heartfelt thanks

thanks to all my supporters and customers as this month i have posted my best sales yet. your ongoing support means more to me than i could possibly express. each order brings me closer to a space of my own. here's to keeping that trend going. buttery sugary coated hugs to all.

that one in the group

i don't even know how to really express my experience at the foodways texas symposium this past weekend in austin.  kelly and laura have both done so perfectly. please stop and read their accounts of the event.  now that you've done that, be warned, this is sort of a long blog post. oh well. get comfy, grab a cup of coffee.

far out of my comfort zone, i traveled alone to austin knowing not any of the attendees other than by twitter and what i'd read on their blogs and websites. it was a leap of faith, an instinct that this group would be just what i needed to be around. turns out, my instinct was right.

i arrived in austin and found google sent me to the wrong address. what i thought was my hotel was most certainly not going to work out. ever. i was greeted in the driveway by a pimp and his, um, employees. a drug runner or two went past on the nearby sidewalk. "what the hell did i get myself into," i am thinking. it is dark outside, i am in an unfamiliar location and well, people do what they do, but that is not anything i want to be near. car turned around, i find the freeway while cursing google and myself. later i found the correct, clean, safe hotel and drank an ice cold saint arnold beer to calm my nerves. i was "that one in the group," the one with the minor adventure slash slightly unnerving story to share about her travels to the symposium.

friday morning i made my way over to the blanton museum and bumped into kelly on the stairs. she is the one who led me to foodways after the recap of her experience last year. we began talking on twitter when she was trying to figure out how to bring a traveling pie to the first symposium. ever curious, i responded, "what's a traveling pie?" the rest is history. she is a wonderful, smart, thoughtful person and i am honored to call her my friend. 

i settled in the auditorium and listened to mm pack talk about sugar history in texas and then zachary moser and eric leshinsky of the shrimp boat projects discuss the industry along with priscilla weeks, an environmental anthropologist. two hours in and my mind was already spinning with the newfound knowledge. a lifelong gulf coast resident, i don't know any other way to buy shrimp than to drive to kemah, find my favorite shrimp shack and load up the coolers with about 20 lbs. i can't comprehend why anyone would ever buy shrimp, imported shrimp at that, at a grocery store or elsewhere. clearly, i've been spoiled with the freshness and easy availability my entire life. happily so.

suddenly it was time for lunch and we boarded a few buses and went over to fiesta gardens. seated outside under the warm texas sun was nice - for about 5 minutes. we were all getting sunburned! in one of those you had to be there kind of things, a nearby table decided enough was enough and they picked up the table and moved it to a shady spot in the grass. the rest of us attendees quickly followed suit.

justin yu, of the brand new oxheart restaurant sent out the most beautiful plates with bycatch provided by the delightful jim gossen of louisiana foods. being "that one in the group" i was unable to eat and politely declined, with exception of the dessert. i'm a 20+ year vegetarian. i am also a sugar junkie. i would like to say that i have great respect for justin. his restaurant opened the week prior and he held his commitment to foodways and came to austin from houston. not many chefs would do the same.

sunburned, bellies full and ready for more, we boarded the buses and returned to listen to bobby heugel of houston's anvil bar and refuge give a talk about the culture and history of drinking in the south. he provided us with best quote of the symposium so far, "god is out there somewhere, and he really likes scotch, or we wouldn't have it." miked up not wanting to stand behind a podium, he wandered around and spoke with humor and obvious passion about his industry. he's a very busy man with multiple businesses and organizations, and if i had to guess, never ever sleeps.

next we watched stephanie mcclenny of confituras "make" jams as she shared the discussion on preserving and canning with mm pack. i am now craving mayhaw jelly. it is amazing, drive-across-texas-to-find-it-or-else stuff.

niko tonks of live oak brewing then sat down with brock wagner of saint arnold to discuss the state of craft beer in texas and its future. the beer nerd in me was super excited. saint arnold was the first craft beer i ever tried back in the late 90s. i am proud that they call houston home and love seeing how far they have come. as brock put it, we (craft brewers) look like type b people but really we are all type a. i also liked that he said there is room for all the craft breweries out there, once again showing that businesses can support one another and also flourish at the same time. that is one of my core philosophies. team saint arnold!

