house (like adding on an outdoor shower and a small gray-water recycling system). I christened the house Lolo Gardens and embraced the Urban Homestead movement.And I met a nice man who cooks, cleans, brings me flowers and just turned into a wonderful boyfriend. eh. strike that one out. C'est la vie.
So two years in the house. Two years without any major International-Destination vacations. Two years pouring my heart and savings into the earth below and the roof above my head. And aside from the first 48-hours filled with the "What the hell did I just do with my life savings, and for the love of God, WHY?"-type thoughts, I have loved every minute of it.
In you're curious (or just want to read my brag list) here's what's Growing these days at Lolo Gardens:
Tangerines, Avocados, Bananas, Papaya, Green Figs, Purple Figs, Strawberry Guavas, Pomegranates, Mangoes, Lemons , Blueberries, Poha Berries, Purple & Yellow Lilikoi, Tomatoes, Bush Beans, Pole Beans, Corn, Sweet Potatoes, Asparagus, Kale, Chaya, Chard, Carrots, Beets, Broccoli, Squash, Lemongrass, Purple Basil, Thai Basil, Green Basil, Thyme, Oregano, Mint, Lemonbalm, Pineapple, Onions, Okinawan Spinach, Nastrurtiums, Orchids, Gardenias, Bougainvilleas, Brunfelsia, Pikake, Chives, Sunflowers, Hibiscus, Roselle, Crown Flowers, Gerbera Daisys, Gladiolas, Blue Jade Vine, Jasmines, Stephonotis, Ti , Gingers, Heleconias, Blue Thingy, Impatiens, Roses, Snapdragons, Rosemary, Sage, Lavender, Poinsettias, Pansies, Marigolds and Free-Range Brown Eggs from 9 Crazy Hens!
Cue The Beach Boys: "Dit du du, da da da do do, dim duh did doo Did did did doo di... If I only Had a Little Pad... in Hawaiiiiii...." (Don't know what I'm singing? Check out 1967's Smiley Smile... or listen on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZGPxesVlUo This song was my anthem from 2008-2009 as I scraped and saved to make this dream come true!)
But I digress...
Two years ago, keys newly in hand, I was sleeping on the couch in the living room as the house underwent its initial up-to-living-standards renovation. The peacock blue shag carpet still covered the living room floor (and don't forget the yellow shag in the office and the orange shag in the bedroom) and the only power coming from one socket near the couch with an extra-long extension cord and a construction spotlight. I was showering late at night in the back yard (or on a few special occasions I'd go to a friend's house). I ate nothing but McDonalds and Jack in the Box for at least week. Luckily, I had one toilet that flushed and the weather was almost warm enough to merit a hose shower. I showed up every day to work with streaks of paint hidden behind elbows and in my hair. I was having the time of my life making my falling-apart-house into my cozy little home.
So much has happened since that day. I changed jobs. I painted walls, ripped out carpet, patched holes and oversaw a bathroom overhaul. I built a pergola and hung a hammock. I changed roommates, twice. I got chickens. Then I got more chickens. Then I got crazy-person amounts of chickens. I planted gardens. I planted fruit trees. I caught wild roosters. I made friends with my neighbors. I said goodbye to my Mustang-car and bought an old SUV. I planted more garden beds and more fruit trees. I started a farmers market-based bakery. I dated more than a few loser boys. I decided that running a bakery part time was neither profitable or fun. I took trips to the mainland to visit new nieces and nephews and see old, dear friends. I started baking simply for the joy of baking again. I oversaw minor renovations on the house (like adding on an outdoor shower and a small gray-water recycling system). I christened the house Lolo Gardens and embraced the Urban Homestead movement.
So two years in the house. Two years without any major International-Destination vacations. Two years pouring my heart and savings into the earth below and the roof above my head. And aside from the first 48-hours filled with the "What the hell did I just do with my life savings, and for the love of God, WHY?"-type thoughts, I have loved every minute of it.
