liz crain brings spring to dovetail bakery

 welcome to spring!

i was taking a walk the other day and look who came out to greet me! like clockwork the crocus and daffodils bloom this time every year, and i am so thankful because this is the time of year when i wake up everyday hoping that it will be sunny and springy outside, but we all know that most days... it's not. thankfully there have been other exciting things to look forward to, like meeting liz crain! she writes a blog that i love called food lovers guide to portland  and is working on a book by the same name. her photos are beautiful and her i love her writing. it is honest & focused & funny.


this is a photo she took of blueberry muffins on their way in the oven. you can see the rest of the post on her blog. we talked about the bakery, she met lauren and marly, and then i couldn't resist asking her about a food hero we have in common, sandor katz author of wild fermentation and the revolution will not be microwaved. if you haven't already read his books, you really should. wild fermentation is an old favorite of mine and it can often be found on my bedside table. what could be more relaxing than falling asleep thinking about sauerkraut, honey wine, and sourdough bread? i asked her about interviewing him at his home at tennessee & told her of my long term scheme/plan/dream to have sandor come to portland and teach a fermenting workshop. all around i had a great time meeting liz and i hope you all get a chance to enjoy her writing. thanks liz!

sweetheart of the rodeo

marly

i know there have been a lot of introductions, but there is someone else who i promised to introduce and i'm sure you'll love her as much as we do. marly, sweetheart of the rodeo, queen of scones, lover of dogs, my musical kindred spirit, and soon-to-be birthday lady (it's tomorrow!). i feel so lucky that our little staff is made up of some of the best people a person could possibly hope to work with! marly was introduced to us by evan & ali of the little red bike where you can see her artwork in regular rotation on the specials chalkboard, and hanging on the walls (so beautiful!). what a gem! thanks for all your hard work marly! and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

we all think you are great!

i'd like you to meet...

our beautiful home

a small (SMALL) business we are in such a lovely position of getting to be in personal contact with our clients (who we love), our distributors, and ingredients providers. i recently noticed that i haven't written much about the products we use so i felt like it was high time to make a few introductions... i would like you to meet our flour producers, shepherd's grain. they are an alliance of family farms based in the northwest who grow food alliance certified sustainable wheat. besides making a lovely flour, i appreciate their focus on long term sustainability. this flour comes to us by way of glorybee foods in eugene, oregon who are distributors of so many excellent baking supplies. you might already be familiar with their in house brand "aunt patty's" which makes delicious dark blackstrap molasses and packages their own extensive selection of herbs, spices, dried fruits & trail mixes. we are also in such a lucky location because we are right around the corner (relatively speaking) from bob's red mill and their whole grain store! maybe you'd like to buy some coconut flour, a few handfuls of green flageolet beans, some teff, and some green pea flour, you could. i love their bulk section so much. they have so many grains, flours, beans, and nuts to choose from, ALL IN BULK! and all of their mixes too. you can also see and touch some old stone burrs used for grinding grains into flour, and buy your own home grain mill, eat at the bakery cafeteria, buy their fresh bread for something like $1.99/loaf and you might even see bob! i did. and his wife charlie. bob looks just like he does on the labels. handsome. but i digress. i would take the opportunity to announce that we will be switching our berry supplier to stahlbush island farms who are also food alliance certified. if you would like to know more about organic vs. food alliance certification check out this page on their website. in a nutshell the chart at the bottom of the page sums up the overarching differences & similarities between the two. these berries and a few other stahlbush island farms vegetables will be arriving via earthly gourmet, the nicest (and most patient) vegan distributor in the northwest! and last but not least for today's information extravaganza, ota tofu makes simple & delicious soy nectar that we will be using in our scones, sticky buns, cakes, and wheat-free loaves. sigh. life is delicious. if you ever thought you couldn't stand 9 months of gray weather a year, just think for a moment how lucky we are that so many delicious foods are made right in our backyards. literally. thank you to everybody who helps to make this happen. 

xo.

m