Gluten Free ... Doesn't Have To Be SCARY!

Gluten Free. Does it taste the same? What is gluten? Will I know its gluten free? All questions that are often asked at bakeries across the country and while there’s no solid answer to each, one thing is certain…there are tasty Gluten Free desserts available. Even ones YOU can create at home.

First things first: What is gluten? Gluten is a protein that is found in food that is derived from wheat and other grains. Gluten acts as glue allowing baked goods to keep their shape, it provides elasticity, adds a soft texture and aids in the rising process.

In recent years Gluten Free bakeries have popped up here and there and boxed baking brands like Betty Crocker have jumped aboard creating boxed gluten free mixes. But if you want to create something from scratch in your own kitchen It does not have to be as difficult as you might think.

One option is a Gluten Free Apple Pie or Pear Tart (the fruit can be changed to your liking however). This is the most simple. Prepare your favorite pie or tart crust except substitute gluten free flour like, Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose Gluten Free Baking Flour for the regular flour.

You’ll then fill your prepared crust with whatever fruit or filling you prefer and bake it just as you would with your normal recipe. The result will be a tender, flaky crust just like normal. You don’t even need to tell your family or guests that its gluten free and they probably won’t even notice a difference.

If you’d prefer something a little more decadent try a Flourless Chocolate Torte, it’s a sinfully delicious and rich chocolate cake (recipe below). This torte is perfect on its own with a simple dusting of cocoa powder or powdered sugar. However, once the torte is cooled you can jazz it up with some fresh raspberries, coffee flavored whipped cream or homemade ice cream. Your imagination is the only limitation with this dessert.

Eating a gluten free diet doesn’t mean you have to miss out on dessert. And doesn’t mean you can’t create it yourself. After all dessert that is the most important part of any meal…right?

Enjoy!

CRAVE Flourless Chocolate Torte

2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into cubes – plus a little extra for pan

1 pound of dark chocolate (your favorite kind), roughly chopped

1/4 cup of strong coffee

8 large eggs

¼ cup sugar

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

½ tsp. salt

Powdered sugar and fresh raspberries (for garnish if desired)

Using your extra butter grease a springform pan (9-inch) and line the bottom with a round piece of parchment paper. Cover the bottom and outside of pan with heavy duty aluminum foil. Set the pan into a roasting pan and begin to boil a saucepan of water.
Using a double boiler, add the dark chocolate, butter, and coffee. Stirring constantly, melt the mixture until it is creamy and smooth. Usually 5-8 minutes. Once melted set aside.
Beat the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt until it is foamy/frothy and about doubled its size in volume. Fold ½ of the egg mixture into the chocolate using a rubber spatuala and repeat with the remaining half.
Pour into the greased and lined springform pan and pour enough boiling water into the roasting pan to come about halfway up the sides. Bake until cake has slightly risen and edges have just began to set. 40 to 45 minutes. Remove the torte from roasting pan and cool on cooling rack to room temperature. Once cooled, remove foil and refrigerate overnight.

420 Cupcake - 39 Weeks Pregnant....WHAT?!?!?

420 Cupcakes...No Problem! 420 Cupcakes...39 Weeks Pregnant...Maybe A Problem!
A few months ago CRAVE was asked to create cupcakes for an amazing organization here in Klamath Falls, Oregon. Being asked to participate in this amazing fundraiser is a true honor so we had to jump on the bandwagon (or should I say carousel...you'll understand later).
CARES (www.klamathlakecares.org) is local organization that provides child abuse assessment services to basin children to help victims of child abuse. Their yearly fundraising dinner draws in hundreds of locals and is definitely a privilege to be a part of both for recognition and to support a great cause. 

El Churro

This years theme was CIRCUS OLE! A mexican-style circus with acrobats, performers and carousel houses too! Everything was bright colors and over the top ideas. Having CRAVE be a part of this event was pure perfection.
We had to say YES! even though the event was a mere 5 days before the due date of our first baby. V was somewhat reluctant to sign on but knew what an  honor it was so she gave her seal of approval. 

Mexican Chocolate

As the day approached the menu ideas began rolling in, Churros, Snow Cones, Cotton Candy, Popcorn, Mexican Chocolate, Mango, Sweet...Salty...Spicy! The ideas were endless but we knew we had to narrow it down the just 4...anymore and it would have been madness trying to complete them in time. 
So we decided on our top 4 favorites: Margarita, Mexican Chocolate, Churro & Snow Cone. I took the helm of shopping, scaling & mixing because he knew V couldn't do too much...because Baby needed to what until after the cupcakes were delivered to arrive and V needed every ounce of rest to be able to crank out 400 cupcakes day of the event.

