I’m A New Small Business Owner. Ho, Ho Ho…

It’s been awhile since my last post. But, you see, I’ve helped to start a business. Our new venture is called Goat Cottage Farm. It’s a gluten-free, dairy-free bakery in Westport. That’s right, gluten-free and me. I apprenticed at Flour for crying out loud. My partner in this adventure into the land of sorghum flour […]

Serving Up Patience While Baking With Kids? Yes, ME.

Anytime I’m invited to wear my chef’s pants, flour-dusted clogs, kerchief and an apron, I’m happy, happy, happy! So yesterday I was thrilled to be back in the kitchen at West on Centre in West Roxbury where I – with some help from the Rose kids – assembled and baked off 25 apple pies for […]

A Holiday Riot of Fondant, Royal Icing and Blue Jell-O

My girl, Paige, and I judged a benefit holiday gingerbread competition yesterday at the Boston Christmas Festival at the Seaport World Trade Center. And I don’t know who was more wide-eyed when perusing the yuletide confections. My 4-year-old partner, decked for the task with her name badge and clipboard, loved all the free cookies and […]

Farming for a Good Dessert? Bake an Apple Cake!

High concept desserts may make people oooh, aaah and Instagram, but it’s the old school goodies that get gobbled up with glee. Case in point: Mrs. Lamb’s Apple Cake. I dug into my faded, hand-written recipe book the other day when I needed a fourth offering for our refreshments table at the Westport Historical Society’s […]

Struck Dumb By the Damson Plum

I’m a fan of East London baker Claire Ptak, the owner of Violet, a bakery in Hackney. I’ve never eaten any of her pastry; never made a pilgrimage to her shop. But I do follow her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. So, you know, it’s like we’re besties. A few posts ago, Claire – a […]

Cooking + Baking = Happy Me

Here’s a blog post I wrote this week for the gals at betterafter50.com. Enjoy! There are lots of things that make me happy–road trips, a purring cat on my lap, an enthusiastic hug from a child. But nothing, I mean nothing compares to the joy I feel cooking for my family and friends. It’s why […]

Brownies, Bake Sales and Bitterness

I managed to throw together a pan of Flour‘s Intense Chocolate Brownies today for my aunt’s post-barbecue Make Your Own Sundae Bar this weekend. However, I have a feeling Someone may lay claim to a few tonight so I must dash out for more unsweetened bar chocolate. Perhaps you’re thinking Flour’s brownies are a little […]

Too Many Berries = One Big Crostata!

The good news is I got another round of precious native strawberries in my CSA basket this week. The bad news? There was a berry glut in my refrigerator! No matter where I’ve shopped over the past two weeks – Whole Foods (needed, um, vitamins), Stop ‘n’ Shop (gas points) or Lees Market (Westport weekend) […]

A Tribute to Dad, the Original Foodsmith

We will celebrate Father’s Day and Dad‘s 76th birthday tomorrow, a rare feat of the calendar, so I felt the need to cook up a small tribute to my father, the consummate Foodsmith. After nearly 52 years with John Philip Raposa, his obsession with food, especially the baking business, has rubbed off on me. And, […]