although, at dinner that evening, i tried the live oak schwarzbier (which niko had a hand in producing). i am now a fan. it's a really good beer. team live oak! all together now, team craft beer!

dinner was back at fiesta gardens again with bbq from jmueller bbq and sides by hoover's cooking. i brought along my batch of peanut beer brittle and passed some around. evidently it turned out pretty darn good as people were tracking me down for samples. yay! yep, i'm the one who shows up at events with sugary treats hidden in her purse. is that a good thing? not sure, but people remember me.

a small artisan market was set before dinner where i met robb walsh and had him sign his latest book for me. i've read his columns and writing for some time so it was wonderful to meet him in person. obviously, being "that one in the group" i skipped the brisket, had a few sides and made a beeline for the goode co pecan pie. if i am going to eat a commercially prepared pie, it's my first choice. they make a really good (no pun intended) pecan pie.

saturday morning i was back at the blanton, cup of coffee in hand. first up was a panel discussion on the drought effects in texas. a very depressing but very real, very necessary dialogue with jim gossen, neal newsom of newsom vinyards, jeff savell of TAMU and raymond slade, a certified professional hydrologist in austin. i won't get up on my soapbox but please reconsider before installing water features and things like golf courses. they're not needed. as neal stated, think of how many farmers you'll be taking out.

rockstar. badass. that's the only way to describe the photographer penny de los santos. what she is able to do with a lens, how she is able to show us the world's emotions, colors, textures, flavors she sees, i will never completely understand or replicate. she graciously shared with us her stories and images of foods and communities taken for publications such as national geographic and saveur.  again, someone who has a true passion for her craft and it radiates out of her constantly. we were also treated to a few sneak peeks of the upcoming cookbook imagery from houston's own chef hugo ortega.

associate professor at TCU rebecca sharpless talked of how country foods began coming to town. she let out a few priceless quotes, "y'all think you are locavores? you've got nothing on the women of the 1910s." "next time you go to a farmers market, don't think you just invented this. your grandmother did this too." truer words have never been spoken. 

we again boarded buses and headed over to springdale farms for lunch. after being thwarted by a group of bicycle riders we finally arrived.  it was another one of those you had to be there kind of things, but quite amusing trip on the bus to lunch for all of us. 

i'm visiting with others at lunch and i look down to see two red boots. i freaked out but apparently covered it very well. it was lisa fain, the homesick texan, sitting right next to me. her cookbook is now on it's 5th printing. the journalism nerd in me had struck gold now twice on this weekend. two authors!

"mom?!?! you ate flowers!" that's how my daughter responded when i sent over the photo of my lunch plate. "that one in the group" also skipped the main plate of goat that chef mat mccallister of dallas' campo modern country bistro prepared.  this sugar addict happily devoured the caramel popcorn ice cream for dessert. the sun was tormenting us once again outside as were the random ants at our feet, but being good attendees we ignored the elements and ants and enjoyed ourselves anyway. it was hard not to, the gardens were beautiful.

elizabeth engelhardt, an associate professor at UT brought along her students to share a few of the oral histories they'd secured so far. this group is doing an excellent job of finding iconic texas restaurants, tracking down not only owners but dishwashers, cooks, other employees and saving their perspectives on film. i look forward to seeing and reading more plus making a road trip or 2 as well.

normally, i would tune out or skip the next session but for some reason, i stuck around. a panel discussion on heritage breeds and sustainable farming practices began with revival meat's morgan weber, taylor boetticher of fatted calf and craig haney of stone barns center. morgan shared many stories of his mangalista and red wattle heritage breed pigs, they way he believes animals should be raised, and some of the horrors he personally saw on the killing floor at the nearby slaughterhouse. "we knew there was something better." he, craig and taylor were able to talk about these things with compassion and humor, as well as lightly veiled disgust with how the current industry treats commodity animals. as morgan stated, "if people gave a damn about how (commodity) food tasted, we would not be in this situation now."

i have honest respect and support for what these men are doing and in their clear commitment to being sustainable. for me, the no meat thing, i've never cared for it, even as a child, so i quit in my teens. i'll cook it for others. no big deal. conflicted? probably. oh well, moving on.

