Going on.

We want to thank everyone for the prayers, thoughts, and encouraging words the last few weeks. As many of you know, Matt’s Grandmother, Mema, passed away a week ago today. She was one of the sweetest and most loving people I have ever met, and I will cherish my memories with her! Although, the last couple weeks have been emotionally trying, we are comforted to know that she is now in better place. She had Alzheimer’s, which had progressed rapidly the last few months, and I’m not sure I’ve ever witnessed a more terrible disease. Last Sunday, was very hard. But, we were able to spend the day by her side with friends and family telling stories and looking at old slides on the projector, a memory that will always be with us.

I’ve always been moved by tradition. As we sat at Matt’s parents’ house Monday to receive friends and family, I couldn’t help but think how these types of things are not as prevalent as they use to be. A steady stream of visitors poured in to bring food and express their condolences, a gesture that was a welcomed distraction and a comforting reminder of friendship, family, and community.  Over the next several days we went through the motions and events, each of us having our moments of really feeling the loss. It’s funny how things hit you, sometimes completely unexpectedly, and as we were driving to the grave side service, I couldn’t help but be overwhelmed watching the oncoming traffic yield. I wanted to stop and tell each person thank you! Such a trivial gesture on the part of the driver, and even one that often I have begrudged doing, especially when you are trying to get somewhere, but so incredibly meaningful.

Life is starting to get back to normal. We have been busy baking, and it was good to be back at both markets this weekend. If you don’t already know, you can now find Yellow Dog Bread during the week, at Bickett Market! We are delivering twice a week, Tuesday and Friday after 4:00 pm. They are a wonderful group of people, and we are excited to be working with them. Bickett Market offers a wonderful selection of local meats, seafood, cheeses, vegetables, and of course bread! Make sure to swing by and check them out!

We are hoping to have some exciting Yellow Dog news to announce in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, enjoy this wonderful break in the heat and the much needed rain! Oh, and Matt came home with two giant bags of peppers and enough okra to feed an army! Does anyone know what types of peppers these are? I know we’ve got Bell, Jalapeno, and Padron, but other than that I haven’t got a clue. Also, beyond fried and grilled, how can I fix okra?  

Ahhh... the weekend.

We are making the most of this lazy afternoon and working hard to squander time by napping, watching sleep inducing PBS shows, reading a little HP, making garden flower arrangements, and organizing tomatoes by hue. Hope you are enjoying a little down time and blissfully accomplishing nothing too!

       

G. Love and Sorbet

I have no shame in admitting that I like Ragu sauce. Say what you will, but Seven Herb Tomato is mighty fine. However, inspired by all the beautiful tomatoes that are coming off the vine, not our vines of course, but namely Rocky River Farms, and encouraged by tales of how easy it is to make sauce from scratch, we decided that we would try our hand at it. Being a baker, by nature you tend to be governed by exactness and in our experience making sauce was the complete opposite. I think Matt consulted a million recipes before we just decided to wing it. I’m not even sure how many tomatoes we started with, it was a lot, and of all different shapes, colors, sizes, and varieties. But, Matt did weigh them once we had peeled and seeded them. It was about 1940 grams of ‘maters. We sautéed ½ an onion (106 grams) and 3 cloves of chopped garlic and added both to the pot of tomatoes. We then added 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil and 2 Tablespoons Butter, and maybe a smidge more butter later, then salt, pepper, basil, rosemary, and thyme to taste. Then we had to just sit and wait. You would think we’d be pretty good at sitting and waiting. Making bread is not for the impatient. But, neither of us could keep ourselves from periodically dipping our spoon in for a taste. We let it simmer for about 2 ½ hours, and were a little discouraged, because holy moly there was a lot of juice in that pot! So, in a bold move we headed out to the store and bought a can of tomato paste to add. Don’t judge, we had soup, not sauce! We dumped in the can-o-paste and just like that ta-da we had sauce. The tomato paste made the sauce a little bitter, so we then added a couple tablespoons sugar. But then it was done. Baby’s got sauce!

This weekend we also hiked a big mountain of trash! The new North Wake Landfill Park opened on Saturday, and it is the highest elevation in Wake County. The landfill was decommissioned in 2008, but the recycling center is still in operation. The entrance to the park is not very well marked, so once you pull into the landfill entrance; just keep driving on past the recycling center.  It really is quite beautiful. They have hiking and mountain biking trails, a beautiful overlook trail, and a very nice playground. It is a wonderful re-use of space!

When the weather warms up, we usually make a lot of homemade ice cream. But, this year we’ve been a little busy, so we haven’t had the chance to make it yet. Not to mention that it has been so incredibly hot, that even ice cream doesn’t always seem refreshing. I stumbled upon an easy recipe on TasteSpotting for Cantaloupe Sorbet, and it sounded too easy and too refreshing not to try. I really enjoyed this, and I may or may not have had this very bowl for breakfast!

Below is my adapted version of Cantaloupe Sorbet.

