Christmas is coming...

"Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat..." Soon that song will be playing over our speakers as Christmas preparations begin. Decorating, cookie making, buying and wrapping presents... For some, these things have already begun. In fact yesterday I got my first Christmas present order for the year. Twenty loaves made up of a mixture of some of my more special breads will soon be in production - Chocolate Pecan, Julekkake, Pumpkin Pecan... Visiting with the woman ordering, I learned that these loaves, wrapped in festive cellophane, are going to be teacher gifts.

Her call got me thinking. What are some creative ways to wrap bread? Keep reading to see some of my ideas.

Ribbon makes a simple yet elegant wrapping. Even a novice bow tier can make a stunning bow or simple knot with wired ribbon.

Ribbon being put to use again. Here it ties together a bamboo tray and loaf of bread. Ready to serve!

Want to add a little, inexpensive gift? Buy or make a tree ornament and tie it on with curling ribbon. So easy, yet see how special that looks!

Towel: Mom, being a lover of textiles, dreamed up this gift wrap. Here I used some antique lace to secure the towel around a loaf of Chocolate Pecan Bread.

Take gift bags to the next level with a fun cloth bag. No fancy wrapping required!

Bread Around the Country

Miles of traveled road lays behind us. The rocky Susquehanna River is to our right. On the left the country side is dotted with rolling hills, tiny towns and beautiful farm places. My family and I are on our way to Wellsboro, a beautiful Victorian town tucked away in the northern mountains of Pennsylvania. We are going to relax and enjoy the fall colors. Suddenly the driver brakes; a u-turn is made. A bakery has been spotted.

We enter the dim interior of the bakery. Young women speaking to each other in another language and wearing head coverings scurry about their large kitchen behind the bakery display. Massive "Hobart" mixers run by air compressors are being emptied of their sweet contents onto large cookie sheets. Bread is making its way into the proofer which is heated by a large kettle filled with hot water. Dozens of quick bread loaves are being taken from the beautiful, gas powered pizza ovens.

The bakery display table is yet another site to take in. Perfectly risen loaves, pies of all kinds, golden and flaky apple dumplings, cookies without number, creative variations on the traditional Pennsylvanian treat, whoopie pies... This is a detour worth taking!

Driving down the road once again our hands are sticky with the amber colored caramel of the rolls we just devoured. A loaf of bread lays waiting to be eaten at another time. Sigh - what a lovely day.

Wellsboro behind us, Lancaster County ahead, the little road-side bakery comes into site once again. A feeling of welcome familiarity washes over us as we file into the bakery, viewing the day's baked goods. We chat with the cheerful cashier, noticing slightly awkward movements and a wheelchair as she rings up our sale. More yummy foods to try.

The food is long gone, but still in my memory is the sweet, smiling face of the girl behind the desk. Bound to that wheelchair, she was making the most of life by blessing others in one of the simplest ways - the gift of a contented and joyful smile.


100% Whole Wheat bread from "Weaver's Market & Bakery," Port Trevorton, PA. Don't miss it!

The Cook, the Baker and the Tray Maker?

A few weeks ago I received some calls from a sweet, elderly lady in our community. 'Could you please bake three Pumpkin Pecan Bread loaves, slice them, and butter 36 pieces for November 17th? And what could I add to it to make a nice afternoon lunch for the weekly senior citizens' get together? Crackers and cheese? Okay.' So this baker, turned consultant/caterer, got busy.

The 17th came and I began slicing and buttering. Then came the challenge. How can I make this bread ready to serve without using one of our own dishes?

Digging out the cardboard-scraps box from my family's treasure closet filled with games, miscellane-ous craft items (most of them as cheap as this cardboard), and other odds and ends, I knew I had my answer. Mixed with a little freezer paper and tape, this cardboard would make the perfect disposable tray.

36 slices of bread ready to go! These maybe don't make the most elegant serving trays, but they definitely work well in a pinch!

Whew! I made it through my first job as baker/consultant/caterer/tray maker.

Stepping back in time...

October found my family and me on a little adventure. Abraham Lincoln's birthplace, Virginia Beach, Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, Mount Vernon, Pennsylvania's Grand Canyon - these were the sites that filled one week of our two week long vacation. The next week found us in Lancaster County, PA. There we helped sort and pack humanitarian aid at Global Aid Network's large distribution center along with many friends from our mission trips to the Former Soviet Union. Though aid work was our main goal in Pennsylvania, we did take one day to do some touristy things around the area. Joined by our friend, Joey (the one responsible for the pictures below - didn't she do a great job?) we visited the Ephrata Cloister. Now a beautiful park with original and reproduced rustic wood buildings, aged tombstones and trees dressed in autumn's colors, this was the busy home of an unusual sect in the 1700's. The "brothers" and "sisters" that once roamed these grounds took the biblical concept of being in the world but not of it to an unbiblical extreme. Long hours of work, one daily meal and sleeping on narrow, wooden benches with blocks of wood for pillows were only a few of the unusual practices of these confused people. Heretical though they may have been, these people left behind one of PA's beauties.

Maren, me, Mom, Dad, and Hannah - Ephrata, PA
It was one of the few days planned for school children to visit the cloister. That meant that many of the buildings had artisans dressed and demonstrating (or explaining as is the case in this picture) the different trades of the cloister folk. Here we are at the bakery where a very delicious bread was made not only for the cloister natives but also for a prominent government official who fell in love with their bread when visiting the area. The secret ingredient - olive oil.

Manning the brot shib (not sure of spelling, but it is pronounced something like "brote - ship" - literally "bread pusher"). I can't even get away from baking on vacation. :)

Autumn French Fare

Today's noon menu: Pumpkin Pecan Bread French Toast

Last fall when Pumpkin Pecan Bread was brand new, two of my faithful customers came up with this food idea independantly. Great minds think alike!

This noon my family finally tried it out for ourselves. My customers were not kidding. It was a spectacular meal. My favorite was drizzling the toast with pure maple syrup, but our home made syrup was tasty on it, too.

Here is the Stowman's staple syrup recipe. My dad would prepare this as a mix in his younger adventuresome days when he went canoeing in the Boundary Waters in northern Minnesota .

Stowman's Table Syrup

1 c. granulated sugar
1 c. light brown sugar
1 c. water
1/2 tsp. maple flavoring

Mix all together in a medium size sauce pan. Place on high heat and bring to a boil. Boil one or two minutes.

Serve warm over French toast, pancakes, waffles, or corn bread. Save the left overs in the refrigerator to be used cold at another meal.