How To Serve A Season: Autumn

October 1, 2023 / The Black Hat Baker / Leave a comment

It took growing up for fall to be something I looked forward to. Growing up on the Jersey Shore, itt meant the start of school, the tourists going home after leaving all their money and trash behind, the streets becoming cold and quiet, and the beaches being empty to enjoy any stray warm days after Labor Day.

In college, I got to see the legendary “Hartford in the Fall” and enjoyed the changing leaves, the coziness of hot beverages and fire pits at night, and the death of all the bloodsucking insects that swarmed in the summer.

Now, in the PNW, I get to experience and enjoy autumn on my own terms. I get to wear warmer, fuzzier clothing more. Evenings spent drinking whiskey in my cozy rocking chair are the constant rather than a treat, and IPAs finally start to vanish from taplists to make room for the darker, maltier beers I love.

AND the mosquitos drop dead. Wins all around.

It is Pie Time.
It is Stew Time.
It is Scarves and Hoodies and Shawls and Tweed and Not Making Excuses for Wanting to Stay Home and Be A Hobbit Time.

I’ve still gotta go to work though, so I’m working on sharing as many of those vibes as I can through food.

Basque-Style Pumpkin Cheesecake with Candied Squash, Pomegranate, and Corn Cranberry Florentine. Seasonal dessert I created for Amaterra Winery.

Continue reading →

Making Progress

September 17, 2023 / The Black Hat Baker / 3 Comments

I’m sitting at the bar at Toms for one of the first really autumnal days after a bit of a heat wave, just in time for Casey to fix me a Pork Roll, Egg, and Cheese sandwich- then chase it with a stout when they start pouring at noon.

I actually ate breakfast at 7am, but then I successfully ran it off, and proceeded to walk the thirty minutes out here for my Hobbitesque “second breakfast.” Of all the ways to refuel after a run, the PREC is a solid winner.

I’m slowly getting back into my good habits- I’m back to working out daily, eating better/less/smarter, and slimming down a bit. It’s easier to make progress than it has been in a while, and it’s because I have the freedom to slow down, take stock, and learn to accept.

Continue reading →

On The Side of the Angels

July 30, 2023July 30, 2023 / The Black Hat Baker / Leave a comment

It’s a day off, and I’m out walking. An early morning stroll up and down Mount Tabor wasn’t enough when it was nice and cool. Instead, I convinced myself that the best way to get around on an 81 degree day would be to walk down Belmont and Hawthorne, stop for lunch somewhere, and then camp out in a comfortable (ideally air-conditioned) bar to write in while I wait for an appointment.

The Kara-age Don from the new Japanese place was very good- strips of lightly fried but heavily spiced chicken thigh atop a bowl of pillowy and acidic sushi rice was at once refreshing and cripplingly filling, even with an ice-cold Sapporo beer to wash it down. Stepping back out into the sun, my legs felt like sacks of lead. I didn’t want to walk anymore as much as a nap… but that wouldn’t do.

An ice-pop and a shady conversion with an old friend got me more-or-less to my destination- the taproom of a brewery near my appointment with good beer, giant fans (and giant windows. No air-conditioning a space THIS big), and a chilly marble-veneered bar to rest my arms on as I type.

Today is good. I’m walking in the sun, drinking beer, thinking about food, and seeing God. What more could you ask for?

Continue reading →

Living Simply Isn’t

June 25, 2023June 26, 2023 / The Black Hat Baker / Leave a comment

My friend Victoria lives a life a lot of folks claim to dream of, myself included.

She lives in a house next to a state park, warmed by a wood-fired stove. She, her husband and toddler keep a garden and raise ducks and turkeys, the structures of which she and her husband built themselves. When she isn’t baking or cooking what her husband hunts and fishes, she and her business partner go hiking and foraging for the ingredients they use to make their botanical lotions and cosmetics as Wily Coyote Botanicals.

She is still a wife and mother, still maintains a household, and somehow has all the energy needed to maintain all these things AND co-run a business.

“Simplifying your life” takes a lot of work, learning, and relearning. Victoria has been fascinated and working at it for most of her life, but what can a tragically urban writer/baker with “#bighobbitenergy” do?

I caught up with her to ask a couple questions about the “simple life” and for most of us, it will start small- with hobbies and curiosity.

Continue reading →

The Kitchen Monk- Presence and Pie Crust

June 11, 2023June 12, 2023 / The Black Hat Baker / Leave a comment

What does it mean to be present? Not just physically but mentally? Spiritually? It doesn’t just mean being in a particular place, like during roll call at school. For yourself in your own life, no one’s checking off an attendance list.

We owe it to ourselves to stay present and keep ourselves aware of just who, what, and where we are if we want to live not just good lives but deliberate ones.