2 Ripe Cantaloupes
1 Cup of Sugar (I used 1 ¼ Cups of Sugar, but this was just too sweet!)

Cut the melons in half and scoop out all of the seeds. Then cut the melon off of the rind being careful not to cut too close to the rind. Add all of the pieces, 1 melon at a time, to the food processor and process until smooth. Repeat until all of your melon is processed. Add 1 cup processed cantaloupe and 1 cup sugar into a sauce pot over medium heat and stir until sugar is completely dissolved. Add sweetened mixture to remaining cantaloupe and stir well. Pour mixture into ice cream maker and proceed according to your ice cream maker’s instructions.  Yields approximately 6 cups of sorbet. But, quantity can vary according to the size of the melons. I would caution you to add the sugar mixture to taste, and how much you need may depend on how ripe your melons are. I served mine with a sprig of basil, which balanced the sweetness nicely.

Summer!

Hope all of you enjoyed the long weekend, and had a very Happy 4^th of July. Thanks to everyone that came out the Midtown Farmers Market. We had all kinds of tasty Independence Day goodies. The Red, White, and Blue Berry Bread was a big hit and went really fast, we also had Fireworks Sugar Cookies with PopRocks sprinkles, so they popped and crackled just like fireworks! We really enjoyed the opportunity to be together at the same market, and it was great getting to see all the people that I haven’t seen since May. But, don’t worry; we’ll be back at both markets this weekend!

After the market, Matt and I headed up to Lake Gaston with our friends the Smith’s. It was a great weekend! The weather was perfect, the water just right, and I can’t imagine a more perfect way to celebrate our nation’s Independence than to be surrounded by family and friends watching the fireworks over the water. It’s moments like this that I realize just how blessed we are!

This weekend, we also celebrated a certain Yellow Dog’s 5^th birthday! It’s hard to believe that we’ve had Ellie 5 years. Minus the whole fireworks thing, she was one happy girl. Free to do and swim as she pleases a rare treat for a city dog! We got Ellie when she was just 6 weeks old, only a few months before Matt and I got married, which means another five year milestone is coming up fast! Wow!  

This week we have also been hard at work revising the business plan. It is something we are very proud of, but boy it really is no fun to work on! I felt like I was drowning in Excel spreadsheets and formulas. But, keep your fingers crossed and say a little prayer for us that the financing we need comes together. Starting a business is a humbling experience, and a lesson in patience and faith!

Whew… can you believe how hot it has been? My poor little garden is a sad little sight. But, that might have more to do with my lack of gardening know how, than the heat. I’ve got zucchini flowers out the wazoo, but no zucchini’s. What’s up? And, let’s not even talk about the plants on the front porch. They look like they have been deep fried.

Speaking of deep fried… Matt got a NC State Fair update on his phone the other day, 100 days till the Fair. Woo Hoo! This year we will be competing in the Professional Artisan Bread category. Very exciting!

Red, White, and Blue Berry Bread!

Hey everyone! Hope you are having a great summer! I'm sorry for my lack of posts lately. It's been a wee bit busy!

I wanted to let you know that we have several new goodies for the 4th of July weekend! Our Red, White, and Blue Berry was big hit last weekend, and we will have it again this weekend. It is a classic French boule studded with sweet and tangy dried cranberries and blueberries. It really is pretty darn tasty. Matt and I fought over the last few slices last night. I let him win, but not before I took a few bites!

Red, White, & Blue Berry

Blueberry season is in full swing, which means Blueberry Scones are back!!! Woo Hoo! These scones are made with fresh picked blueberries from Smith's Nursery, Inc. In celebration of Independence Day, we will also have Fireworks Sugar Cookies, a classic sugar cookie dressed up all festive with sprinkles!

Here is the full lineup for this weekend:

French Batard - $2.75
Jalapeno Cheddar - $4.25
Red, White, and Blue Berry - $4.50
Sourdough - $3.50
Honey Wheat Loaf - $3.50
Rustic Multigrain Batard - $3.75
Rustic Multigrain Loaf - $3.75
Fig & Walnut Wheat - $4.25
Cinnamon Raisin Swirl - $4.50
Blueberry Scone - $2.00
Cinnamon Raisin Wheat Scone - $2.00
Maple Bacon Scone - $2.00
Cinnamon Roll - $2.00
Pecan Sticky Bun - $2.25
Fireworks Sugar Cookie - $1.00 or $5.00/Half Dozen

As always, if there is something you would like us to reserve for you, just shoot Matt an e-mail at matthew@yellowdogbread.com! It'll be safely tucked away till you get there. That way, you can sleep in and still get tasty goodies!

We also wanted to let everyone know that we will only be at the Midtown Farmers Market (@ North Hills) this weekend. We'll both be there all decked out in Red, White, and Blue! Well, maybe not us personally, but our tent will be!

Also happening this weekend is the IndieNC First Friday Market. It is Friday from 6-10 in downtown Raleigh at 131 South Wilmington Street. If you are not able to make it Friday night, we will have a few shirts for sale from Raleigh designer, Michelle Smith at the Midtown Farmers Market!

If we don't see you Saturday, have a very happy and safe 4th of July!