Snow Cone! It's A Circus Classic!

The baking day approach and while we arrived to the bakery slightly behind schedule we both stayed focused on our goal...completed just before I had to go to work. Baking finished smoothly...oddly smooth. As the decoration re informants arrived (my family with lunch in hand) it was time to finish these bad boys off with buttercream and goodies. That tasks was finished...oddly smooth. V was even able to power through her carpal tunnel (a strange pregnancy side effect)
We were done...with plenty of time to spare. This wasn't normal...generally we finished with no time to spare, V would remain cool and calm, i would be "freaking out" as she says but this time it just worked...oddly smooth. No water breaking, no contractions the little baby did in fact wait to make his arrival.
Was it the baby? Had we just grown so much since our last order? Did we finally find "the routine"...NICE! Whatever it was; we'll take it!
The 420 Mexican Circus-inspired cupcakes were loaded and delivered smooth as butta!
Now our little Mexican-Filipino-American cupcakes can be delivered smooth as butta! Now...we wait...and wait...

Photo By: Kelly Armio - Armijo Desings - www.kellyarmijo.com

Did You Say Martha Stewart?

Last summer we we're asked to create a very simple wedding cake. The bride wanted nothing fussy, 3 tall tiers, simple flavors and white buttercream. Most wedding cake creators would laugh this off as wedding cake tend to be very extravagant pieces art. We LOVED this! We loved simplicity and this cake was the perfect cake for CRAVE to create. 


The bride and groom lived 5 hours away from us and the location of their wedding, which meant alot of emails back and forth regarding flavors, heights etc. As we learned more and more about the couple the simplicity of their wedding and the love they shared reminded us of our wedding just the year before. Which made this cake even more special to us.


The day arrived and we're up early in preparation for the Lemon Chaffon cake...J was pulling double duty as he works for the caterer that was bringing food. We decided to assemble the cake there, since the drive was about 30 minutes away and full twists and turns. 

Man was that a heavy cake! Who know that flours, sugar and butter could be so heavy! Upon arriving we quickly assembled the cake and the attached the cake topper, simple scrabbled letters the groom attached together with twine. We loved it!


Now...several months later, we received another email from the bride. She said her wedding (and our cake!) is being featured on marthastewartweddings.com! 
( http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/272446/real-weddings#/304898 )


What an honor! A cake we created, on a website that we used so much for planning our own wedding and we know millions of others couples use as well. J dropped everything to stare at the computer screen in awe of what we saw, called V who said "Nut 'Ah! Are you for reals? Did you say Martha Stewart?".


Quickly texting the link to pretty much everyone we knew and then another several minutes of computer starring...it was truly a dream come true!
Thank you Luke & Lyn for allowing to not only be a party of your dream come true but allowing us to fulfill two of ours...creating a beautiful cake and having it featured on a truly amazing website! We are still on cloud 9 and plan on being here for a long while!!!

Our Newest Creation...The Best Yet!

Alot has changed since our last post in November...clearly since we haven't posted anything for several months our hectic schedules and lack of blogging time hasn't. We've created lots of new and interesting items and been able to participate in a few amazing events around our area. One of us has been able to quit our paying job while the other just got busier. But...I think we would rather have little time then too much time.

Our biggest change will occur In just two short months. We are about to add a incredibly new and exciting part to our crazy bakery life. I can say without a doubt or any amount of hesitation that our newest creation is definitely our best ever! Priceless really!!! It is going to be the cutest cupcake anyone has ever seen. In late April we be welcoming to the world...a little baby! 

The past seven months have been quite a smooth journey. The hardest issue to overcome was the forgetfulness...we had quite the system in place for baking, frosting and finishing and often joked that we could crank out hundreds of cupcakes without saying a word to each other and we had a secret unspoken system of communication we called "unagi" (after a Seinfeld episode)...but "unagi" left us for a few frustrating months and it seemed just when we figured out the new way of communcating "unagi" returned.

So what does this mean for CRAVE? Our little cupcake will arrive just one month before our busy summer season starts. As the father and bakery salesman I was naturally nervous as how are going to make this work...mother and cupcake genius was quick to say "we'll bring it with us!" Farmers Market, Third Thursday Street Festivals and all...I'm sure the YaYa and Lola (The Grandmothers) won't mind holding the little masterpice for several hours either!