In you're curious (or just want to read my brag list) here's what's Growing these days at Lolo Gardens:
Tangerines, Avocados, Bananas, Papaya, Green Figs, Purple Figs, Strawberry Guavas, Pomegranates, Mangoes, Lemons , Blueberries, Poha Berries, Purple & Yellow Lilikoi, Tomatoes, Bush Beans, Pole Beans, Corn, Sweet Potatoes, Asparagus, Kale, Chaya, Chard, Carrots, Beets, Broccoli, Squash, Lemongrass, Purple Basil, Thai Basil, Green Basil, Thyme, Oregano, Mint, Lemonbalm, Pineapple, Onions, Okinawan Spinach, Nastrurtiums, Orchids, Gardenias, Bougainvilleas, Brunfelsia, Pikake, Chives, Sunflowers, Hibiscus, Roselle, Crown Flowers, Gerbera Daisys, Gladiolas, Blue Jade Vine, Jasmines, Stephonotis, Ti , Gingers, Heleconias, Blue Thingy, Impatiens, Roses, Snapdragons, Rosemary, Sage, Lavender, Poinsettias, Pansies, Marigolds and Free-Range Brown Eggs from 9 Crazy Hens!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Notes on "Capacity"
1ca·pac·i·ty
a : an individual's mental or physical ability : aptitude, skill b : the faculty or potential for treating, experiencing, or appreciating <capacity for love>from http://www.merriam-webster.com
So I have this horrible habit of thinking I am Superwoman. I take on projects and commitments, forgetting a few key things (sleep? nah. personal life? no biggie. exercise? get outta town). Then I crash, burn and snivvle with big tears in pathetic meltdowns in the most awkward of places (sniffles teetering toward a full-blown meltdown at 2am in the Hardware aisle at Walmart, anyone?) Luckily, as I get older and questionably wiser, I am starting to recognize my overload sensors more readily than I did in my boundless 20's. Now the threat of meltdown tends to hit my sensors before the tears roll and I am getting more astute at standing up for myself. I am learning when my cup is full and to politely, but firmly say "GEEZ! STOP!" And then I feel guilty. But then I feel sane. Its a cycle and I'm adjusting to it.
So why all the capacity ruminations? I just finished my first full month of operating as a fledgling pop-up bakery and urban homestead shop. In the past 4 weeks I have logged countless hours stressing, over $4,000 (EEEEEE!!!!!!!) in start-up costs, have sweated through baking sprints in a Commercial Kitchen, have had more than 1 killer migraine, have met with bankers to apply for small business loans and have banged my head against the wall when I was rejected for said loans, have told more than 1 friend I regret the decision to do this, have eaten enough muffins to make me not want one ever again and have wondered how the hell I am ever going to get my lawn mowed (let alone my house painted) in the next year. All while working a full time job, not exactly 'on-the-side.' I have also grossed about $700 for these pains- admittedly way more than I initially anticipated. I have learned how to brew a good cup of coffee over a camp stove (the economical way to make coffee without electricity or buying a many-thousand dollar generator) and how to make foolproof iced coffee (recipe is here: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/06/perfect-iced-coffee/comment-page-7/. No link because I want you to finish reading my blog before you go to hers and forget to finish this story. Yes, the Pioneer Lady is silly. And genius. Be sure to check her iced coffee out.) And, I have learned that my personal capacity and the capacity of Lolo Gardens, an Urban Homestead, is limited.
So I initially had these pipe dreams of what being a vendor at the Farmers Market would be like. Regrettably, they were based solely on that embarrasing-to-admit-I-actually-watched-it movie The Backup Plan (J-Lo was in one of her worst roles to date... but her goat-cheese-making, farmers-market boyfriend was to-drool-for.) I also hoped that my life would be filled with a plethora of hyphen-inducing adjectives once I had my booth. I thought I would meet Mr. Organiclly-Farming-Do-Gooder-Wonderful who was looking for his match in a fierce and independent bakerly-wife and we would live on our happy farm with our beautiful organically-fed children and herd our well-groomed goats into the sunset. Enter sappy love song and roll the credits.
So the reality is this:
First- The 'who-the-hell-opens-their-eyes-this-early-in-the-morning' part. I don't do mornings well. At all. Nothing new here. So getting up at 5:30 am to drive 30 miles to set up a booth on my own is no sunshiney way for me to start the day. Especially when I gross $100 for 6 hours of my troubles and I know that my out of pocket costs for that day were probably close to $125. My friend Courtney puts it well- "It's like you're donating to charity... I am just not sure who the charity is supposed to be." That's hard to swallow.
Second- the 'meeting people' part. I've met lots of people, sure. Lots of 'farmers' who fill their booths with produce grown in California, Mexico and who knows where else. Local produce is hard to find at this market, as are like-minded people that appreciate it.
