MARTHA AVENUE- Day 16- Some days are just harder than others. The overall picture is that I am grateful and remarkably happy, even given the circumstances of this quarantine... but even so, some days are hard.
Woke early to start the sourdough baking train... still dealing with a finicky oven, so it felt very stressful to be hoping that the loaves I had promised were actually going to be able to bake. I am getting better and better at conserving energy where the stove is concerned... Last night, I prepped ALL the baked goods so they could all go in at once, which meant the oven was only on for an hour or so. It's probably a very good lesson in how to conserve energy anyway. Why run the oven for 3 hours, when I could batch all the things that had to be at the same temperature and just watch things closely to pull them out when they were done? Makes much better sense environmentally.
Today however, I could only double up my loaves... still waiting for delivery for a couple of new cast iron dutch ovens which will make it possible for me to bake three loaves at a time. Martha Avenue will be a regular bread factory then!
The new dessert options are pretty darn yummy... the Plum Tarte is my favorite. I am hopeful that we have a bumper crop of plums on the tree across the street so we can have plum tarte all summer. I especially like it warmed up with greek yogurt for breakfast. Also made some Vegan Apple Crumble using coconut butter/oil instead of butter for the crumble top. Came out pretty perfect. Did two different brownies because we had a special order... the regular Salted Rye Brownies, and then a Mexican Chocolate version with cinnamon and cayenne pepper. YUM.
Willi spent hours making fresh pappardelle...what a beautiful, kind of meditative process that is! I love to watch the way the pasta dough gets smoother and silkier with each pass through the rollers and the way that he maneuvers it over and under the machine, and then cuts it by hand, rolls it perfectly portioned spirals and tucks it into the jars.
Today was a delivery day with the North Bay as my destination. It was really good to see Liz and her two gorgeous little girls (who were in the middle of a spa day at home) and then meet up in San Rafael at a gas station to do a hands-free, hand-off with Jeanette. So lovely to see people I have known my whole life and yet not seen for years. Then up to Petaluma to drop off to Kristen and Ava.. again a hands-free, hug-free transfer on the sidewalk and then out to Pt. Reyes to deliver to a bunch of folks in my hometown. Got to hang out with my mom (10' apart sitting on her porch bundled up against the cold) for a bit. Had a great conversation with my youngest niece who is sheltering-in-place with my mom. Kind of fell apart when I went to say goodbye to my mom. Just so hard not to be able to connect physically. And yet, I know, and she knows, and we all know that it's the right thing to do. And we will get through this and be able to connect again. But if we push it and don't keep our distance now, who knows how long and what devastation might happen. So, I am being patient. But it doesn't mean that I didn't cry a bit on the way out of West Marin.
The weather was chilly but beautiful. There is no where in the world more beautiful and bucolic than West Marin in the springtime. Fat cows, green hills, wildflowers... just so perfect. I remind myself how lucky I am and wend my way back to the city.
Tomorrow we regroup, shop and prep for our next delivery day on Wednesday. Menu is below and you have until tomorrow morning to place your orders. Wednesday is also East Bay Delivery day, so let me know if I can bring some deliciousness to your doorstep. And then I will step away and wave to you with my gloved hands and blow kisses metaphorically through my mask.
Stay safe, find pleasure where you can, breath the spring air, take good care of yourself. Hug your people, xoxo