12 Things We Learned in 2012

Man, what a year!  365 days ago PSR was just a twinkle in our owner's eye.  It was a far off dream, lacking in skill, time, money, and hope.  Sure we liked to bake, but to actually sell what we made to people?  Book weddings and stuff like that?  Really?  Sounds unlikely.

And here we sit, 365 (366 for those keeping up with their leap years) days later, in awe at what has happened in this past year.  Are we where we ultimately want to be?  Heck no.  But we are much closer to our end goal than we ever thought we could be last December.

To celebrate the past 365 days of awesomeness that 2012 has brought our baker, we present to you a list simply entitled

12 Things We Learned in 2012

1. It is never too late to try something new.  We say that only being 26, so maybe that sounds a little funny.  But 4 years ago we graduated college with a degree in history and secondary education.  And now we're trying to start a new business.  It's amazing the path our lives take if we simply open ourselves up to possibilities.

2. Baking is not as simple as following a recipe.  There's so much more to it than that.  This is not a simple "Follow steps A-G" business.  This is artwork, this is creation, this is pure joy and love.  If you don't love baking, and you're a baker, your customers will see it in every piece you create.  My pieces may not be 100% perfect, but you can tell I put my heart and soul into each one.

3. Practice makes perfect.  I've had some pretty big mess ups this year.  Some of which people still lovingly accepted.  Some of which I quickly pitched.  But working at something until I get it, it's such an amazing feeling when you can pull off the unthinkable.

4. Powdered sugar has a way of ending up in really strange places.  Always wear an apron and never wear an outfit that you look at and think, "Hmmm, maybe I could go out later tonight in this."

5. Never bake on an empty stomach.  The customer will suffer, as will your waistline.

6. Put yourself out there.  Take risks, be adventurous.  Don't be afraid to say, "Hi my name is Lis and I run a small bakery!"  You never know who might remember that one line later down the road.  We've been selling that line for the past 6 months, and have booked 1 bridal shower, 2 weddings, and several parties.  It feels great to know that my enthusiasm for my business has lead to a steady growth in business.

7. Take your finances seriously.  Don't put your business money in with your actual money.  Open up a separate account, and act all "adult-y" with your funds.  Spreadsheets, finance trackers, find a way that works for you and stick with it.  You will only regret it later if you don't.

8. Find your weakness and educate yourself.  I'm not a business woman, never have been.  So I took tons of classes, read books, and asked for advise from business professionals in the area.  It's amazing what I've learned in the past year about running your own business.  It's hard work, that's for certain.  But if you're passionate about something you love to do, make sure you learn all the ins and outs of it.

9. Always thank those who help.  Starting a business takes a little luck, a lot of planning, and a mountain full of help from friends and family.  When help comes from loved ones (and it will), make sure you acknowledge how much you appreciate their time, services, and support.  I have a stack of cupcake-themed thank you notes that I constantly use to let people know how much I appreciate their support.  You can't open a business by yourself.  Make sure you take time to let those who have helped know how much their helping hand means to you and your business.

10. It's OK to make messes.  Just remember to clean them up.  No matter how tired I am, everything at least gets rinsed out before I go to bed.  Waking up to dirty but rinsed mixing bowls is much better than waking up to dirty mixing bowls with dried on batter.  The bed can wait 5 more agonizing minutes.  The dishes cannot.

11. Be open to new opportunities.  This is a hard one for us to remember sometimes, because we have a dream idea in our head about how our business should look 5 years from now.  It's good to set a plan, but keep yourself open to new opportunities.  We never know where it might lead.  Personally, I started out as a teacher, but allowed myself to slowly be lead to baking.  Who knows where I might be if I hadn't allowed myself the chance to try something new.

12. Have fun or get out of the kitchen.  Baking is an absolute joy for me, and I wouldn't have it any other way.  If the time ever comes where I think, "This isn't any fun for me" I need to either readjust or hang my apron up.  Good baking comes from the heart, not from a recipe card, and I need to remember to have fun each and every day I step into the kitchen.

There you have it, 12 lessons from 2012.  Keep following our bakery in 2013, we have some amazing things planned for you!!

Happy New Year, readers!

Lis

The End of the Road

Whew.  What a week.