Third- the 'cool image as a superstar baker in an awesome organic-y farmers market I'm-so-hip-I-kill-myself persona' part. There are tiers of markets like there were once tiers of circuses (or so the book 'Water for Elephants' tells me there were). The market that I am a part of (and don't get me wrong... I am happy to have been given a foot in the door of ANY market) is kind of a 3rd tier circus. The vendors all caravan from location to location. So whether in Kailua, Ewa Beach or Waikiki, I'm with the same vendors within the circus group. And in this group, there are no cool-points for being a super rad baker chic who grows lilikoi and raises hens. I'm just the crazy white girl who is alone hauling her crap halfway across the island one or two days a week. There are other tiers of markets hawking their produce in the same cities on different days where I might get some cool-status points. But I am on the waiting lists for these markets, as they are a bit more respected and have a larger applicant pool. So no coolness factor points for me.
So what does my market group look like? Being the level of quality my 3rd tier market is, you see the following vendors on a typical day: Pizza Baker booth, Tupperware Seller booth, Super-cheap Lobster booth (are they fresh? are they imported and frozen? I don't like lobster so I've never asked) Cheap Souvenir Jewelry vendor (complete with "Up to 50% off!" signs), Filipino Bakery #1, Filipino Bakery #2, Filipino Bakery #3, about 4 or 5 "Farmers" selling imported produce, Hawaiian Plate-lunch booth, Filipino Plate-lunch booth, Puerto-Rican plate lunch booth, Thai Plate-lunch booth. Gourmet dried and bagged Pasta made in Colorado booth (I assume its kind of like if I were to sell Italian Pasta sauce from Italy and tout it as a gourmet import?) Lady who bakes sugar-free banana bread and Lilikoi Butter booth. And Me. It's rather like a traveling flea market without the cool antique finds. So who are the people in this group of Food-related (not to be confused with Foodie) Carnies I have met? Nice enough folks, but mostly retirees who are doing this for kicks. I've met one nice guy that I enjoy having a harmless flirtation with. But he's started coming on too strong and I am absolutely not interested in anything more than what we have. Buy me a popsicle and ask me how my day is? Great! Call me (from my business card), use every pickup line in the book in a Rico-suave fashion (but because it seems to be in earnest, he talks too fast and trips over his 'lines' so its just awkward and uncomfortable and leaves me trying to figure out how to end the conversation quickly). Ug. Not great. And he lives with his sister and doesn't have a job other than slinging her Filipino food (again- her business) a few days a week at the markets. And that's it. No cute organic farmers here (they would be Tier 2 or Tier 1 farmers market folks with cool-farmer swagger). No one making artisan goat cheeses. No one extracting their own honey from their own bees. But... if you're looking for a hotdog wrapped in a croissant sold alongside deep fried something and some spinach from Cali, you got it!
But I digress. I'm making it sound hellish. It's not that bad. I did make $700- which is putting me in a good place to start paying off that $4,000 start-up investment. And I have discovered that of the 3 varied market locations that I have participated, the Kailua location is my best audience. Day-wise, it's not the greatest for giving me my personal life back (it's a Saturday night, so I will be booked for something 7 days a week by being at this location), but financially I made over $100 more here in one shot than the other locations. The Kailua market shoppers are a mix of local 'Haole" folks (white folks) with money who will shell out cash for organic/ local produce. They will smell a rat with that California spinach quick though, and I don't expect to see many locals making a 3rd or 4th trip to this market. Once or twice will probably be all they will take. But the other half of the shoppers are mainland vacationers who know Oahu well enough to stay in a B&B on this side of the island (about a half hour outside Waikiki in a residential town. Its where the Obamas stay every Christmas). This makes them generally older, wealthy and giddy to 'buy local'- and because they are only here for a week or two at a time, they will be 1st time market shoppers who haven't discerned the tiers of markets yet. Its perfect for me because I can sell them boxes of muffins and cartons of eggs for tomorrow's breakfast, bags of coffee (that I buy wholesale from the grower on the north shore) for the week and for souvenirs, jars of Lilikoi curd for souvenirs and cocktail-worthy herbs for their vacation imbibing.
