Hello Everyone,

The Holidays are on the way and I am experiencing a great muddle of emotions. Here we are in the middle of the fourth wave of Covid, and I'm feeling a combination of weariness from the stresses of the past 19 months, and hope that we can begin to celebrate the holiday season as we emerge. Here at the bakery we are still wearing our masks, getting our booster shots, and remaining wary. At the same time, we are starting to make holiday goodies that lift our spirits and are a fun change of pace. So, we can help you celebrate as much as your wariness allows, and all of us can help to bring much-needed light into our lives. I should also let you know that you can dine in at the bakery again. We re-opened carefully and quietly until we were confident that it was the right thing to do. I was very happy that Dr. Fauchi thinks that if you are vaccinated (and preferably boosted) you can relax and quite feel safe for the holidays.

Stuffing mix hit the shelves a couple of weeks ago, along with Cranberry Chutney, Cranberry Orange Quick Bread, Rum Balls, and Russian Tea Cakes. I will attach the list of our holiday offerings because otherwise, I would have to list Galettes, Potato Rolls, Polenta Cake, all of our Coffee Cakes, and a variety of Dinner Rolls. Oh, I guess I just listed them didn't I?

We have added two new Galettes, Bourbon Pecan and Pumpkin Cream Cheese. When Alec proposed the Pecan one I was afraid it would be so sweet it would make my teeth hurt. However because there is less filling in a galette than a pie, they are wonderful and balanced and not too sweet. The pumpkin one is a nice rif on the traditional pie and is a lighter end to a heavy meal.

We also have chicken stock available. We use about 8 whole chickens a week, so we roast all of the skin and bones and add vegetable scraps. Then we cook it in a pressure cooker for about 4 hours. The result is a rich, deeply flavored rustic stock. We sell 28 ounces for $6.00. Depending on what I’m making, I often dilute it with equal (or more) amounts of water as it is very deeply flavored. We use it in many of our soups. At home you can use it for soup, gravy, sauces — anywhere you would use water or stock, though not in the bath tub.

As always at holiday time it works out best if you place your order as early as possible, especially this year because, like all the other food business, we are having a difficult finding enough employees. Also, if you know anyone who might like to work helping us package and do odd jobs around the holidays, or for that matter anyone who is really interested in a full-time job learning the ins and outs of bread and pastries and becoming accomplished at it, please, please help us contact them. The bakery is growing and we are looking to add employees. We are looking for people who want to become craftspeople, who are invested in the role of food in our society. We pay $15/hr, plus half of very good health insurance policy, two weeks paid vacation, we match 401K retirement savings to 5%, and are proud to be making superior product. Feeding people is good and satisfying work and we do our best to do it responsibly.

Soon,
Judy

And All of a Sudden — Holidays!