For those of you who don't know, I work at a place I lovingly call Initech (yes, that's an Office Space reference, you nerds!)  It's one of those soul-sucking cubicle jobs that every college student boldly announces "I will never have a job like that" at some point during their days on campus, even though most of us know we'll end up there anyway.  It pays the bills, and has provided me with some very good friends.  Other than that, I'd rather force a nosebleed every morning than sit there for 8 hours a day.

The third week of every month my job becomes a living hell.  Crushing deadlines fall to my team, and it's an all-for-one-one-for-all get 'er done kind of mentality.  Did I really just mix Alexander Dumas and Larry the Cable Guy in the same sentence?  Really?  Anyway, the days are long, the overtime is ferocious, and you learn to love 5 minute Ramen breaks 3 times a day.  I see my co-workers more than anyone else during that week, and long enough overtime to technically take the following week off.  To say it's an insane week would be an understatement.

On top of that, me and my bright ideas thought it would be the perfect time of year to have a Christmas bake sale.  Sometimes my ideas, in theory, sound wonderful, but in practice, are just about the worst things I've ever decided to try.

Here's the thing, you all know I love baking.  If I didn't, this blog wouldn't exist, and I wouldn't be carefully creating my own Ocean's 11 heist for the needed start up funds.  But baking after 12 straight hours of work...?  Wow.  That's where the boys become men, in my book.  It takes real dedication to work 12 hours, 12 stressful, million-miles-an-hour hours with problems, phone calls, and international break downs (I am making this job sound so interesting...it's not) only to come home to my little crack den on Duncan Avenue, the one with no counter space or dishwasher, and pump out cupcake after cupcake.  Real dedication.  For the past 8 days or so, this is what my schedule has looked like:

     6am: Alarm goes off
     6:05am: Alarm reminds me the world is expecting to make something of myself
     6:10am: Alarm is shoved down the garbage disposal as I wearily make my way into the shower.
     7:30am: Welcome to work.  Let the headaches begin.
     8:30am: I greet the state of New Jersey with a round of "Why didn't you pay your taxes?" phone calls.  So sexy.
     9:43am: Cookies for breakfast?  No shame here, shove 'em down.
     10:37am: Have not peed since 6:12am.  Bladder may explode.  Question whether I could be sent home if I pee my pants.  Decide to risk a trip to the bathroom.
     11:51am: Call from Germany.  Do I know where the U.S. Embassy is in Berlin?  Do I look like I know where the U.S. Embassy is in Berlin?
     12:04pm: Boss reminds me I have a lot of work to do.  Really???  I had no idea.
     12:45pm: I'm hungry.  Maybe it's time to grab some...
     12:46pm: Call from Florida.  Crisis at the bank.  CODE RED!!  ALERT!!!  ALERT!!!
     1:31pm: Crisis averted.  Now about that lunch...
     1:32pm: Co-worker begs for help.  Lunch stays in the fridge.
     3:21pm: Barely have the strength to reach into the fridge to retrieve my lunch.  Running on some water and a handful of stale cookies.
     4:09pm: The Germans are back.  Why are they not in bed?  What's the time difference?
     5:16pm: Do I know the zip code for Biloxi Mississippi?  Seriously?
     7:15pm: Good bye Initech.
     8:00pm: Hello crack den.  It's been too long.
     8:11pm: Where is that flippin' spatula?  I had it right...oh crap, it's dirty.
     8:12pm: Wash all dishes.
     8:45pm: Start baking
     9:01pm: NEW GIRL IS ON!!!!  AND I MISSED THE FIRST MINUTE!!!!
     9:11pm: Continue baking during the first commercial break.
     9:20pm: Continue baking during the second commercial break.
     9:35pm: Into the oven you go!
     9:53pm: Holy bananas is that pan hot!!!
     10:43pm: Cupcakes should be cool by now.  Maybe I should make some icing...
     10:45pm: Well great.  I'm out of butter.
     11:38pm: $5 more that Giant Eagle has sucked from my wallet forever.
     12:00am: Icing's done.  I'm way too tired.  I'll ice tomorrow.
     12:16am: Good night world.

8 days of some sort of variation of this.  I'm kind of klutzy and kind of forgetful, so there's always a crisis to worry about.  Thursday night I pulled a pan of gingerbread cupcakes out only to watch them fall and splat all over the floor.  Monday night I put an accidental hole in a bag of powdered sugar, causing my clothes and the counter to be covered in the mess.  And the one night I left the milk out alllllllll night.  I think I was a bit sleep deprived, though.