As I am sure you are wondering..what is it? Well we have chosen to be one of the very few now a days that doesn't find out - crazy I know! So stay tuned as I'm sure the arrival will equal a new blog post... 

The Margarita!!!!

Margaritas!! Love 'Em!!

Margarita's have always been a part of our life. Not that we drink heavily but it seems that they tend to pop up whenever we have a get together. When we created or first menu I had an idea...a margarita cupcake. I had no idea how it would made, what the recipe would consist of but I knew that when the time came we'd figure it out and it would be delicious! I knew it had been created before but at CRAVE we make sure ours is the best...ever!
Finally an order! One dozen Margarita cupcakes. I told V we had an order for them, she knew we could create something phenomenal but left it up to me to tackle, my mother thought i was crazy! And when I told both of them I wanted to sprinkle a little salt on top I think they thought I was literally crazy!!!
I knew I wanted the base cake to be our Classic Yellow. Its moist, fluffy and of course yellow! I added fresh lime and lemon juice plus some zest and of course Tequila! First taste...good. They baked up beautifully, plump and super moist. 

Tasty Deliciousness!

Now the buttercream...to it I also added the lime and lemon and of course the Tequila. Piped that on top and sprinkled it with a little margarita salt. Now for the taster...PERFECT! V and Mom approved!!

Little did we know that the one cupcake we put on our menu with no recipe or no clear idea of what we would do would become our "Best Seller" and "Most Talked About". We have people drive 30-40 minutes into town for a single Margarita cupcake. Women tackling each other for a taste. 
We Love Margaritas!!!

Blog...blog...blog

Who knew this blogging thing could be a full-time job! Now I realize why their is an actually career out of blogging. We just haven't had enough time between baking cupcakes to keep up...but...V is now able to cut back from her "real" job a little which should free up a little time for the both of us. So keep you eyes posted for more frequent blogs from the CRAVE...

Assorted Selection Of Tastiness

Baking...It's For Men Too!!

We're Back! Boy...didn't realize how crazy this could all get. Opening a bakery while staring a  new job. It's been tough...with lots of sleepless nights and tired days. There has been a few weeks where by Friday night at work I'm falling asleep while standing up...not good since I work in a fast paced restaurant right!?!?!?
But...looks like we've figured out our system and things are working a little better know.

There is one things I've noticed since we opened this venture and at times it makes me feel a little forgotten. Everything is pink and purple, described as cute and precious. Beautiful and girly. Hey! Men bake too!!
One a recent trip to Target, V found some "nice" spatulas. I say "nice" because they could be described at all the words I mentioned above: pink, cute, precious, you get the point with Little Birdies and the word L-O-V-E. It was on that trip that my newest inventions popped into my head. Are you ready?
It will be called a MANTULA! Brilliant right. A nice stainless steel and silicone spatula designed for a man! Nice big handle, silver and black maybe with some nice flames painted on it. This MANTULA is for all men bakers out there who are tired of using pink, precious and girly utensils everywhere!
There are other men cupcake bakers our there right!?!?!?

It's A Cupcake World!

Being asked to create a Cupcake Wedding Tree was no doubt a huge highlight of our new adventure. We felt honored, completely excited and tremendously nervous. Then being asked to create nearly 300 bite-sized desserts for the same day added to our mixing bowl of emotions. 

One Tub...Lotta Love

It wasn't until just a few days before we started baking did feelings of doubt begin to appear in the back of my head...are we ready for this? Can we manage this? 300 people would be trying our products, on the same day, nearly at the same time. I have never felt pressure like this before. Thankful, V had enough confidence in her abilities to slap the doubt out of my mind and tell me to get mixing.
Our wedding menu consisted of 4 different cupcake choices. Mocha (my favorite), Lemon, Milk Chocolate and Classic Vanilla. Each featured a different buttercream. We also prepared a two-layer milk chocolate cake that would adorn the top of the cupcake tree which the bride and groom would cut into. 
The second event was the annual Red Tie Romp. A fundraiser for the Ross Ragland Theater. Our menu for that included our Raspberry White Out Cake (in a miniature version), mini Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Buttercream and a mini Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream. I was incredibly excited about this particular cupcake, it would be topped with white buttercream, white sprinkles and finished with a maraschino cherry. Something I wouldn't normally use but I just had a feeling it would look awesome.
We scaled the ingredients (which means measuring our all the ingredients to make mixing quicker and easier) 6 batches of Milk Chocolate, 3 Dark Chocolate and 2 Mocha. 10 Classic Vanilla, 2 Lemon and 2 Red Velvet. Then came the buttercream! 20 pounds of butter, 50 cups of sugar...I was sick of butter and sugar after that! The next day we mixed. I believe I separated 6 dozen eggs...and am proud to say not one drop of yolk fell into those whites. Thankfully, just days before my parents graciously donated an old fridge to our bakery...we definately needed it.

