The greatest benefit from working at the bakery for me personally is the opportunity to spend with my daughter over the holidays and vacations. You see Mandy lives with her mom in Arkansas. So often our time together is limited and this makes it valuable. No other job has she been able to visit me at work like she can and does here. And I know any dads in a similar situation can appreciate this.
Our trip to see True Grit opening night couldn't have been any better. The movie was even better than expected with the directing and all actors were outstanding. We really enjoyed it and can highly recommend it. In fact, I might see again before it leaves the theaters.
Mandy grew a inch and a half since the 5 months I saw her. And not quite as thin so she looks healthy. And acts very happy.
It's been a good year at the bakery with lots of good changes and hard work. The best part, ( our people and recipes) stayed the same. We are looking forward to 2011 and remain positive about our future and yours too.
See you next year.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Winter Break
We realize that, like us, a lot of you are busy this time of year, too much so to be reading long blogs, so we will try to be brief.
Of course, we are super busy at the bakery, we are already sold out of Fruit Cake and orders for pies and Quick breads are growing every day. But it's fun and everything is going pretty smooth.
On a personal front, we have Mandy but Dallas was unable to be with us and it's his last year of high school. We hope to see him soon. The good thing about working with family is that it takes some pressure off during the holidays. We do plan to take us to see my mom this weekend and then run Mandy home. My Sis is coming up today and my nephew may come up tomorrow to see True Grit on opening night.
So , a bunch to do at work and with family this week, but I bet your busy too, huh?
Thanks for your business and paying attention to us this year, and I hope we made you smile in one way or another. Be safe.
Of course, we are super busy at the bakery, we are already sold out of Fruit Cake and orders for pies and Quick breads are growing every day. But it's fun and everything is going pretty smooth.
On a personal front, we have Mandy but Dallas was unable to be with us and it's his last year of high school. We hope to see him soon. The good thing about working with family is that it takes some pressure off during the holidays. We do plan to take us to see my mom this weekend and then run Mandy home. My Sis is coming up today and my nephew may come up tomorrow to see True Grit on opening night.
So , a bunch to do at work and with family this week, but I bet your busy too, huh?
Thanks for your business and paying attention to us this year, and I hope we made you smile in one way or another. Be safe.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Let's Talk Coffee
Gotta second? Let's talk. Let's talk about coffee. You may want to sit down.
Coffee is a brewed drink prepared from roasted seeds, commonly called coffee beans, of the coffee plant. They are seeds of coffee cherries that grow on trees in over 70 countries, cultivated primarily in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa. Green unroasted coffee is one of the most traded agricultural commodities in the world.[1] Due to its caffeine content, coffee often has a stimulating effect on humans. Today, coffee is the third most popular drink in the world, behind water and tea.[2]
Are you with me so far?
Well we think we have some of the best you'll try anywhere. Let's talk about Topeca coffee.
http://www.topecacoffee.com/
You may want to loosen your shoes for this
In the middle of the 19th Century, Rafael Álverez Lalinde left the comfort and stability of his home country in Colombia in search of wealth and happiness in the wild frontier of El Salvador. With his family, he brought precious cargo including a caféto. Not just a coffee tree but a strain of the original Arabica coffee bean called "Typica." Rafael had no idea that within two generations, his family would become one of the most influential families in coffee.
In 2001, six generations after Rafael Alvarez first introduced coffee to El Salvador, the industry was in trouble. A world-wide glut of coffee caused prices to tumble to an all time low. Many plantations like Topéca ceased operations because coffee beans had become more expensive to produce than they were worth on the open market. Despite these unfavorable conditions, Rafael Alvarez’s great-granddaughter, Margarita Lucia Díaz de López, convinced her son, Emilio, and her son-in-law, John Gaberino, to help her save the family’s coffee legacy.
Emilio and John quickly realized that the key to success was to take Topéca directly to the end consumer. With continuing investment in equipment and employee training, Topéca is now one of the few companies in the world that controls its coffee beans from time they are planted to the time they are roasted. This process, which they’ve dubbed “Seed-to-Cup”, allows Topéca to control the quality of its coffee with an obsessive level of attention. It’s also given Emilio and John the chance to extend Topéca’s legacy for another six generations.
Topeca is roasted just about 2 blocks from the bakery. Come try a cup and we think you'll taste the difference. How's that for fresh?
http://www.topecacoffee.com/
Coffee is a brewed drink prepared from roasted seeds, commonly called coffee beans, of the coffee plant. They are seeds of coffee cherries that grow on trees in over 70 countries, cultivated primarily in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa. Green unroasted coffee is one of the most traded agricultural commodities in the world.[1] Due to its caffeine content, coffee often has a stimulating effect on humans. Today, coffee is the third most popular drink in the world, behind water and tea.[2]
Are you with me so far?
