On my way to NYC I picked up some reading material for the flight, Michael Pollan’s Food Rules. The book is “An eaters manual” and basically gives you quick and easy guidelines for eating properly. Just what you want to read as you are about to embark on a 5 day food eating adventure right? But its not all this bullshit about losing weight quick or reducing your carbs or adding in over priced supplements to your diet, its simply about making better choices. As I began reading, I was very pleased as one thing became clearer and clearer, my cupcakes fit right into the Food Rules. I would even go so far as to say, eat more Crushcakes, they’re good for you!
Skeptical? Think I’m just trying to do a sell job on you? Well I will prove my point right here and now. The book is broken into 3 separate sections, 1) eat food, 2) not too much, 3) mostly plants. Within each section follows the “rules”. Here is where Crushcakes fit in (and everything else that is made in our kitchen for that matter):
1. Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food (some of these babies are great-grandmothers recipes!)
2. Avoid food products containing ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in the pantry (I’m pretty sure that you all have flour, sugar, butter, eggs, salt, and baking soda in your pantry’s right?)
3. Avoid food products that contain high-fructose corn syrup (no need to say anything further here, you know how I feel about this government subsidized, lets-put-it-in-all-of-our-food-and-turn-Americans-obese-just-to-keep-the-corn-industry-going crap)
4. Avoid food products containing anything a third-grader cannot pronounce (our Callebaut chocolate from Belgium may be hard to say at first but they’ll get it)
5. Eat only foods that will eventually rot (no preservatives in these yummy delights, so enjoy them sooner then later)
6. If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t (Have you ever had any of our homemade soups? Made from fresh local produce that arrives here every morning, eat up!)
7. The whiter the bread, the sooner you’ll be dead (Crushcakes are made with a harvest flour that begins with wheat and ends with grains, no bleached white flour here)
8. Spend as much time enjoying the meal as it took to prepare it (since we spend hours each morning preparing these delicious foods for you, it is my favorite part of the day to watch my customers sitting together at a table, cupcakes on a plate in the center, everyone digging in, smiles on their faces, frosting on their lips, crumbs littering the floor around them and enjoying every moment)
Need I say more??? Hoping to see you soon!
peace.love.food.
SN
For years I used to listen to the Harry Potter books on tape in my car. At first I did it for my kids but then found I was listening to it as I was driving alone more and more often. There was something I found soothing in the readers cool British accent, his ability to make the characters come alive and his passion for the story that drew me in each day. At this point I could safely say that I have heard every Harry Potter book at least a dozen times if not more. Could have been a result of a time in my life when I needed a place to escape to every day. Nice to know that I no longer have anything in my life I want to escape from…
About a month or so ago I was watching the last Harry Potter movie with my kids and was reminded of a concept that had once been significant to me and had slipped away over time. Its an idea that I am trying to keep fresh in my mind for 2010. Because when I am mindful of it, well that is when I am at my best. At my best as a person, as a business owner, as a mother, as a friend and as a partner. It is the idea behind the lucky potion. Felix Felicis. Liquid Luck.
Although this potion enables the drinker to succeed at anything they attempt, it is my thought that the potion is not really necessary to experience such achievements as long as the concept is followed. There is a scene in which Harry’s friend Ron has been tricked into believing that he has taken the lucky potion. As a result, he is able to single handedly assist in the win of the big quidditch match. But all it really took was the confidence that he could do it, thus enabling him to carry through. This is an attitude I have always subscribed to. But here is where it gets deeper. Later Harry takes the potion and has his successful day. But again, I think he could have been successful without the potion had he simply listened to his instincts. Everything he did correctly was not really a result of luck but simply following what he felt to be true. He did not try to over analyze every situation. He didn’t try to argue with himself or with anyone else about what was right versus wrong. He didn’t try to control every situation or any other person. He didn’t stop and over think everything, he only did what felt right. This is the very attitude I want to keep. Because when I take my lucky potion (which may very well be Diet Coke), not only does success follow, but so does happiness.
peace.love.food.
SN
2010 came out of the gate with a bang. More amazing things have already happened so far then all 2009 ever offered to me. Upon the final days of the year, one of our most fabulous regular customers (who at this point knows far more about me then any customer should simply because of the amount of time she spends in my store having to tolerate my big mouth) shared something very special with me. She gripped my hand, held it tight and asked me to come close. She told me that she knew it was my time to find love. She said that she had been praying for me to St. Christopher. Why St. Christopher, I thought, isn’t he the surf side guardian??? Well, lets just say that the Saint has delivered above and beyond anything I could have ever anticipated. And I am still reeling. Oh Lord, I have become a believer…
And to follow, I surprised my twins by whisking them off to NYC for a little culinary tour. These 14 year old boys are incredibly fun to travel with, appreciate fine food, and can keep me in stitches for days. So we decided to make a list of the places we wanted to visit, none of which included tourist spots and all of which included good eats. Top on the list was Magnolia’s Bakery. The birthplace of the gourmet cupcake, I was flying across the country just to be able to say I had finally consumed my own Magnolia’s cupcake. The first attempt was thwarted by a paper covered window and a “closed” sign taped onto the door. They were going to be closed for the next two weeks for remodeling. Since I had already warned my kids that this was an adult trip and 4-letter words may escape my mouth from time to time, they were rightly prepared for the gems that came flying upon seeing that closed sign. Upon closer inspection, we discovered that there was another location across town we could visit. Not the original store but a Magnolia’s nonetheless. By the time we finally made it there 2 days later, we had already visited 3 other cupcakeries and a donut shop that beat out every other cupcake I ate in pure blissful deliciousness.
Magnolia’s was completely packed on this cold January day. Customers squeezed in chairs at every corner, long lines forming to order sweets and more lines to pay for them. Lines in wait for open tables and lines for use of rest rooms. Somehow we managed to find space at a big table in the back room, sharing with another group who were all digging into their bakery box, we quickly followed suit.
Now anyone who knows me also knows that I have a very specific way in which I must consume my cupcakes. Its ”The Shannon Way” and to me, there is no other way to properly enjoy a cupcake. So I will share it with you now so that you too can get the proper cupcake experience. First you need a delicious cupcake, preferably a Crushcake’s cupcake. You must also have a knife, fork and napkin. Place the cupcake on the table. Slice it perfectly in half with your knife. Slice it again so that you have 4 equal parts. Pick up one piece, take in the sweet smell of the cake and frosting. Put it to your lips gently, making sure that you have some of the inside of the cake, outside of the cake and frosting all in your first bite. Dig in. Savor the moment. Not too fast now. Enjoy.
Our Magnolia’s box included the following selection of cupcakes: vanilla, chocolate, German chocolate with pecan caramel frosting, mocha, red velvet, and banana. All of which were sadly disappointing except for the vanilla. I will give them props, that vanilla cupcake rivaled my own. After putting down 6 cupcakes, the vanilla was so yummy we actually considered battling the lines for another. While sitting there and taking it all in, I was fortunate enough to strike up a conversation with one of the managers and I got a little inside info. The Magnolia’s we were at was a franchised store (may account for the diminishing quality). Also, several other cupcakeries in NYC including Billy’s and Sugar Sweet Sunshine were started by previous employees of Magnolia’s (may account for the similar look and flavor in all of the above cupcakes).
Well it was a successful trip, we ate, we drank and we were very merry. Now comes the exciting part, making it all worth while by bringing the best of what we learned in NYC here to SB. Maybe I’ll share a little with my Saint…
peace.love.food.
SN