So looking back, was it worth it?  Well, in 8 days I sold 20 orders of cupcakes, baked and iced hundreds of little cakes, and (hopefully) gave people a holiday treat to enjoy with friends and family.  Oh yeah, and I also raised several hundred dollars for my baking business.  So was it worth it?  Definitely.  Would I do it again like this, given the chance...?

Probably not like this.

The baking was fine, but man was Initech a killer.  But you know what, this entire blog is about learning how to start a bakery.  Down to those nitty-gritty details like, hey, remember to put the milk away!  This blog is not about celebrating only my victories.  It's about learning from mistakes, laughing at messes, and trying not to cry too much when things go south.  It's about discovering my own strengths, changing my weaknesses, and learning how to become a better business woman.  I guess this is just another step in the journey.

If you helped me at all through this past week, thank you.  Thank you to the Cokes for letting me invade their very large and wonderful kitchen (complete with two ovens AND a dishwasher.  I was in heaven!)  Thank you to those who donated supplies and time.  Your donations were appreciated more than you realize.  Thank you to my coworkers who helped keep me laughing through the stressful times, and who taste tested dozens of batches before I rolled them out to the masses.  And, of course, a big thank you to all who trusted my baking skills enough to buy some cupcakes for themselves, friends, and family this holiday season.  You are trusting people, but I thank you for it.

And now, I think, it's time for a much needed good night's sleep.  I might be a little tired!!

Merry Christmas all. :-)

Lis

Christmas Time in the City!

In case you were worried, I'm not dead!  Sorry for the lack of updates, it has been cuh-razy for this lone baker!  Why does my employer not realize I don't actually want to sit in a cubicle for 8+ hours a day.  Someone want to drop the hint for me?



So what have I been up to recently?  Oh plenty!  Pittsburgh Sweet Relief officially made its first out-of-state trip last weekend, to New Jersey.  What a trip that was!  I have never carted 2 dozen cupcakes 700 miles, and for awhile I wasn't sure they were going to make it.  But they did, and everything I heard from the delivery is that they rocked!  My favorite were some margarita cupcakes I made for the first time.  Moy caliente, were they amazing!!  So many shots of tequila in them too, that didn't hurt :-)

We're gearing up now for our Christmas fundraiser.  We're all systems go for this last big push/fundraiser before 2013 hits.  If you haven't ordered any cupcakes yet, don't forget to stop by and sign up for some before Friday, when ordering closes.  I promise, you don't want to miss this!!  It's going to be a fantastic gift for you and all of your friends and family to share!

Well, time to wrap some presents and stick them under the tree.  It really is the most wonderful time of the year!

Have fun, talk to everyone soon!

Lis

Reviewing For You: Wilton Easy Lift Cake Lifter

Product: Wilton Easy Lift Cake Lifter

Claim to Fame: Need to tort a cake, or want to shove some amazing homemade caramel between two layers of divine cake?  This will help you out.  For years whenever I wanted to cut a cake to layer it in half to spread some amazing icing between it, it was a balancing act of spatulas, prayers, and a small amount of sweat and tears.  Anyone who has ever baked before understands my paid.  It's tricky trying to divide a cake without breaking it.

This cake lifter from Wilton, then, claims to make cake torting a simple, painless experience.  Just cut the cake, insert this between the two layers, and lift away.  It will lift cakes up to 14", and because it is made of metal, Wilton claims it won't buckle under the weight of even your densest cake.

Price $ ($0 - $10): The price at most places is $9.99.  Again, I used my 40% off coupon at Joann's and managed to snag this potentially life-saving device for $5.99.  That's a great price, in my opinion.

Testing It Out: If there was ever a product that was designed for me in the baking industry, this is that product.  I hate cutting and lifting cakes, and usually use an assortment or two wide spatulas wedged in between the layers.  It's a small nightmare.

I had to ice a cake for a decorating class, and decided to try this bad boy out.  Let me just tell you, this is a God send.  I sliced my frozen cake in half, seamlessly slid this between the cake letters, and boom, the cake lifted right up!  No buckling halfway in transition, no cracked cakes, a seamless transition to a plate.  I couldn't believe how easy it was.  I wanted to keep slicing my cake up just so I could try this out again and again and again.

The Results: A perfectly torted cake.  A seamless transition from cake plate to holding cake and back again.  The results were professional.

