BLTs and Shakshuka

Hello all you bakery denizens!

This has to be a short note because my computer is being crabby. This time of year is peak fresh vegetable time, including peak heritage tomato time. Before we get too doctrinaire about the purity of our heritage tomatoes, we need to remember that it was the Aztecs, who actually began to breed new varieties of tomatoes as indigenous tomatoes were very small. Then the Europeans took that job over. Later, in the US we got very scientific in the 1940s and  thought we should be able to have every food all the time. So we had to ship tomatoes and bred them to be thiner skinned (for easier eating), but tough, able to be picked green, able to survive shipping, be bight red even when not really ripe, and be evenly round to slice better. The flavor? Unimportant.

At the bakery, we celebrate by making BLTs. We only make them during peak tomato season, Our formula is toasted oatmeal bread, bacon that is thin enough to shatter, crisp lettuce, mayonnaise, and heritage tomatoes that are perfectly ripe. Wearing long sleeves is not advised because the juice from a proper BLT runs down your arm the minute you bite into it. At home, of course I eat them over the sink, but in the bakery, we have to be a little more civilized. As long as we avoid a frost, we should have tomatoes for several weeks.

Sunday brunch this week is also going to celebrate tomatoes. We are making Shakshuka which is essentially a tomato stew with eggs either poached or sometimes scrambled. It's of North West African in origin and one version of its name translates as “mixture”. Our’s has a complex (but not hot) spice mixture and is flavored with preserved lemons. The vegetarian version will substitute  tofu for the eggs. It is eaten as a supper dish in most of Africa, but when it moved to Israel in the 50’s it became a breakfast dish. In the US, dishes with eggs equal breakfast. So brunch is the perfect compromise. We will also have our full line of food including “Egg Nests”.

We open at 7:30a and have all of our pastries, lunch foods, breads, cookies etc.available. Brunch and Music are between 11a and 1p. This week we will be entertained by the Living Room Musicians who bring old songs played on an eclectic group of instruments: hammered dulcimer, recorders, guitar and various percussion.

You should probably be there. We will.

See you soon!,
Alec and Judy