pat, roll, crimp: picture book bakers

March 24, 2010October 8, 2017 ~ jama ~ 1 Comment

I’ve been patting a few cakes all month long, and having a jolly good time visiting and reading about some of the people who create breads, cookies, cupcakes, pies, and many other favorite treats. More, more, more, I say! Bring on the flour and the dough and the rolling pins. Bring on the batter bowls, pastry tubes, sprinkles and pink icing!

The oven may be hot, but there’s nothing like the warmth emanating from the heart of a baker. In kids’ books, traditionally bakers are portrayed as rotund, benevolent souls. This is true for most of the picture books featured in this post, but I was happy to discover they are also characterized by other admirable qualities: a heroic baker who’s an ingenious nonconformist, one who pours her love into a special bread and sets off a chain of contentment, another who displays kindness and compassion to a stray animal, one who learns to see things from a different point of view, and yet another who learns the lesson of generosity and “invents” the baker’s dozen.

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hello, mr. cupcake!

March 22, 2010December 28, 2017 ~ jama

Bakeshop owner Justin Stegall.

Are bakers getting younger and cuter, or is it just my imagination?

Perhaps in my self-induced sugar haze, the old stereotype of benevolent, rotund, apply-cheeked bakers is disappearing in favor of lean, mean baking machines. To which I say, “Hallelujah, and thank you, Jesus!”

First there was White House chef Sam Kass, and now, Justin Stegall. We popped into his brand new Bakeshop in Arlington over the weekend — a cheery, light-filled, spiffy little bakery that greets you with the most heavenly aroma the instant you walk in.

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we have three winners!

March 19, 2010 ~ jama

Yes, yes, I know we were supposed to be giving away only two copies.

But then it started raining again, and another copy magically appeared!

Everybear was excited to participate in the drawing. Is there a hat in the house?

Why yes, the perfect hat, just like one Isabel’s Grandma might wear:

Cornelius gathered a pile of cupcake wrappers,

then diligently wrote everybody’s name on them in his neatest handwriting (not easy when you have paws):

Then we tossed all the names into the hat.

Now, who would draw the names? (There is always fighting about this.)

Cornelius came up with the perfect solution. Only bears wearing hats could pick a name.

So Betty Sue came from the den,

and Eloise from the foyer,

and finally, Isabelle graced us with her presence, traveling all the way from the Great Room:

Please applaud if you like their hats!

And the winners are:

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sweet talk with cakespy jessie oleson

March 18, 2010November 15, 2017 ~ jama ~ 4 Comments

She’s here! She’s here! Let the sweetness begin!

When I decided to devote the month of March to Cupcakes and Bake Shop Treats, I immediately thought of Jessie Oleson, a.k.a., CakeSpy. After all, her sweet and scrumptious blog is where I get my daily sugar fix. There, I feast on delicious interviews with bakers and pastry chefs, read about fun baking experiments, learn about bakeries all over the country, and of course, drool over the neverending stream of recipes, stunning photographs, and whimsical Cuppie art.

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wherein i offer proof positive that i am indeed irish

March 17, 2010 ~ jama

Top o’ the mornin’ to ya!

It has come to my attention that there are some of you out there who doubt my Irishness.

Last year I offered a green alphabet, corned beef and cabbage, and St. Paddy’s Day cupcakes. My Irish eyes were smiling, and I danced a little jig. Still, that was not enough for the doubting Thomases, Erins, and O’Malleys of the world.

May I remind you I love potatoes, "Ballykissangel," and Bono? Have decorated my house entirely in shades of green, spent countless hours reading Joyce and Yeats, and remain fiercely loyal to the Holy Trinity of Clooney, Dempsey, and Depp? There is also my love for Lauren Graham and the unmistakable lilt of plucky Irish names: O’Connell, O’Donnell, O’Brien, O’Hara. O’Connor, O’Neal, O’Keefe, Rourke and Flynn. McCafferty, McConaughey, McDermott, McDonough. And Kelly and Reilly, Dillon, Farley, and Quinn.

Plus, I’m married to a leprechaun. ☺

Here’s a bit o’ the blarney:

♥ Mick and Paddy were walking home after a night on the beer when a severed head rolled along the ground. Mick picked it up to his face and said to Paddy, "Jez. That look like Sean," to which Paddy replied, "No, Sean was taller than that."

♥ Joey-Jim was tooling along the road one day when the local policeman, a friend of his, pulled him over. "What’s wrong, Seamus?" Joey-Jim asked. "Well, didn’t ya know, Joey-Jim, that your wife fell out of the car about five miles back?" said Seamus. "Ah, praise the Almighty!" he replied with relief. "I thought I’d gone deaf!"

♥ Pat and Jimmy-Joe met and one said to the other, "Have ye seen Mulligan lately, Pat?" Pat said, "Well, I have and I haven’t." His friend asked, "Shure, and what d’ye mean by that?" Pat said, "It’s like this, y’see . . . I saw a chap who I thought was Mulligan, and he saw a chap that he thought was me. And when we got up to one another . . . it was neither of us."

There now. Have a green velvet cupcake:

photo by clevercupcakes.