Red Velvet - Cream Cheese Buttercream

The next day we began to bake and our masterpieces began to come together. The huge tubs of batter turned into little bite-sized treats. We fell in love again with our huge convection oven with 8 racks to bake on. It was a nice trade up for the apartment sized oven we were using.

Now...decorating! The best part of the entire Bakery operation. It's like a woman finishing off her outfit with a nice pair of heels or man finishing off his outifit with a nice flex in the mirror. My mother, donated her time and creative abilities for the day. After a power up lunch we tackled the valley of cakes. Most would think that piping on frosting would be the most difficult but actually its the flat frosting that are most challenging. My mom attempted to tackle that as her first decorating duty but after working on one cupcake and not quite getting it right she asked, "Can't I just sprinkle!"

V is a master at flat frosting, I prefer my piped frosting so we make a good team and with my Mom's master sprinkling abilities we were like a 3-person army of decorators.

The Only Way To Eat A Maraschino Cherry

Our system was flawless and the cakes were finished in no time at all. There were several small finishing touches that had to be done day of, but all in all the day ended on a stress free note.
The morning of the events was really quite stress free. I'm generally the one freaking out and running around but whether it was a sugar inducted coma from sampling all the buttercream or maybe we really just pulled this off? The finishing touches took a little longer than expected but even being an hour behind schedule we were both very relaxed....kinda strange. We finished the cupcakes for the theater fundraiser, loaded the car and dropped off our first deliver. We don't have children (yet) but It felt like I imagined it would feel to leave you kids for the first time, of course we wouldn't leave our children in a huge walk in refrigerator, but it was feelings of excitement, joy, relief, fear and sadness.

Lemon Cupcake

Now, off to Grants Pass for the 2 1/2 hour trek, 200 cupcakes packed safely in boxes. V was surprising calm as we drove through the mountains, up and down the hills and around all the corners which surprised me. It could have been her nerves but she would never tell. About 45 minutes away we stopped for a quick lunch break and thought maybe we should check on them...but quickly decided NO, if something happened we would just spend the next 45 minutes beating ourselves up about it and there was really nothing we could to fix anything on the road. So we waited.
We arrived at the reception site, right on time and bravely began opening the boxes...every cupcake was safe and sound. Nothing damaged, de-frosted or smeared...what a relief.
As we nervously walked into the doors we saw the tree that we would stack our cupcakes on...it was huge! Much bigger than we had anticipated or pictured. How where we going to fill this? We brought extras but not enough...but still for some reason we remained completely calm.

It's Complete!

V pulled the cake top out of its box, smoothed a few edges and we placed it on top. Then we began filling each tier with our cupcakes. Once we got the first box unloaded we realized we had plenty...the cupcake tower was the perfect size. We frosted the extras and had just enough room for each cupcake and we thought it would be too big!
It was when it was time to go that those same feelings came over us. We wanted so badly to see the bride's face when she saw it and watch as people bit into their cupcakes...we've never really just left something and not seen a reaction and now today we've had to do it twice. V started snapping pictures and snapping pictures and snapping pictures...I had to pry her away as if again we were leaving our child for the first time.
Now we wait, checking our phones, facebook anything from anyone that was at the reception. Finally, a few hours as we waiting for dinner the Mother of the Groom posted a message and picture on facebook...they loved 'em!!!
This day was by far the best day we've had. It reminded us so much of why we do what we do and its because we love baking! Thank you to my mom for all your help, we couldn't have done this without you and the Basin Martini Bar for allowing us to create desserts for the theater. Thank you Jessa & Carson for this opportunity...Congrats on the new marriage and Barb thank for your support. Also, best of luck to the Ross Ragland Theater we hope our cupcakes helped raise lots of money for you.

