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

grapefruit fever

delicious citrus is freaking me out. i just truly realized how amazing grapefruits are! in fact i might be addicted. as soon as i finish one i am already thinking about when i will get to eat the next one. to celebrate what i've been told is "a great year for citrus" we are making our own homemade grapefruit marmalade! we use pink grapefruit marmalade in some of our wheat-free cornmeal scones. sweet cornmeal and sweetbittertart grapefruit are a match dreamed up right in the mind of the heavens. try it. you will not feel sad that you did. so enjoy wheat-free cornmeal scones with homemade grapefruit marmalade!!!

on it's way...

scones

 while i'm at it, lauren took some lovely photos of what we do. have a little looksee...

iced lemon scones with dried blueberries

cinnamon sugar scones

living the flaky dream. 

XOXO! 

love,

m

come git it!

this thursday 2.26.09 at blend coffee lounge in north portland. come enjoy the art...

how much do i love kathie hadd??? SO MUCH!!! stay for the coffee!!! sample local roasters including:
courier coffee roasters
st. johns coffee roasters
cellar door coffee roasters
see you there!!!

TAMP YOUR FACE OFF II

coffee fiends and fanatics...
TAMP YOUR FACE OFF II! come enjoy the acrobatics of some of portland's finest baristas at BLEND COFFEE LOUNGE (2710 n. killingsworth @ greeley) thursday february 26, 2009 from 7pm-11pm!
highlights include amazing coffee, foxy latte art, awesome art on the walls by KATHIE HADD!!!, chuckles with friends, some fine thursday evening entertainment to help ease the winter chills. c'mon do it!!!

hope to see you there!

xo!
-m

ps if you want to see some photographic highlights from the first tamp our face off go to blog.littleredbikecafe.com

find us at...

there are two new awesome locations where you can find dovetail bakery treats...

PIZZA A GO GO!!!

and

WHOLE FOODS on NE FREMONT!!!

go get some pizza a go go (they have vegan & gluten-free pizza!!!) and treat yourself & your date to a romantic cupcake nightcap! and say hey to the awesome staff.



and grab a cookie to snack on while you shop at whole foods in northeast. i know you go there for the free samples on the weekends. thanks everyone!

happy valentines day. we love you. XOXO.
-morgan

last minute romance! happy V day!

i blame my questionable photographic skills for the extreme delay. finally here are a few glimpses of what this valentines day has to offer!

apple & almond heart tart


good time valentines day cookies
we will write ANYTHING you want as long as it will fit on a cookie!



and some special heart shaped cakes. check back tomorrow. hopefully i will have a photographic offering.

THE DETAILS:
2 GIANT cookies with personalized text (top line: 8 characters, bottom line: 7 characters) $7
apple & almond heart tart $10
fancy cake for two $12
ALL PRICES INCLUDE FREE DELIVERY WITHIN PORTLAND!!! NO JOKE!!

call to order. you can pay by paypal now. easy. XOXO!!!

mail order just in time for valentines day!!!

so i'm sure you know that valentines day is coming up. it is and we are officially offering mail order!!! before i go any further there are two things i want to say about the matter...
1. valentines day is so much better when it is shared with friends, family and loved ones. toss out the super weird pressures of partner performance pressure. your friends and neighbors and library workers and radio hosts and family want to know that you care about them. share the love. it makes it so much more fun.
2. if you want to share the love with these folks we will be offering some super special valentines day treats just for the holiday! more to come about this in the coming days.
but back to the mail order. this pie travelled all the way to norfolk virginia! thanks robert! it was accompanied by an assortment of cookies and even some apple cider sweet rolls! miriam ordered scones and sticky buns! happy to do it! margaret has ordered a wheat-free banana chocolate marble loaf cake, scones and sticky buns! done, done, and done! if you want us to ship some of our lovingly prepared vegan baked goods just contact me at dovetailbakery@hotmail.com or call at 503.288.8839! i would be so happy to help you pick out just the right treats! thanks and i look forward to hearing from you. XOXO!

love,
morgan


BEFORE:
pears on their way into the oven to roast...


AFTER:
oven roasted pear & cranberry pie!