the evening meal was over at boggy creek farm, a site in austin with one of the oldest homes, dating back to 1840. i found myself next to robb, with both kelly and lisa across from me and my houston friends laura, jessica and her father andy. enthusiasm, energy, happiness and laughter, flowed from everyone throughout the dinner.
i cannot gush enough about the awesomeness of the entire family style meal. chef sonya cote is amazing. 2-200 lb red wattle pigs were roasted and served with head cheese, green salad, 3 pea salad, beet soup, oyster cornbread and the perfect dessert of strawberries and honey whipped cream.  family style for me was great because "that one in the group" could easily decline what i did not want, still have a full plate and belly.

the following morning we were all tired but perked up at hoover's soular garden upon seeing a chuckwagon and hearing tom perini tell us chuckwagon stories. he's a true texas treasure. a light meal of breakfast tacos and beans was served, goodbyes were said, and many new friends made.

please consider joining foodways texas. if you are unable to contribute financially, share with them your stories, histories, food memories. a big thanks to marvin, elizabeth, lisa, brooke and many others whom i have neglected to mention for making such a well thought out event for all of us. i now feel that i am no longer "that one in the group" but rather, a true member of "that (foodways) group."

chunky monkey coffee cake

the start of something truly yummy!

i had a few bananas that were more spotted than not on the counter and scoured the web searching for something new to do with them. eventually i stumbled upon a recipe and then as usual, i modified it to suit my needs instead of following directions. this is adapted from bon appetit and i've decided it will be called chunky monkey coffee cake.

 

2 hours and i couldn't wait any longer. mmm.

streusel:
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 tsp ground cinnamon

combine in a small bowl and set aside

batter:
1-1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
5 TBSP melted butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 large very ripe bananas, mashed
3 TBSP milk

preheat oven to 350˚, lightly coat either an 11x7 or 8x8 baking pan with baking spray and set aside.

combine dry ingredients (flour-sugar) in a large bowl. stir in wet ingredients all at once (melted butter-milk) taking care not to overmix. spread half of the batter into the prepared baking pan and top with half of the streusel. drop spoonfulls of the remaining batter over the streusel and spread lightly to cover. top with remaining streusel. bake for 40-45 minutes or until done.

by all means, try recipe modifications. change it up to suit your tastes:

• mash 2 bananas and chop up the 3rd banana into slices, then quarter slices. fold gently into the batter.
• since the ripe bananas are already sweet, reduce the sugar from 3/4 cup to 2/3
• use light brown sugar or raw sugar crystals in place of the dark brown sugar
• try pecans or almonds instead of walnuts
• use up to 1/2 cup whole wheat flour or either 1/4 cup wheat bran, wheat germ or ground flaxmeal to boost nutrients (the total combined grains still equals 1-1/2/ cups)
• chocolate chips can be subbed with heath chocolate covered bits o brickle, or a combo of semi-sweet chocolate and peanut butter chips using as little as 3/4 cup (6 oz)

let cool for 2 hours or more before slicing. when cut at 2 hours the chocolate chips are still melty and the cake slightly warm, perfect with a strong cup of coffee or cold glass of milk. it'd also be good as a snack with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  yield is 8-9 servings depending on the pan used.

other random hints:

• don't toss out bananas when they are getting spotty! store them peeled in an airtight bag or in their skins in the freezer. thaw in the refrigerator overnight before use in baked goods. the bananas retain their shape and also produce juice when thawed. use the juice by reducing the liquid by half on the stove and add to baked goods for an extra pop of flavor. frozen bananas are also great to use in place of ice for smoothies.
• store flaked coconut in an airtight bag in the freezer. do the same for nuts to retain freshness. i use both straight from the freezer in baking as they thaw quickly.
  

more more more busy busy busy

this year i am making an effort to participate in more events, volunteer more, do more. keyword here folks, is more. each month i am choosing something new. 

a rundown of where i've been and am planning to be these first few months of the year:

in january i participated bake sale portion of the valentines for soldiers event at the saint arnold brewery and had a blast. over 350 people attended and the bake sale alone raised over $2000. the remaining money raised went to cover postage costs of the 75+ boxes shipped and to the wounded warrior project. it was so much fun i can't wait to watch it grow bigger and better each year.