A Tale Of Two Cookies

This Is Chocolate Heaven...Dibs On Licking The Bowl

Lets Go Vikings...Lets Go!!! High school basketball season has arrived and we were asked to create basketball sugar cookies and our delicious chocolate filled creations called Chocolate Chunkers to get the Mazama Vikings pumped and sugared up for the season.
If you haven't tried the Chunker yet, your missing out. Its a big, chunky and thick cookie with 5 different kinds of chocolate and a little flour to hold 'em all together. Its perfect for a nice strong cup of coffee, a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon or ice cold milk.
The batter starts with a nice little mix of melted chocolate, butter, flour and sugar then comes the real fun. For this we used pounds of pure chocolate...dark, milk, bittersweet, unsweetened, semi-sweet and white. Fresh out of the oven they are a major OMG moment (we have lots of those around here)!

Ready To Be Devoured By Hungry Teens

Creating basketballs was more of a task then we originally imagined. The baking of the sugar cookies was simple but creating an orange frosting that matched that of a real basketball was somewhat difficult and then piping on black buttercream to finish the whole look and being born a perfectionist made it even more time consuming. Ensuring each line was perfectly curved and precise.
Theres nothing like seeing your final project come out exactly how you imagined it would in the end. Once we staked them, bagged them, labeled them and tied them it was perfect

Week One...Check!

We're All Moved In Now...All This Has
Found Its Place

So...we have completed our first week in our new shop. In it we have baked sugar cookies, cupcakes, coffee cake (two of them...will explain later), chocolately chip cookies, pizza (for a pizza party luncheon with family) and had our first wedding cupcake tasting. We finished the week off with no major casualties. We are still married, still talking and still enjoying each other. 


V had a minor setback with the first coffee cake and forgot to add the baking soda and baking powder. Amazing how two very small ingredients (and by small I mean amounts) can make such a difference. It was like a coffee cake glob. The mistake wasn't realized until J cut into the cinnamon streusel covered cake just an hour before it was to be delivered....being the team player (or Super Hero some might say), J tossed on an apron and whipped up a brand new batch. Thankfully, Leap of Taste was okay with receiving their delivery a little later than expected. The second batch was perfect and delicious. 

Coffee Cake - Baked & Packaged Off To
Leap of Taste in Klamath Falls

In just a few weeks CRAVE will be creating nearly 200 cupcakes for our first wedding. We met with the Bride and soon to be Mother-In-Law on January 1st to brainstorm ideas and flavors. The two joined us this past week for the tasting. Oh the pressure! Just about 8 months ago we were having our own tasting for our own wedding so we knew how important this was.  Would she like the flavors? The decorations? Our ideas? 

Just Moments Before They Dove In

YES! They loved 'em! Classic Vanilla with Cream Cheese Butter Cream, Mocha with Mocha Butter Cream, Milk Chocolate with Milk Chocolate Butter Cream and Lemon with Classic Vanilla Butter Cream plus, a nice little 2-layer milk chocolate cake will crown the top of the cupcake tree.


On tap for next week: 3 cheesecakes for Portland Street Market, 2 dozen cookies for our Cookie of the Month Club and we will be bringing some CRAVE desserts to local restaurants hoping they will be interested in carrying V's products. If you haven't had to the cheesecake...it's a major OMG moment! Every bite is like biting into a little piece of creamy heaven. One New Yorker was reluctant to try it as she only ate REAL NEW YORK cheesecake...we'll V converted her. She's all about the CRAVE Signature Cheesecake.

It's Bake Time!

Beginning Of Order #1

As devoted Oregon Duck fans we couldn't be more excited that our first order in our new bakery was for a BCS Bowl Game fiesta (pardon the pun but I couldn't resist). J, the Baker's Assistant, attempted creating the first batch of dough for the chewy sugar cookies that would be soon created. However, in his excitement J forgot to add 2 of the 4 required eggs. This resulted in stiff powdery and completely non edible product. Thankfully, V came to rescue as a if she was a Cookie Superwoman and remade the sugar cookie dough perfectly with her exact precision and techniques. J went back to his normal assistant duties.


The flour, sugar, butter and eggs were whipped up and rolled into a mountain of sweet dough. After some time cooling in the refrigerator they were portioned, rolled into small sheets then cut into perfect little circles. Baked, in the newly shined up oven, and pulled out at exactly the right moment.