So then there's that capacity conundrum. I initially was accepted to the Ewa Beach market. Ewa is 30 miles from my home and in a local community with a smattering of military. I have 3 loyal customers that have come every week for a muffin and a cup of coffee. These ladies are so sweet and tell me how much they look forward to my muffins and coffee every Sunday. If I stop going to the Ewa Beach market I will let them down. But, if I stop going to the Ewa Beach market on Sundays I will be able to sleep in, not put 60 miles on my car and loose money to the charity without a name. And I will disappoint those 3 ladies that appreciate me. As a business decision, it makes no sense to continue driving there at the crack of dawn to lose $5 and 6 hours of my life. As a human decision, its a bit harder. I haven't backed out of this market formally yet. But I know I need to. I haven't decided if I should go this week to tell the 3 ladies I won't be returning. Or if I should just cut the ties abruptly and write a generic apology message on my Facebook page to whoever reads it. I am truly perplexed and sad about this.
And capacity to 'use local produce' in my baking is proving to be much more difficult than I expected. My biggest selling muffin (and hands down taste test winner) is my Kabocha Pumpkin (or Squash. Tomato/ Tamato) muffin. Initially I bought organically-grown local Kabochas for $2.49/ lb at the local food co-op. That makes for a pricey muffin. Then I found a local farm to sell me Kabochas in bulk. They told me they had them year round. I printed their farm name on a bunch of brochures as my provider of Kabocha. Then, when I picked up the first box of them the box suspiciously said "35# Kabocha Squash. Grown in Mexico." Hmmmm.... did they just put their local Kabochas into a reused box? I covered my ears and eyes and said "blah blah blah I see no evil!" all the way to the Certified Kitchen. I rationalized that at least I was supporting a local farm, even if they were wholesaling an imported product. Then I called them up this week to pick up another 35# box and they told me they no longer have Kabocha and don't know when they'll get it again. wtf? They had initially told me they had them year round!!!! So I did what any rational business person would do. I swallowed my only-local produce goal, removed that farm name from my brochures, and bought a 35# box of New Zealand-grown Kabochas at Safeway. They were on sale for $.79/pound. I'll buy local when I can. And I will honestly strive to do that. But I won't let 'buying local' drive my prices up so high that I drive my bakery into the ground. The same goes for butter- I would love to use our one (one!!) on-island dairy for butter, but at $8/ lb it makes no sense. I do, however, only use island-grown eggs (and I mix those in with my own backyard eggs) and will keep building relationships with those farmers at the tier one markets to see what truly local produce can be found and afforded.
And finally, capacity for personal fulfillment. I need to free up some space so that I have room for this important piece of the puzzle. The definition from Webster's Dictionary talks about someone's capacity to love. I need to find that space so that I can focus on loving myself, my crazy chickens, my unmowed backyard, my patient friends and Mr. organic-appreciating-lets-me-be-my-crazy-independent-self-Wonderful when he chooses to enter my life. Right now there's not a whole lot of space for those things. And bottom line... they do matter most.
So, Capacity. Gonna clear out some stuff and make some room. I'll let you know how it goes.
A hui hou,
Shay
Friday, February 17, 2012
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
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
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
The Dragon is on the move!
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.
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| Annie's Pocket Garden |
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).
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| This is a Black Australorp. |
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| This is a Silver Laced Wyandotte- but it's the mini verison. Mine will be full size. |
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?
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| Chef Chang and her inspirational bangs. |
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.
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| Lolo Gardens, Artisan Bakery Boxes |
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| Curds and Spreads. Each flavor a colored label and coordinated fabric top |
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
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Local Produce. Extraordinary Taste.
Lolo Gardens is becoming a reality! And I'm still single, which I think was part of the reason for starting this blog... to open a bakery and get a boyfriend, right? Well, it just goes to show some things are easier said than done. (Wonder if the fact that I am spending a Thursday night blogging in old PJs while eating cookie dough, drinking a warmish beer and watching Sex and The City reruns has anything to do with the latter. I vow I will hit the town this weekend. But tonight its me & my Mac and some calories.)
But I digress. Lolo Gardens is for real. The logo is finalized. The business cards are at the printer. The website has a landing page. The Organic Certification Research is underway. The Macadamia Nut and Avocado partnerships have been forged. I'm working on an 'in' for Mangos, Kabochas and Lemons. I've purchased packaging for my mini media kits. I wrote a bunch of copy. I'm brainstorming my cocktail-focused herbs display and packaging. Next week I'm finalizing my market vendor application kits and baking up some winners.
Here's a sneak peak:
An Urban Homestead.
Small-scale agriculture and sustainable living practices within view of the Honolulu skyline.