Well we think we have some of the best you'll try anywhere. Let's talk about Topeca coffee.
http://www.topecacoffee.com/
You may want to loosen your shoes for this
In the middle of the 19th Century, Rafael Álverez Lalinde left the comfort and stability of his home country in Colombia in search of wealth and happiness in the wild frontier of El Salvador. With his family, he brought precious cargo including a caféto. Not just a coffee tree but a strain of the original Arabica coffee bean called "Typica." Rafael had no idea that within two generations, his family would become one of the most influential families in coffee.
In 2001, six generations after Rafael Alvarez first introduced coffee to El Salvador, the industry was in trouble. A world-wide glut of coffee caused prices to tumble to an all time low. Many plantations like Topéca ceased operations because coffee beans had become more expensive to produce than they were worth on the open market. Despite these unfavorable conditions, Rafael Alvarez’s great-granddaughter, Margarita Lucia Díaz de López, convinced her son, Emilio, and her son-in-law, John Gaberino, to help her save the family’s coffee legacy.
Emilio and John quickly realized that the key to success was to take Topéca directly to the end consumer. With continuing investment in equipment and employee training, Topéca is now one of the few companies in the world that controls its coffee beans from time they are planted to the time they are roasted. This process, which they’ve dubbed “Seed-to-Cup”, allows Topéca to control the quality of its coffee with an obsessive level of attention. It’s also given Emilio and John the chance to extend Topéca’s legacy for another six generations.
Topeca is roasted just about 2 blocks from the bakery. Come try a cup and we think you'll taste the difference. How's that for fresh?
http://www.topecacoffee.com/
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Gingerbread and Fruitcake
I was looking for inspiration for another blog subject and we received a phone call about our fruit cakes, a culinary store in town is having a chef in from out of town, that was going to show her that fruit cakes, don’t have to be “bad”. She politely replied “O, I know! Ann’s Bakery makes the best fruit cake ever”!! So, a fruitcake show down is on!!
All of my life I have been surrounded by fruitcakes and gingerbread boys. I have to admit that it wasn’t until I was an adult that I tried our fruit cake. I was sorry that I had been missing it all those years!! Gingerbread boys, on the other hand, I had eaten from as far back as I can remember! I remember putting the raisins on hundreds of them as a kid! I didn’t quite understand the importance or significance of “our” gingerbread boys, until we “tried” supplementing with some “ready to bake” boys to help us out one holiday season. Oh No!!! You would have thought we shot the Governor! I knew I could tell the difference, but we had the most expert palates scolding us! Soooo, yes, this recipe we cherish. Please come try them out!
Back to fruit cakes, these have long been the center of ridicule, or jokes, about how they could survive a nuclear war, substitute for bricks, break a tooth, you name it! Our fruit cakes, though are delicious! Every November we start getting calls about making them and shipping them. The various ways to make fruit cake are similar in some ways, and each have there own little special ingredient to make them unique. I found recipes with dates, coconut, condensed milk, brandy, candied pineapple, maraschino cherries, the common ingredients are, of course, flour, shortening, sugar and pecans. We have our “special” ingredients, too, that make ours special! I found come interesting facts and myths about fruitcakes you might find interesting:
(this being my favorite)
Referring to someone as being "as nutty as a fruitcake" (which was first recorded in 1935.[3]) implies that the person is mad, strange, insane, or very silly.
(and the rest is also interesting)
Fruitcake (or fruit cake) is a cake made with chopped candied fruit and/or dried fruit, nuts, and spices, and (optionally) soaked in spirits. In the United Kingdom, certain rich versions may be iced and decorated. Fruitcakes are often served in celebration of weddings and Christmas.