Final Verdict: This was worth every penny it will save me in headaches, re-cuts, and broken cakes.  If you bake cakes a lot, this is a must-have in your pantry.  It will make your baking experience so much easier.  If you're a casual baker, it's something you could definitely consider adding to your kitchen.  With a price of $9.99, it's an added gift that won't bust the budget.

Rating: ***** out of *****
A perfect score for a perfect product.  I could rave about this product all day.  Instead, I'll simply say, go try it yourself.  You won't be disappointed. :-)

Small Business Saturday

Growing up, we tend to go through different spending stages in our lives.  There's those middle school and high school years, where all of our transactions are in cash, from birthday and Christmas money, and it's mostly spent on ridiculous purchases at the mall (for me it was always Claire's, or the CD store, or sometimes Gap).

 Then you hit college, where it's about the bottom line, and your spending habit becomes a daily math problem...I have $10, and need toilet paper, milk, Ramen, bread, and toothpaste.  How much can I buy, with the coupons I have, without sacrificing quality of living?  Wal-Mart, Aldi, Big Lots, they all become your favorite stores in the world.  Saving money becomes not only a challenge, but a way of life.

Following the college years are the "Oh my gosh, I'm on my own!" years.  These are years of rock bottom shopping, much like your college days, but with a flair for the extravagance...you want your parents to believe you're fine financially, so "splurging" on items like candles, dishware, and fun furniture pieces occasionally, to prove you're living on your own with no problems, becomes a way of life.  You become a staple fixture at the Target clearance end racks, pilfering candles and woven place mats at 75% off.

Then there's this moment you come to in life where you wake up and realize, holy crap, there's money in my bank account!  My bills are paid, my food is purchased, and I have money left over!  It's that true moment where you think, I finally made it to adulthood.  I'm going to make it through this thing called life in one piece!  There's usually some fist pumping associated with this moment.

And it's at that moment that you begin to spend your money is "wise" ways.  Some of it goes into savings for those unexpected car repairs and major life purchases.  Some of it goes to pay of college loans.  Some of it may go to help others, through child sponsorship, charity relief, or adopt-a-pet organizations.  And some of it we selfishly spend on ourselves, and our lives, upgrading them into a life we've always imagined.

When I was in college, Wal Mart was a second home to me.  I lived there because I could afford the merchandise they were selling, especially the food.  Everything I bought came from there or Ikea.

Now, I shop at places because I like what they sell.  I tend to avoid Wal Mart because I don't believe in their company policies as a general principle.  Shopping at small, locally-owned stores, something that was not even an option 3 years ago, is becoming an increasing part of my daily life.  Instead of looking for great mass-produced options that everyone has, I am instead looking for that unique, often original item that is unique to my tastes and home.  If evolving tastes is part of becoming an adult, I think I'm winning!

Why am I telling you this?  Because, simply put, I don't want a coffee maker you bought at Wal Mart along with 800 other people :-P  No, I'm just kidding.  I'm telling you this because I want to challenge you to look at your spending habits, and see if there are any places you could adapt or change how you purchase items.  I'm not telling you to give up big box stores completely.  Even I haven't done that.  But every once in awhile, if you can buy something at a chain store and a small, local enterprise, think about purchasing it from the smaller place.

If you've never done that before, tomorrow is a great time to start!  Tomorrow is Small Business Saturday, the day directly following the mayhem that is Black Friday.  Black Friday is all about the rock bottom deals that the chain stores can offer us, and there's nothing wrong with trying to save money.  Small Business Saturday, though, is about giving back to the community you live in, and reminding local store owners that you support their business during the holiday season.

All Americans are encouraged to buy something local tomorrow, whether it's fresh produce, a handmade scarf, or even some homemade cupcakes(hint hint).  It doesn't really matter what you buy, the goal is to get out, find something local you love, and support businesses in your neighborhood.  It's a great time to find a perfect present for that hard-to-shop-for friend or relative.

This is the first year Pittsburgh Sweet Relief has been around to participate in Small Business Saturday, but we hope it is the first of many successful shopping days for us.  While we have no store front for you to stop by at, we still encourage you to consider us in your shopping needs as you're out and about tomorrow.

To help encourage you to try Pittsburgh Sweet Relief again (or maybe for the first time!) we're offering 10% off any orders placed on 11-24-12.  That doesn't mean you have to pick it up tomorrow, you just have to place an order with us tomorrow.  So if you've been thinking for awhile, "Man, it would be great to order a Christmas cake for when the family comes over this holiday season!" now is your chance to take advantage of our sale.  It's a win-win for everyone: you get delicious, home made baked goods, and we have the support of our local community.

