Who Needs A Hero?

/ The Black Hat Baker / Leave a comment
     Hello, friends and neighbors!
     Sorry that this blog has lately become biweekly- I’ve lately been planning to pull off a big redesign. I’m not quite ready to unveil it just yet, but when I do… oh it’s going to be worth it. Trust me.
     That said, everyone needs heroes.

     When I started trying to get fit, I had a notion of what I wanted to do and how I wanted to look- but I had never been an athlete before. I didn’t have any sports posters, or athletes I idealized. Sports were never a big part of my life, let alone bodybuilding or fitness.

     What I did have, however, was literature, movies, and comic books.

The hell with Michael Jordan- I wanted to be unstoppable like Juggernaut. I wanted to run like the Flash. I wanted to throw a punch like Bruce Lee, lift like Superman, and be as precise and flawlessly skilled as Batman. When I exercised, I wanted Rocky Balboa beside me, and when I ran a race, it was against Umslopogaas the Zulu warrior.

We all need heroes- people and characters to inspire and enable us.

Here’s some of mine.

Continue reading →

Bannocks- For When You’ve Got To Hit The Trail Hard

/ The Black Hat Baker / 1 Comment

     As she was running out the door for work Monday morning, Emily made a request:

“Hun, think you could make some bannocks that I can grab for breakfast? No raisins or anything- just plain is fine.”

“Yes, dear.”

Picture

As my father would say, “Those two words are the secret to a happy marriage.”
     Jokes aside, I didn’t mind. Bannocks are one of my staple recipes for a reason. They are a perfect blend of oatmeal cookie and biscuit that can be grabbed quickly, keep for a long time, and are an ideal breakfast with a quick schmeer of butter or jam.
Picture

If you don’t know what “schmeer” is, you need to be roughly 15% more Jewish.

Continue reading →

To Build A Better Baker: Reps, Rolling Pins, and Finding A Reason

/ The Black Hat Baker / Leave a comment
Good evening, friends and neighbors!
Ostensibly, this is a baking and food blog. I am, after all, a baker and culinary professional. I am used to, and in fact EXPECT to, get a lot of questions.
Most of them, however, are about fitness and weight loss- particularly mine.
“How do you keep so slim while working in a bakery? I’d be as big as a house!”                “How can you stand to be around all that butter and sugar?”

Or, worst of all,

“What diet are you on/pill are you taking to keep so trim?!”

Continue reading →

Because It Isn’t All Sunshine and Rainbows

/ The Black Hat Baker / 2 Comments

Good evening, friends and neighbors.You know it’s really easy to get lost?

Picture

At the moment, I’m staring out the window of (surprise surprise) a bar, looking out into the drizzling night of Portland. I just watched my waiter take- and I’m not kidding- a full 45 seconds to pour my beer into a glass.

The week was a trying one, and I do love my Thursday nights. I found a spiritual successor, if not psuedo-doppelgänger, to one of my favorite sit-down-and-blog pubs, but was politely hurried out as the dinner crowd came in. I completely get it- they couldn’t really hold a two-top for some writer shmuck that wasn’t expecting to drink anymore. I don’t bear them any grudge and will likely be back soon.

Continue reading →

Wherever You Go…

/ The Black Hat Baker / Leave a comment
     Good evening, friends and neighbors!

On my current schedule, Thursdays are my first day off of the week. While there is plenty to be done around the house- cleaning, planning, organizing, errands, and so on- Thursdays are MY day. While wandering the city, I learned of the existence of the Oregon Jewish Museum and decided to mosey down and check it out- get a little bit of my family’s history and culture in this strange new land.

Which is why I am currently sitting in Lan Su- Portland’s Chinese Garden in the heart of its Chinatown.

Continue reading →