Taking over the world, one torte at a time
Monday March 15th 2010, 11:04 pm
Filed under: Food,Friends,Knit,Wildlife

A trip to Whole Foods for the Earth Balance pseudo-butter for Michelle’s baking, and a quick glance over the fresh breads.  She was reading ingredient labels and I went Oh! as I picked up a loaf in its paper bag and it was still warm from the oven–but: “sourdough starter” is not allergen specific enough. Some have milk in them.

So I went over to the baker standing nearby and asked.

And boy did we hit the jackpot. We found ourselves talking to a delightful man around her age who not only knew the products, he was clearly someone who loved what he did and did it well. Cakewrecks would only be able to use his offerings for their Sunday Sweets best-of-the-best pages.  And:  he was someone who was likewise allergic to milk. He showed us his favorite breads and told us which desserts in the display case were safe for her; they were all of the ‘how do you eat this when this is so gorgeous’ variety.

He went and proudly got us samples of his vegan brownies.  In return, I gave him this site addy and told him about how successful we had been at substituting coconut cream for the manufacturing cream in my tortes.

He said something about coconut milk, and I corrected, no, coconut cream. There was a moment of confusion on his part, and I said something…to which Michelle, later, as we got in the car, went, “Mom. I bought the coconut cream at Milk Pail, not here; they don’t carry it here. You kind of put him on the spot.”

I did? You did?

I bet his store will carry it now! (You know, maybe I could parlay this into an excuse for making another pair of tortes, and I wouldn’t even have to make a half-gallon of manufacturing cream’s worth.  Right?)

Oh, and, the ganache on the torte? The man knits. Crochets, mostly, but, the whole yarn thing. He’s into it.

Yeah, I kinda am too.

A quick p.s.  Round thirty-leven in Squirrel Wars: the tin foil wrinkled when I went to refill the feeder and  Michelle says don’t try to make a living at making funky hats.  But I definitely won this round.  Briefly contemplated buying a kiddie wading pool for the squirrels to high-dive into, complete with a safe way for them to climb back out. Squirrelympics!


13 Comments so far
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I love coconut creme in baking. I also use an unsweetened apple sauce and puree made from canned apricots as a substitute for sour creme.
I will be going off dairy again in a couple of weeks. Can not have any when I nurse. I am not allergic to milk, but my kids are.

Comment by Henya 03.16.10 @ 12:15 am

The man definitely sounds interesting. Wonderful to meet someone like that quite by accident.

Love the squirrel antics.

Comment by Joansie 03.16.10 @ 6:29 am

What a find! What a neat man!

Isn’t there a sit-com or Saturday Night Live sketch or something about wearing tin foil hats so the aliens can’t read your mind?

Comment by Channon 03.16.10 @ 6:59 am

Ah. While squirrels are excellent high-divers (they frequently do the 30 foot drop off the oak tree into my swimming pool), they definitely do need a way to get out. I learned this the first time I opened the pool and failed to put the ladder in the first day. (I don’t do that anymore- ladder goes in first thing.)

Comment by RobinH 03.16.10 @ 7:02 am

I found out that sourdough creates citric acid as part of the process. Good to know, but a bit sad-making. I can have it as long as I am willing to pay the possible consequences.

Comment by Diana Troldahl 03.16.10 @ 7:29 am

awesome! it’s so wonderful to find kindred spirits!

love the tin foil hat — and you’ve just reminded me that I need to be on the watch for the kiddie wading pools in the local stores — the lab that lives here needs a new one for her summer “swimming”

Comment by Bev 03.16.10 @ 8:16 am

Squirrelympics — I love it!

Humor –

Caller:  “I deleted a file from my PC last week and I just realized that I need it. So, if I turn my system clock back two weeks will I get my file back again?”

Comment by Don Meyer 03.16.10 @ 9:28 am

Acme Bread? Just the thought of it makes my mouth water. The thought of having access to both Milk Pail and Whole Foods makes me green with envy. I’m quite a sight.

Comment by RobinM 03.16.10 @ 10:34 am

What a fabulous find! I love warm bread fresh from the oven. When I lived in France my friends and I all had a standing rule; if one ever went to the supermarket and got lucky enough to get a baguette fresh out of the oven, she was required to RACE back to school to share it with everyone while it was still warm. 🙂

Comment by Jocelyn 03.16.10 @ 10:56 am

Round thirty’leven? Must be squirrels. Forty’leven is for the geese!

Comment by Ruth 03.16.10 @ 2:41 pm

What a great idea — I am going to hunt for coconut cream. Bless that man’s heart for giving you guys the tour of the baked goods with such enthusiasm and knowledge.

Comment by karin maag-tanchak 03.16.10 @ 6:54 pm

It is wonderful that some people still have a passion for their job, isn’t it?

Thank you for sharing the progress of your shawl! It looks very summery to me, like a sunset that warns you of a very hot day upcoming. Or a dark red grapefruit, full of vitamins and goodness. 🙂

Comment by Suzanne in Montreal 03.17.10 @ 5:54 am

Was out mapling this weekend and your mention of coconut cream reminded me.. has your daughter who can’t eat dairy discovered maple cream? (http://www.northhadleysugarshack.com/store/homemade.htm) All maple, no dairy at all despite the name. And utterly delicious.

Comment by RobinH 03.17.10 @ 12:43 pm



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