my donations to the valentines for soldiers event included a heart themed strawberry rhubarb pie, an crumb topped double apple pie and the craft decorated floral tootsie pops.

so far this february i have attended a fundraiser for open the taps at the southern star brewery in conroe where i brought snickerdoodles and my salted caramels made with red hook esb.  i also went to a preview at a new brewpub opening in houston this fall, city acre brewing. here's a link from the houston press with a slideshow of the tasting party.

march sends me northward to austin for the foodways texas symposium for the first time. it is a super cool event that i missed out on last year when it was in galveston. if you didn't catch my friend kelly's epic blog entry, go read. this blog entry alone is the reason why i am going.

april is showing me most busy as i volunteered as a bake sale coordinator-donations wrangler for noah's kitchen. they are having their 3rd annual chili cookoff. if you are in the houston area and would like to donate a baked item, please contact me for specifics. i am also assisting noah's kitchen with seeking out raffle items, silent auction donations, event sponsorships. anyone who donates will be given proper credit through social media when appropriate, plus links and recognition on the noah's kitchen chili cookoff website.

a few weeks later in april, i will be at the texas beer festival with a batch of sugary treats. you might not think of desserts and beer, but you will get hungry walking around discovery green and need something to eat. something sugary. something that might also be made with beer. i have a few ideas and tricks up my sleeve with treats that i plan to unleash upon festival attendees. mwahahahahaaaaaa.

i think in may i will take a long nap. oh wait, there's the brew-b-que festival in conroe, moving here from buda this year. sheesh. busy busy busy. more more more.

brownie points, blog changes and miscellany

after a suggestion on facebook, i have decided to start a customer reward-loyalty type of program called 'brownie points.' once i figure out the details i'll post the information here and keep it super simple and easy.

i'm also working on rearranging and updating the pages so that i can have a page with links for businesses, organizations, blogs i read and things i support as well as where baking donations have gone. the list will always be a work in progress, so if someone is left off it is completely because i ran out of time while updating.

let's see ... oh, so online ordering? things that can ship? yep, let's do this. cookies, brownies, candies can all survive the postal service. pies, no way no how. that's a pietastrophie in the making and we can't have that. unless you are looking for a 'smash' cake, i won't ship those either. i realize other companies have figured out how to ship pies and cakes but baby steps people, baby steps. 

until i have a shopping cart set up on here, contact me by email to arrange orders (leanna at thelittlebakeronline.com  ha! take that email spammers). because i don't bake anything until it is ordered and use the freshest ingredients, my general rule of thumb is i prefer to ship on mondays through wednesdays. this way the goods arrive by priority mail on friday at the latest and you can enjoy them while still fresh and not after being trapped in a post office or workplace mail box over the weekend.

lastly, aside from the blog, flikr, facebook and twitter, i'm now on pinterest, have klout and have a basic about me page. i might as well have a microchip tracking device implanted.

salted beer caramels

i recently attended an event at southern star brewery for open the taps and made my first batch of salted beer caramels to bring along and share.  they turned out really well and i actually followed a recipe for a change.  the recipe suggested using an ESB, so i went with red hook. a few dozen snickerdoodles also made it to the event, but, those are cookies, and cookies are easy.  cooking with beer, specifically baking with beer, is somewhat new to me. i am looking forward to experimenting more by using locally made beers such as southern star, saint arnold, no label, karbach and the other new breweries opening around the city this next year.  it is an amazing time for craft beer lovers in houston! my hope is to have a few selections available for the upcoming texas beer fest in april and also have these candies available for online purchase.

one isn't enough, these are best eaten by the handful.

also, i can't express this enough, but please join or find a way to support open the taps. the beer laws as they currently are in the state of texas are, well, to be polite, outdated.

valentine's day sugar cookies

thought i'd share a few photos of the valentine's day sugar cookies i am sending out to the midwest. fingers crossed usps doesn't use the box for soccer practice and kick it all the way.

you know, this would work for a wedding favor too.  pearls and sparkly chunky sugar, all fancy pants-ish.

thank goodness for sprinkles :)

classic red heart, can't go wrong with that.

polka dots with candy pieces, next time trying with icing.

lots of sprinkles for the win.