Good Morning ! It's 40 degrees outside ! Perfect baking and hair weather ! I love the crisp in the air. The plants are happier, the animals are happier, and so am I. Made some fabulous Sweet Potato Biscuits for the Barkery. A huge hit. Made a WWF boxing ring cake for a young man's 10th birthday. Happy things.
Going to make marshmallow fondant today. I cannot find a fondant from a distributor that does not taste like I licked a door. It may take some doing, but from the looks of it, it may come out very well.....homemade marshmallows to start with. That should be a great beginning.
Expanding the interests here at the Bakery, I ventured into the wonderful world of cut flower markets. My hope is to have these available at the Bakery. Could you imagine a more wonderful start to the day? A warm blueberry muffin and a bunch of daisies? Even this time of the year yields some beautiful winter color. I just skip around and giggle all day.
Back in the morning...off to boss some fondant around.
Be Sweet.

Merry Christmas !
The weather outside is frightening....
Having the most joyous of Christmas mornings ! Made cranberry/blackberry jam, fresh oatmeal and rasin bread and a nice batch of lemon cheese. Seems to be a hit so far.
On a more serious note, Christmas has brought us closer to the face of childhood hunger than ever before. The number of hungry children in our own backyards is staggering. There is nothing more disturbing to me in my life than a child or animal at risk, and it is a personal call to service for me.
Please join Skylark Bakery in reaching these children. Look around you, in your schools, in your day...call us, email us, get to us somehow. Tell us who needs help. We are obligated to do better by our little ones.
It's elementary. There is no excuse to not feed a child.

Well, I have done my first brioche dough. Yes, I am venturing into the world of French pastry/bread....OK, driving by the building where the French pastry people live....but it is the most glorious dough I have ever seen. Butter, eggs, creamy yellow goodness. It has rested in the icebox overnight as this will get you the most flavor. The biggest deal I am taking away from this adventure is the amount of patience you need. It's not a rush project. But nothing glorious ever is. I am following the rules on fermenting, rising, resting, proofing. It is worth every second.
The next treat tonight is a pate' a bombe for chocolate mousse. Again, taking time to do it correctly and enjoying the process. Had to shop a little bit for Euro chocolate...the Nestle's seemed insulting...and if this flies, I will develop a loving relationship with a true fine chocolate supplier. They swear I will never go back to the old ways once I serve it. I am ready. The anticipation...and it is such a versatile tool in the arsenal. I can move on to French buttercream with it and a host of pastry fillings. Although right now, with the heat, it would slide right off the cake...
The weather is not cooperating at all, very humid and 70 degrees last night. Can hardly sleep in this....and it has made my handmade marshmallows SWEAT. There ought to be a law.
On the four legged front: Making a new batch of dog kibble that has a liver base. Tanner is beside himself with joy. Lots of vegetables, lots of whole grains, lots of love. It is going to make him very happy.
OK, I will get back to you in the morning about the newest goodies. I am excited.

Be sweet.

It's 0430 and I am taking the sponges I made yesterday and looking them over. Tonight I make the first bread with the preferment. I also have a starter (sponge) from a friend, that is gloriously active. It will be so fun to bake these off and see how they do. I am in love with this process.
Made an interesting new little quick bread called Ice Cream Bread. I had never heard of it, until someone said their grandmother made it for them growing up. It's very simple: 1 pint of the ice cream of your choice (I used Butter Pecan) and 1 1/2 cups of SELF RISING flour. You gots to have the self-rising or it, too, can chock the Piper Cub at the airstrip...
Came out really well...like a very light, gently sweet pound cake. Perfect for coffee with a little jam. I loved it, it will end up being very versatile.

As part of the Barkery, I am experimenting with some liver rolls on Tanner. He is my golden retriever and reigning Executive Taste Tester for all things dog. They will be fashioned with dough like a cinnamon roll and have a wonderful schmear of liver paste in the middle. Baked off till crispy, these should make any dog do back flips in the kitchen. It's becoming easier and easier to get fully organic ingredients, so it has opened up the world to us for baking the four leggeds cookies and kibble. I went thru my Cajun cookbooks to find a sourdough biscuit recipe that could hold up to a liver center....I will be getting back to you on that.
It's time to go feed the horses. The peppermint cookies are a hit in the barn with everyone except the stallion, Monty. He will be a tough sell, but I still have a sugar cube back up for the finicky ones...

I found tomatoes on my vines this morning...imagine, December...and a big, fat juicy green bell pepper on the adjoining plants. The miracle of life. It never ceases to take my breath away. Planting all my herb seeds this week for their jump start and cannot wait till the heirloom seeds arrive in the mail.
Tonight I tackle sourdough and brioche. Butter and eggs comfortable at room temperature. I am tickled pink.
I'll tell you how it went in the morning.
Be sweet.

So sorry to have taken such a long time to write, but had a nasty little breast cancer scare that took the stuffing out of me for a bit. But, back on track and feeling fabulous, we march on !!
I decided to try something new...a preferment. Sometimes called a levain. After careful studying and numerous, unsolicited outside opinions, I became determined to try this classic French sourdough starter in my kitchen. I tried this in August. In south Florida. It involves taking equal amounts of flour and water (by weight)...mixing them together...putting a paper towel over the top of your chosen vessel...and waiting. And waiting. In a perfect universe, you should see the wild yeast in your own native habitat begin to flourish. With a loosely organized feeding schedule, you are evidently (says here in the manual) able to grow this infant starter into an enormous amount of bread capable goo. Very beautiful goo. That will produce tangy, luxurious loaves of classic French sourdough bread.
Well, let's get back to my world as I know it. August. South Florida. What I wound up with at this time of the year was a very rank smelling, gray-colored, decidedly non beautiful ooze. Read instructions. Look at picture. No match. Throw it out. Repeat process. Read instructions. Look at picture. No match. Throw it out. I did this 7 or 14 times, and the resulting ooze was the same. I had achieved consistency, at the very least. Became discouraged. Walked away from the idea until December when we get our 3 weeks of winter.
Repeat process. Read instructions. Look at picture. EUREKA !! We have success !! I am now officially growing a gorgeous, big, microbe buffet !! The wild yeast are up and at the table...it has been 6 days, which for those of you who have not read the instructions means IT'S TIME TO MAKE BREAD !! So, today we conquer a new method....or shape something, that when cool, can be trotted down to the local airstrip and used to chock that sassy little yellow Piper Cub that the neighbors have been talking about....
Talk with you in the morning, hopefully savoring a mouthful of hot, buttered sourdough toast.
Be sweet.

This is the first day of the first blog for the new adventure. The Morning Biscuit is going to be a fun mix of recipes, kitchen epiphany moments, useless gossip, and a little, silly distraction to read while you have your morning coffee....

Donald and Junior, my resident roosters, have come up to the house for breakfast and the horses have gone from a sultry nicker to, really, SQUEAKING at me to let me know I am late. You would think they were Swiss.

Please follow along with us, on our journey to the bakery. It is new, it is exciting, and it is deliciously worth it.

Be sweet, it counts ever so.