The very first time I set up a booth at the market (exactly six months ago yesterday!), I had no real intentions of being a market regular. Like I said here, it was simply something to do to get out of the house and use any earnings from what I sold to contribute to the "DCRF" (Drop Ceiling Replacement Fund). Since the photo below was taken today you can tell we've had less progress on the ceiling and more progress on the market.
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| When I baked for that first Saturday, I stuck to things I had made often. I used a good quality butter, King Arthur flour and plenty of white, brown and powdered sugar in all it's refined goodness. I didn't feel the least bit guilty because it was Saturday. Saturdays are on the weekend and in my very strong, educated opinion, Saturday mornings are the day for a homemade cinnamon roll or a family trip to a really good bakery. I was also still several steps ahead of most things you would buy in a store. I never have and never will use any man made trans fat (partially hydrogenated oil), high fructose corn syrup or add any kind of preservatives to make a cinnamon roll last for three months on a shelf. I also started with organic milk and cream (that's what we bought and I didn't see why you would ever give your customers something that you wouldn't eat yourself). So not too bad of start... |
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| I love decorative packaging. |
Since then, our stand has undergone a lot of changes. I may have a bona-fied dietetics degree, but I can't say enough about what I've learned about food from the vendors and customers down at the market. My view of adequate nutrition has certainly shifted from a sharp focus of calculated "protein, calorie and fluid needs" estimates to a much bigger picture of how the land, animals and people can interact in a way that sustains all three. From this perspective I've changed a lot of recipes as well as tried to improve packaging methods (using 100% biodegradable to-go boxes for meals, cups and the cellophane cake wrapping and kraft recycled boxes).
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| A blurry photo of the label on the box that says: "Compost this container!" |
In changing my recipes I've tried to focus on:
a.) What can we do to make it taste even better?
b.) What can we do to make it better for us (land, animals and people)?
Following these guidelines, some of the improvements we've made include using all grass fed milk, buttermilk, butter and cream cheese. We also use all organic cream, half and half, yogurt, sour cream and cheese made using sustainable methods. (Except for the Better Than cheese...so if anyone knows of a really, really, really extra sharp grass fed or organic cheddar let us know). I've replaced all the "white sugar" with evaporated cane juice, agave nectar or molasses in the majority of the baked goods. (Even used fresh beets in a chocolate cake that turned out pretty scrumptious!). In meals and in baked goods, we of course try to use as much local, organic and sustainable grown produce as we can find.
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| 100% organic chocolate birthday cake sweetened with agave nectar and grated beets-yum!! |
This has resulted in a continually improving quality of what we make. (And we don't say it tastes better until we get "market confirmation" from ya'll even if Reid and I love it). Below are things that have passed our taste-health improvement test which I'm pretty happy about:
Whole wheat scones-so much better than plain white flour.
Ginger molasses cookies with dark chocolate chips ("Snaps")-delicious.
Whole wheat crust for tomato tartlets-tender, flaky, savory.
Whole wheat vanilla wafers-why not make banana pudding with no refined flour or sugars?
Whole wheat puff pastry-success. Melt in your mouth good success.
Even chocolate croissants turned out to rave reviews using a whole wheat flour.
I am clearly all about making a treat better for you as long as it tastes better too. A treat is still a treat and even a dark chocolate cake sweetened with freshly grated beets isn't a replacement for the vegetables, fruit, and other good stuff in your meals. (Which is why I have never found any good reasoning for diet cookies). A Southern Scratch whole wheat apricot cream cheese pastry is still a treat, but just not one that is going to leave you with major eaters remorse.
So while I'm thrilled with the above, I wasn't so thrilled about what I did to pound cake last weekend...
Basically, there are some things that can be made with whole grains and taste really good and there are other things that just aren't the same without refined white flour. This later group definitely includes that pound cake. We put out samples of our whole wheat experiment Saturday morning and everyone pretty much had the same reaction: "It's good, but it's not pound cake."
Reid and I couldn't agree more. The ones that I added blueberries and a fresh lemon glaze to were a hit. It was more like a rustic coffee cake and the whole wheat enhanced the flavor and texture. But the ones we left plain tasted more like a slightly sweet yet totally uninspired blend of flour and butter in the shape of a cake pan. And while I love a good pound cake variation which may work with whole wheat flour, often you just want a really good plain pound cake.
So we've settled it:
Southern Scratch Rule: Pound cake should and will remain a white flour, white sugar cake. No apologies.
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| Pound cake is not health food. (It will still have grass fed butter and buttermilk along with organic extracts and cage free eggs-those ingredients always pass our "taste better, better for you in this recipe" test). |
Luckily, good health isn't an all or nothing thing. Good nutrition is made up of a lifetime of consistently good habits along with a warm cinnamon roll on Saturday morning or a slice of really good pound cake for company. With this in mind I don't have any problems sleeping at night and I hope you don't either.
Looking forward to seeing everyone at the market this Saturday where there will be plenty of whole wheat scones AND pound cake!
