Breadfarm visit

One great thing I got to do while visiting the States was going behind the scenes at a real bakery. It was a national bakery day (or something) so certain bakeries around the country were celebrating by opening their doors and showing customers around.

Even though my mom doesn't know I'm obsessed with Sunshine, she booked a tour for our family of a bakery in Edison, Washington, called Breadfarm.

This field trip was a dream come true for me. It was an unseasonally warm day in little Edison, which basically consists of one little curvy road (ok, not really true but if you just drive through then that is what you'll remember). Outside of the bakery we were greeted by a women who checked us off her list, and then offered a tray of goodies for us to choose from (why oh why had I eaten such a big lunch that day?). I chose a huge croissant which melted in my mouth. It turned out that it wasn't just our family, but several groups who were going for the tour, so we were divided into three large groups and were then shown the process of creating baguettes: making the dough, shaping it and then baking it.

They also had cookies but by the time I got around to trying one I was not hungry at all so it was really wasted on me. The cookies were quite rustic looking and thick.

When we were in the back of the bakery I tried to soak up the ambience for future reference, observing the workers while they made bread (there must have been at least 10 bakers in the back.) I was thinking of Sunshine all the while, and wondering if any of the bakers there had read it, as well if any of their tattoos were wards...

Dakhabrakha in Stockholm

Dakhabrakha is playing a FREE concert in Stockholm next Thursday!

At 10.30 p.m. when I have to get up at 5 a.m. the day after for work. Figures.

No way I can make it. Hopefully someone will post some of it to Youtube.

I still think Specially for You has to be on my hypothetical Sunshine movie soundtrack. Perfect for a post-apocalyptic, magical world.

Too darn hot and visions of sugar cookies danced in my head

I can't believe that my baking break has lasted this long but this summer has been too hot. I have baked one time, which didn't turn out as I had hoped, and that didn't help matters.

I brought several baking books back to Sweden with me. One of them had a recipe for sugar cookies that I was dying to try. It was the cover photo recipe

that got my attention since it reminded me of my all-time favorite sugar cookies from the now-closed Chris's Bakery in Oak Harbor, Washington. I have never found sugar cookies as good as those, but then again, I was a pre-teen the last time I ate them, and my taste buds have changed (i.e. I ate Twinkies after 20-plus years of missing them and found them inedible). So who knows if Chris's sugar cookies were actually good, but the drool-inducing memory was.

Ok, so as soon as we got back from the States I tried the recipe. DISAPPOINTED! Unsalted butter and no added salt in the recipe? Blah.

My Sunshine baking motivation is at a low point right now. As soon as the weather cools down I will dust off my apron and dive into my project again.