So think about helping us out tomorrow.  And if baked goods aren't in your near future, consider donating to our "Go Fund Me" fund.  See that button on the right side of your screen...?  Click it, donate, and help us Build our Bakery!!

Have an awesome weekend guys!!  Don't shop too much!!

Lis

Price Comparison

Have you ever sat down on a weekend day off and price flour out by the cup?  It's fascinating work.

Let's do a math problem, shall we...

If the flour I buy comes in 5lb bags, and there are approximately 3 3/4 cups of flour per pound, and my recipe uses 1 3/4 cups of flour in every recipe, how many servings of cupcakes can I make with one 5lb bag of flour?

With some slight rounding (let's be honest, I spill flour from time to time), the answer you should have come up with is 10.  I can make 10 dozen cupcakes with one bag of flour.

To continue the math problem, if one bag of flour costs $1.39, how much do I spend per serving to add flour to a dozen cupcakes?  If you move the decimal point, you'll find I spend approximately 14 cents per dozen cupcakes on flour.

Is your head hurting yet?  Try doing this with every single ingredient in my recipes.  I might have just popped two Alieve :-)

In all reality, though, as much math crunching as I have done today, it's for a good cause...I wanted to make sure that what I'm charging customers is right on price point for where it should be.  I have been basing my pricing on local competitors, but never sat down and figured it out for myself.  Guess today's as good of day as any to whip out the ol' calculator.

My discoveries...??  My price is right on the money.  For most basic cupcakes (we're talking no thrills and frills, no gluten-free, no 20 hours of work) I charge $21/dozen.  Sometimes $20 if I'm feeling nice.  And calculating for supplies, electricity used, and time I donate, The total price for me to make 1 dozen cupcakes is $20.17.  That includes electricity to run the oven, boxes to store the cupcakes, money to pay myself, and cupcake liners.  Pretty spot on, isn't it ;-)

Calculating prices also helped me pinpoint where I can save some money too...the biggest expense in my cupcake baking is vanilla bean paste, a wonderful creation, but $8.99 for 4oz. of the stuff.  I've been dumping a tablespoon of it into my cupcakes, resulting in me spending $1.12 per dozen cupcakes just for vanilla flavoring.  Hmmmm....maybe this needs reworked.  So I'm going to play around with quantities a little, maybe swapping some of the paste out for vanilla extract.  I like the paste because it does provide us with actual vanilla beans, but as far as flavoring goes, vanilla extract does the job just as well.  So we'll play around with some volume, and hopefully get the cost down even more.

Number crunching is over for the day...pumpkin pies are in the oven as we speak, just waiting to be consumed by the holidays this week.  I cannot wait to eat them and share in Thanksgiving with friends and family this week.

If you're traveling this holiday week/weekend, be safe.  And to all I wish a happy and healthy Thanksgiving holiday.  I am thankful for all the support, advice, and help you have offered to me in this past year!

Lis

Reviewing For You: Wilton Bake Even Strips

Product: Wilton Bake Even Strips

Claim to Fame: Will bake cakes more evenly, without the "dome" on top that we usually end up sawing off anyway.

Price $ ($0 - $10): It was marked at $8.99 for two strips, but I used my $40% off coupon that Joann Fabrics loves to throw my way every other day and bought two strips for about $5.50.

Testing Them Out: I'll be honest, when I was told these things existed, I was a bit skeptical that they would work.  You mean to tell me I wrap some fabric around the outside of my cake tins, bake them like I normal do, and magically the cake bakes more evenly without that dreaded dome?  Seriously??

I decided to give them a whirl when a lady I'm taking decorating classes with bought them, tried them...and loved them.  She brought this cake in, I swear, it was so flat you could've shot pool on the darn thing.  I knew right then and there that I wanted to try this out for myself.

So I bought some tonight, because I'm making a princess birthday cake this week, and really didn't want to waste half the cake to the dome sacrifice (like always).  I followed the instructions, they're not that hard, put my cakes in the oven, and waited.  Preparing the cakes with the Bake Even Strips was practically no different than without.  It took me probably an extra minute to minute and a half to wet the strips, squeeze the excess water out of them, and secure them around my pan.  Time wise, it's really no different.  The only part that was slightly more challenging was securing the strips with the pin.  It's not that the pin isn't up for the challenge, it's just hard to get a firm grasp on it when the strips are wet and the pan is full of cake batter.

