Moving

It happened faster then we could really be ready for, even though we are the ones creating this situation. We found a new house before we had even given notice on the old one, and so now we are paying double rent and living in chaos. We are so excited about our new house that we have been frantic to get out of the old one..packing food in shopping bags without going through it, throwing everything in boxes. My desk is still set up at the old house, looking untouched and just how I left it, while everything around it is a mess. The bookshelf awkwardly on its side in the middle of the room, the untidy and mysterious creatures living under the couch, cruelly exposed to the light of day, stay in their places refusing to move..a dirty summer window fan, a stinky sleeping bag, dust bunnies, and a print goco machine huddled together. The new house has a L shaped wrap around porch, a place to get baguettes a block away, a small commercial gas stove, a claw foot tub, and a beautiful garden. The fridge is covered in old plank wood so it disappears in to the room. There are things to fix of course...The kitchen is a horrible orange, things are dusty and grimy, many things need to be painted (see butterfly table below...we did not do this I swear)

May looks like a busy month. I have a baby shower to plan, a house to unpack, new sweets to make, last Thursdays, and a 5 foot long loaf of bread to bake. Yes, 5 Feet! More on that later... off to the Farmers Market.. I have pizza to eat and elicit coffee to sip.

Sore Legs and Dreams of Rhubarb

The weather can't make up it's mind, it's warm then it's rainy. Overcast and then the sun peeks out just a bit. It makes this California girl homesick. Well that and my wonderful friend Sarah Jane coming to visit for her spring break! We wandered the first farmers market of the season, SJ and I laughed at how little food there was, her once again feeling grateful and lucky to live in such sunny part of the country. But I said, you won't feel that joy when the food starts coming! When there is more then root vegetables, apples, and onions. I bought some handmade butter, talked to the wife of the goat cheese maker about butter making, and we wandered back home in the rain of course, to make birthday cake for her.

Oh yeah, then we got some big ass friendship tattoos on our legs. It is the three of bottle/cups, the tarot card associated with friendlove and deep friendship. Claire, SJ, and I are all water signs astrologically speaking, and the cups/bottles suite is all about water and emotions. There are sprig of lavender around it cos you know I love some lavender in the summer, and a big moon. I have left the banner blank so far because I am not sure what I want it to say yet. SJ got "Together we're home" which I like a lot, but I also like the idea of all of ours saying something different. So far "Never a wife" , " Fuck Ya!" (in honour of Shon's unicorn tattoo), and "Hella" are in the running. Of course all of these are awesome and terrible in their own ways, hence why the banner is blank!

Meanwhile my mind has been wandering back to the markets in Nice. In my dreams sometimes I am still wandering the 8 block maze of farmers market and flower stalls in the south of France. The bread and gooey cheese and the huge figs. The most beautiful carrots I ever saw; I bought them even though we were leaving on the plane the next morning and I wouldn't have been able to finish them in time. I just wanted to look at them and eat as many as I could. I brought them on the plane with me and snuck glances of them every chance I got.

And so as I am dreaming of Nice and waiting for spring and our markets to have abundance again, I scribble notes to myself in my book....blood orange and olive oil cake, orange yogurt cake with little wisps of rhubarb on top, meyer lemon curd tart with rhubarb, that tart from the gourmet magazine, peach tatins....

Eggs

Every so often I get these wonderful fresh eggs for trade from my friend Eric. Aren't they beautiful?!

A day off

Even though it's my day off, I can't seem to stop baking. I mean it's not a bad life, waking up and thinking, "hmm, I need to test that cake recipe. Should it be chocolate ginger? Chocolate pink pepper? Chocolate orange? maybe chocolate hazelnut..." Well let's just try it all!

Well the chocolate ginger and chocolate orange are my favorite so far. I think I might try chocolate coconut later......

Roasted Apple Tart

Oh, lets all thank Elizabeth for this recipe. Apples roasted with a little sugar and then blended. Topped with thin apple slices and baked until browned. So simple. I can't wait for her return so we can bake more.

Moi et Oliver partage un croissant

Vegan Bakers Article in Mix Magazine!

It's a little too early to write about this wonderful article..I am drinking my tea and getting ready to go bake for the fabulous Dovetail Bakery (Morgan is in the article too!), so I will have to write more about this when I'm more awake. In the meantime you can read the article here at Mix Magazine