It’s always a good idea to order ahead: 269-342-1952
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At my age, many holiday traditions have faded as both my family and Ken’s family have scattered over the years and I’ve outlived the core of my wonderful Kalamazoo extended family (I’m working on finding the next one). When these traditions get established, they seem that they might last forever, but I am old enough to know that life is fluid and ever-changing, that traditions evolve and sometimes disappear. For me and I hope for you, the bakery helps maintain some continuity and reassurance over the years. Babka dough reappears, Russian tea cookies melt in my mouth and Christmas tree butter cookies turn my tongue green. (I know, we haven’t brought Yule logs back yet, but maybe by next year). We love making products that contribute to your traditions.
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The Holidays are on the way and I am experiencing a great muddle of emotions. Here we are in the middle of the fourth wave of Covid, and I'm feeling a combination of weariness from the stresses of the past 19 months, and hope that we can begin to celebrate the holiday season as we emerge. Here at the bakery we are still wearing our masks, getting our booster shots, and remaining wary. At the same time, we are starting to make holiday goodies that lift our spirits and are a fun change of pace. So, we can help you celebrate as much as your wariness allows, and all of us can help to bring much-needed light into our lives. I should also let you know that you can dine in at the bakery again. We re-opened carefully and quietly until we were confident that it was the right thing to do. I was very happy that Dr. Fauchi thinks that if you are vaccinated (and preferably boosted) you can relax and quite feel safe for the holidays.
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Hello after a long hiatus!
Heritage tomatoes have finally arrived! It is such an exciting time for the pure joy of simple eating. A sun-warmed, almost overripe tomato and a little salt can be a feast. An insanely juicy BLT eaten over the sink can lift my spirits and give me a glimpse of the profound meaning of the changing of the seasons as I begin to mourn the passing of summer.
The only problem is that I wrote that paragraph about two weeks ago so it is really old news and only now got back to writing this email to let everyone know that BLT Season is back at Sarkozy Bakery!
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Strawberry season is just around the corner, we will be ready with our “OH WOW Frozen Biscuits". Why don't we just bake the biscuits here, and for that matter why don't we sell strawberry shortcakes?
To me, a strawberry shortcake is one of those simple and elegant marriages of warm and cold, soft and crisp, sweet and acidic, juicy and biscuit-y. It is exquisite and ephemeral. Each year I wait for it with great anticipation and I morn the passing strawberry season. Yes, you can freeze the macerated berries but it is nothing like holding a pint of fresh berries under your nose.
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Maple Syrup and Pussy Willows, Ground flowers and Spring Peepers, Ramps and Morels, Fruit Blossoms, Rhubarb, and Asparagus, all come bursting out as if the Earth were as excited and impatient for signs of glorious life as we. Sometimes warm days bring things on a bit too soon, maybe this year. We don’t know yet what these two days of the hard freeze will do to the in-bloom fruit crop. But no matter what, there is so much new and beautiful life I sometimes tear up.
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I swear I heard Spring peepers the other night (unfortunately their frequency is very close to the frequency ringing in my ears so I sometimes imagine them when I need to believe they are there). And pussy willows are out, cattails on the way, bud covers are decorating our streets. I hope this very warm weather doesn’t bring out the fruit blossoms too soon. We could still have a nasty cold snap and much of what I look forward to in Summer is Michigan fruit.
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Okay, so what's the good news? Well, it's only 60 days until the farmers market opens up. And in those 60 days, we will experience all of the wonderful harbingers of spring. Even a pandemic can't stop me from being hopeful and excited.
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Wait a minute! Last I knew it was Christmas and here we are two weeks from Pączki day. You know what that means however, this Saturday, February 6th is Pączki Practice Day! It gives us a chance to hone our skills and get ready for the big day, Because we are practicing, we offer our Pączki at half price, $.75 because you will be helping us get it right. Besides that, it’s a fun tradition.
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After a long and difficult hiatus, I'm pretty much back. I haven't been able to write because, as many of you know, my husband Ken, died in September of cancer. The bakery will surely miss his research, his creativity in making soups (he left lots of recipes), his labor-saving gadgets and equipment repairs, and his willingness to pitch in wherever he was needed. I will miss so much more.
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Sometime today the first of the heritage tomatoes will arrive! These are Pat Smith's Kirklin Farms heritage tomatoes. Thus begins the 2020 BLT season. After a difficult, lonely, and unpredictable several months, we can all have something very special and comfortingly familiar.
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For once the email will be short and sweet. With the turmoil of the last few weeks on top of the pandemic, I have been too sad and depressed to write anything. But there are things you need to know, so write I will.
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We still have Curb Side Pickup and Take Out, and soon, Dine-In on a restricted basis as well! After all, bread is the staff of life and after 42 years of ups and downs, we know that Sarkozy Bakery will survive and continue to be a proud member of this beautiful Kalamazoo community.
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I haven't been able to write recently, things have been too chaotic, not to mention, depressing. And then Spring presented us with the most gorgeous blossom season I have ever seen. The blossoms are clinging to the twig and pushing above the un-mown grass, holding on while new blossoms join them. There are trees that I've never noticed before that are astonishingly beautiful. Branches laden with the blossoms aching to be seen. As if they want to comfort us. And then I remember that many people are in lockdown, many are sick and many have died. Hard as the blossoms try, lots of people will miss their beauty this year. The dreary cold Spring has brought this extraordinary beauty. Let's hope that the sad and difficult virus watch will bring us to some new understanding and surprising beauty.
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Spring is still struggling to stand up to winter. Magnolia trees with drooping brown frozen flowers are evidence of the struggle and on April 18th I saw a snowman on my way to work - only about 4 feet tall, but there it was - the perfect symbol of the upside down world we live in these days. Ramps are fighting the good fight and may be big enough for a good harvest next week. Ken harvested a few in our woods and he made ramp pasta for the two of us. He planted them about seven years ago just so he could do that. What a treat! What a guy!
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Today’s motto: Neither a victim nor a vector be.
Things are changing pretty fast here and we are trying to keep up. Today we significantly ramped up our procedures in the store. Don't be frightened when you walk into the bakery and see us all decked out in our Halloween outfits.
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I have always said that it is impossible to be a cocky bread baker because the bread will humble you. In the past few weeks, the bread has nearly brought us to our knees and broken our hearts. Seriously, some days we wanted to cry. But this week, we seem to be making progress in producing the bread the way we want it.
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First off, we have quite a few tomatoes, so your BLT fix awaits! When a BLT is just right, juice will run down your hand on to the plate (and maybe on to your shirt), the bacon will shatter salt-sweet, and the tomato will bloom inside your mouth. Pat Smith of Kirklin Farms is, at this time, able to pick enough to take care of us. How long they last depends on the weather.
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And it is ending on a sad note. As of now, there aren’t any truly fabulous tomatoes. There are some pretty good ones, but the weather has taken its toll. Let’s hope that this is not the new normal. Recapping Pat Smith’s (of Kirklin Farms) experience, the spring was so wet she couldn’t get into the field to transplant the tomatoes she had started and they stayed in the greenhouse and became pot bound and leggy.
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It's here, all the great food of summer. I have heard reports of really good corn this year so get cracking! Get out there and get some either directly from a farm or farmers market. Forget about grocery store corn (unless that's the only choice in which case it is better than none) Of course the Kalamazoo Farmers Market has a great selection of corn and all the other myriad of fruits and vegetables of this time of year. Eat it or cook it the day you buy it, when it is creamy and tender.
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