Golden Brown & Delicious

Now for the fun part! Butter cream! God's little gift to earth: butter, sugar and cream. Strange how just a few simple ingredients can create such a delicious and irresistible concoction! Of course, the creamy butter cream had to reflect the game day spirit so we created bright yellow and green frosting. Then piped a small mound in the middle, smoothed it out...not too smooth...we call it rustic perfection. Then we added a few (well a lot) of tasty colored sugar and Wam Bam Thank You Ma'am the Oregon Duck cookies were born and read to be devoured, like we hoped the Ducks would devour the Tigers, didn't happen.

Go Ducks!

Thank you Miss Julie for being our first order in our new bake shop! We hope you and your fellow Duck Fans enjoyed the cookies as much as Auburn enjoyed winning that darn game. 


-CRAVE

The Beginning Of The Beginning

The Beginning

The Only Way To Eat Carrots!

A brilliant woman once said: when one window closes, another window opens, NOT for you jump out of but for you to look out and see if its clear. The moment we chose to dive out the window and open a bakery it must have been a clear and beautiful day, we went head first. 
This blog will chronicle the up and downs, trials and tribulations of this new journey in our life.


Useful Background Info


CRAVE is an "order based" bakery. We bake and deliver to you delicious and beautiful baked goods all over Klamath Falls (and beyond). You call us, tell us what you're craving, we create and deliver. Our products will also be available at local coffee shops, gourmet markets, restaurants and of course the farmers market (where we began...more to come). What do we bake? Anything that includes butter and sugar. This includes cookies, cakes, cupcakes, pies, muffins, scones and other sweet specialties.

We are a husband (J) and wife (V) team with big dreams in the restaurant biz. CRAVE was created as a bakery/cafe concept a few years ago and premiered at the Klamath Falls Farmers Market just 7 months ago. We spend many hours talking about our future restaurant plans like what we want, where we want it and when. A bakery was always planned to be our first venture. When CRAVE was born we both were working 70 plus hours a week, managing restaurants plus, other side jobs to keep us busy. We decided one day we needed to do something for each other and together. Many would think finding a hobby like hiking, knitting or coin collecting but we decided to start a business. Good thing our plate was a more like a platter. So, we started baking at the restaurant V (The Baker) worked at when their kitchen closed. We'd get off work around midnight, bake until 3-4am and wake up at 7am to get to market. We'd get done at the market around 1pm then jet back to our "paying" jobs to finish off the week. The market was able to get us great exposure and clients (who we call friends).orders started rollin' in 250 cupcakes, a few cakes, cheesecakes and countless dozens of cookies!

The Adventure Begins

So here we are...new owners of a full fledged wholesale bakery. An opportunity we didn't dream would happen for many more years but will help from an amazing family and a determined husband and wife it begins...with cleaning...lots and lots of cleaning. The shop has been empty

Baking Zone!

for a few months, which meant everything was covered in a thick layer of dust. So with some Mr. Clean in hand we began our cleaning leg of the adventure. Scrubbing the walls, top to bottom removing all remnants of old frosting and food coloring that splattered from the 
previous tenant. 

Ya! That's A Mixer...We Call It Sir MIX Alotta Dough!

Ok...So Maybe I Overreacted!

As we worked our way to completion, our first injury! A fierce gouge on the hand. The very hand that creates some of CRAVE signature frosting designs and that stirs the batter with exact precious. But somehow, someway I (J - The Baker's Assistant) continued with my cleaning duties. Was it the look I was given by the V? I cannot say for sure but I sucked it up and continued. Fridges, shelves, tables, sinks and floors were all given a makeover and a second chance at life but there was one thing left... The Oven! We have been using the small apartment sized oven in our home for the past few months (as we left our restaurant jobs in the pursuit of happiness) and compared to that tiny thing this oven was huge and in this case size DOES matter. I pumped myself up, got my battle gear in order (oven cleaner, SOS pads and a damp cloth), rolled up my shelves and and tackled that enormous heap of greasy metal. Determined to turn it into a shiny silver cookie baking machine. It took elbow grease, shoulder grease, leg grease and every other type of grease a body can product but 5 hours, dozens cuts (I'll be honest know they weren't gouges just cuts) and one headache later the transformation was complete! There it stood so shiny and clean in its stainless steel glory...simply beautiful.

Isn't She Lovely!

Hours of cleaning and scrubbing, our finger prints dissolved by cleaners, degreasers and sanitizers, our hands dry as a desert and bodies feeling the pain in every achy joint. But now a sparkly, clean and fresh smelling bakery was reborn and we could stand back and official say...it feels like us! We're ready to bake!

- CRAVE