The earliest recipe from ancient Rome lists pomegranate seeds, pine nuts, and raisins that were mixed into barley mash. In the Middle Ages, honey, spices, and preserved fruits were added, and the name "fruitcake" was first used, from a combination of the words "fruit" (Latin: fructus, Old French: frui), and "cake" (Old Norse: kaka, Middle English: kechel).[1]
Fruitcakes soon proliferated all over Europe; however, recipes varied greatly in different countries throughout the ages, depending on the available ingredients as well as (in some instances) church regulations forbidding the use of butter, regarding the observance of fast. Pope Innocent VIII (1432-1492) finally granted the use of butter, in a written permission known as the 'Butter Letter' or 'Butterbrief.' The Holy Father softened his attitude, and in 1490 he sent a permission to Saxony, stating that milk and butter could be used in the North German Stollen fruitcakes.[2]
Starting in the 16th century, sugar from the American Colonies (and the discovery that high concentrations of sugar could preserve fruits) created an excess of candied fruit, thus making fruitcakes more affordable and popular.[3]
In the 18th century in some areas in Europe, fruitcakes were made using nuts from the harvest for good luck in the following year. The cake was then saved and eaten before the harvest of the next year.[4] The fruitcake also remained popular at Victorian Teas in England throughout the 19th century.[5]
If a fruitcake contains alcohol, it could remain edible for many years. For example, a fruitcake baked in 1878 is kept as an heirloom by a family in Tecumseh, Michigan.[9] In 2003 it was sampled by Jay Leno on the Tonight Show.[10]
Another exciting development!! We are working on our gluten free line of cakes! We have found a delicious recipe for yellow cake, and we are working on more! Come in and try them out, were going to have samples through the end of the week! Yippee!
All of my life I have been surrounded by fruitcakes and gingerbread boys. I have to admit that it wasn’t until I was an adult that I tried our fruit cake. I was sorry that I had been missing it all those years!! Gingerbread boys, on the other hand, I had eaten from as far back as I can remember! I remember putting the raisins on hundreds of them as a kid! I didn’t quite understand the importance or significance of “our” gingerbread boys, until we “tried” supplementing with some “ready to bake” boys to help us out one holiday season. Oh No!!! You would have thought we shot the Governor! I knew I could tell the difference, but we had the most expert palates scolding us! Soooo, yes, this recipe we cherish. Please come try them out!
Back to fruit cakes, these have long been the center of ridicule, or jokes, about how they could survive a nuclear war, substitute for bricks, break a tooth, you name it! Our fruit cakes, though are delicious! Every November we start getting calls about making them and shipping them. The various ways to make fruit cake are similar in some ways, and each have there own little special ingredient to make them unique. I found recipes with dates, coconut, condensed milk, brandy, candied pineapple, maraschino cherries, the common ingredients are, of course, flour, shortening, sugar and pecans. We have our “special” ingredients, too, that make ours special! I found come interesting facts and myths about fruitcakes you might find interesting:
(this being my favorite)
Referring to someone as being "as nutty as a fruitcake" (which was first recorded in 1935.[3]) implies that the person is mad, strange, insane, or very silly.
(and the rest is also interesting)
Fruitcake (or fruit cake) is a cake made with chopped candied fruit and/or dried fruit, nuts, and spices, and (optionally) soaked in spirits. In the United Kingdom, certain rich versions may be iced and decorated. Fruitcakes are often served in celebration of weddings and Christmas.
The earliest recipe from ancient Rome lists pomegranate seeds, pine nuts, and raisins that were mixed into barley mash. In the Middle Ages, honey, spices, and preserved fruits were added, and the name "fruitcake" was first used, from a combination of the words "fruit" (Latin: fructus, Old French: frui), and "cake" (Old Norse: kaka, Middle English: kechel).[1]
Fruitcakes soon proliferated all over Europe; however, recipes varied greatly in different countries throughout the ages, depending on the available ingredients as well as (in some instances) church regulations forbidding the use of butter, regarding the observance of fast. Pope Innocent VIII (1432-1492) finally granted the use of butter, in a written permission known as the 'Butter Letter' or 'Butterbrief.' The Holy Father softened his attitude, and in 1490 he sent a permission to Saxony, stating that milk and butter could be used in the North German Stollen fruitcakes.[2]
Starting in the 16th century, sugar from the American Colonies (and the discovery that high concentrations of sugar could preserve fruits) created an excess of candied fruit, thus making fruitcakes more affordable and popular.[3]
In the 18th century in some areas in Europe, fruitcakes were made using nuts from the harvest for good luck in the following year. The cake was then saved and eaten before the harvest of the next year.[4] The fruitcake also remained popular at Victorian Teas in England throughout the 19th century.[5]
If a fruitcake contains alcohol, it could remain edible for many years. For example, a fruitcake baked in 1878 is kept as an heirloom by a family in Tecumseh, Michigan.[9] In 2003 it was sampled by Jay Leno on the Tonight Show.[10]
Another exciting development!! We are working on our gluten free line of cakes! We have found a delicious recipe for yellow cake, and we are working on more! Come in and try them out, were going to have samples through the end of the week! Yippee!
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