Home of pesticide-free, heirloom-focused gardening, tropical fruits, buzzing honeybees and happy and healthy free-range hens.
Local Produce. Extraordinary Taste.
Fresh from the Farm: Free-range Brown Eggs. Lilikoi (Purple and Yellow varieties of Passion Fruit). Tangerines. Strawberry Guavas. Apple Bananas. Heirloom Tomatoes. Purple and Pink Sweet Potatoes. Tempting Figs. Creamy Avocados. Rosy Pomegranates. And a variety of Cocktail and Culinary-friendly Herbs: Green Culinary Sage. Lemon Grass. Mint. Rosemary. Thyme. Purple Opal and Sweet Green Basil.
An Artisan Bakery.
Hearty muffins, creamy curds and extraordinary baked goods.
Partnering Lolo Gardens with other local farmers to create island-inspired treats, naturally.
Local Produce. Extraordinary Taste.
Our Famous Muffins: Kabocha (Local Pumpkin) Cream Cheese. Macadamia Nut and Pineapple Morning Glory. Kona Coffee and North Shore Chocolate Chunk. Blueberry Bran with Mango Middles. Kabocha Cheddar Spice. Corn with Avocado and Raspberry. Meyer Lemon and Sour Cream Cranberry.
Our Creamy Curds: Classic Lilikoi. North Shore Lime. Meyer Lemon. Honey Tangerine.
How do you enjoy a creamy English-style curd? Spread it on a freshly crisped english muffin, crumpet or hearty toast for a sweet and decadent twist. Drizzle it over ice cream. Fill cupcakes before frosting for a sweet and tart surprise. Or simply, with spoon and jar in hand, savoring every last drop.
Want to find us at a Farmers Market? Special Orders? Questions?
Contact Lolo Gardens: Info@LoloGardens.com
So yup, I'm on my way. Good stuff to come. Maybe a boyfriend too :)
But I digress. Lolo Gardens is for real. The logo is finalized. The business cards are at the printer. The website has a landing page. The Organic Certification Research is underway. The Macadamia Nut and Avocado partnerships have been forged. I'm working on an 'in' for Mangos, Kabochas and Lemons. I've purchased packaging for my mini media kits. I wrote a bunch of copy. I'm brainstorming my cocktail-focused herbs display and packaging. Next week I'm finalizing my market vendor application kits and baking up some winners.
Here's a sneak peak:
An Urban Homestead.
Small-scale agriculture and sustainable living practices within view of the Honolulu skyline.
Home of pesticide-free, heirloom-focused gardening, tropical fruits, buzzing honeybees and happy and healthy free-range hens.
Local Produce. Extraordinary Taste.
Fresh from the Farm: Free-range Brown Eggs. Lilikoi (Purple and Yellow varieties of Passion Fruit). Tangerines. Strawberry Guavas. Apple Bananas. Heirloom Tomatoes. Purple and Pink Sweet Potatoes. Tempting Figs. Creamy Avocados. Rosy Pomegranates. And a variety of Cocktail and Culinary-friendly Herbs: Green Culinary Sage. Lemon Grass. Mint. Rosemary. Thyme. Purple Opal and Sweet Green Basil.
An Artisan Bakery.
Hearty muffins, creamy curds and extraordinary baked goods.
Partnering Lolo Gardens with other local farmers to create island-inspired treats, naturally.
Local Produce. Extraordinary Taste.
Our Famous Muffins: Kabocha (Local Pumpkin) Cream Cheese. Macadamia Nut and Pineapple Morning Glory. Kona Coffee and North Shore Chocolate Chunk. Blueberry Bran with Mango Middles. Kabocha Cheddar Spice. Corn with Avocado and Raspberry. Meyer Lemon and Sour Cream Cranberry.
Our Creamy Curds: Classic Lilikoi. North Shore Lime. Meyer Lemon. Honey Tangerine.
How do you enjoy a creamy English-style curd? Spread it on a freshly crisped english muffin, crumpet or hearty toast for a sweet and decadent twist. Drizzle it over ice cream. Fill cupcakes before frosting for a sweet and tart surprise. Or simply, with spoon and jar in hand, savoring every last drop.
Want to find us at a Farmers Market? Special Orders? Questions?
Contact Lolo Gardens: Info@LoloGardens.com
So yup, I'm on my way. Good stuff to come. Maybe a boyfriend too :)
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