The Results:  A half hour later I pulled two bright pink cakes out of the oven, and looked to see what had happened.  The results...

Not too shabby for my first try!  Now, as you can see, there's definitely a small dome forming on the cake, but it's much better than it usually is.  The camera angle might not be the greatest for this shot, but it's minimal at best.  Instead of hacking off up to a third of the cake I just baked, this will result in a much smaller portion heading into the garbage (or my belly).

Final Verdict:  Surprisingly simply to add to your baking, anyone who likes to bake cakes on a semi-regular basis should definitely invest in a set of these.  With the price so moderate (2 strips for $9), even the recreational cake baker could buy these, use them only once or twice a year, and still get a good value from them.

Rating: **** out of *****  It's an easy solution to a problem that has plagued bakers for years.  These strips definitely earn their name.  They'll earn the full 5 stars from me when they make it easier to attach.  The pinning is a little tricky at times, especially when you have a pan full of cake batter.

Deep In the Heart of Texas

Did you ever take on a challenge and think to yourself while you were agreeing to it,  "This might be more than I can handle?"

That was me this week.

On Saturday night, I was asked by a friend to make 150 mini cupcakes for a birthday party this Friday.  Mini cupcakes means less batter, but that still meant 150 cupcakes I had to fill, bake, ice, and decorate.  Wow.  But I'm new in the business.  This is the "Whore yourself out" phase where you will agree to just about anything for publicity, growth, and new business.  So of course I said yes.  And, on a normal week, this wouldn't be a problem at all.  But this was not a normal week...

Monday: ServSafe exam starting at 7:30am.  Ran all day.  That evening, had to bake gluten-free cupcakes.

Tuesday: Election Day.  Found out I'm not a citizen of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (that's another story for another blog).  Ate free ice cream and had a date with the movies.

Wednesday: Back to work. After work had a dinner date.  Baked from 8pm-midnight.

Thursday: Worked all day.  Baked from 7pm-11pm.

Friday: Worked, party.

So, I had very few hours to prepare all of work.  I was like a mad assembly line.  Fill, bake, cool, ice, decorate, box.  Over and over and over and over again.

Sometimes situations like this can stress me out.  Sometimes I get myself into a pickle like this, bite off more than I can chew, and learn a very valuable lesson about time management.  Not this time, though.  This time, this challenge was a giant success.  I made all the cupcakes, everyone loved them, I got additional publicity, and booked two separate gigs (not from this, but still...)

I won't make this a habit, but I'm glad I made this happen.  It worked out well for everyone.

Happy weekend!!!

Lis

The Weekend Warrior

What a crazy weekend this is shaping up to be.  Lots of baking.  Lots of bakery-ing.  Little time to blog about it.

Yesterday was my first actual decorating class, and boy was it interesting.  For those of you who don't know, I've never taken a baking/decorating/business class in my life.  I am what the French call "Le Self-Taught".  But since I'm trying to open up a bakery, and convince people to buy my goods, I feel I should do everything in my power to get as much training, practice, and information I can about baking, decorating, business, etc.  So I signed up for a beginner's decorating class.

I was a little hesitant to sign up for this class, because, let's be honest, I do know my way around a kitchen.  I can fill a pastry bag and decorate cupcakes and cookies and cakes.  I can make delicious icing, in a million different flavors, and easily ice a cake.  I can roll and dye fondit, spread it on a cake, and decorate fun designs all over the top.  So a beginner's decorating class seems a little...redundant.  But, at the same time, I have to be humble with my skills: everything I've learned, I've taught myself or Googled "How to..."  What if I learned something incorrectly?  Or could do something more efficiently   I needed to start at the beginning, to make sure I didn't miss anything.

How many holidays did I celebrate with my cookie cutters this weekend?

The class was pretty dull, because it was the first one.  We learned how to fill pastry bags, how to make icing, and how to ice cookies.  Pretty slow.  But next week we're going to start in on some actual skills: creating leaves and vines on a cake, torting a cake, making a floral display.  None of which I've actually done.  So I'm trying to keep an open mind, because I do believe there are some things I can learn from this class.

Last night I had a huge blessing, for which I couldn't be happier about.  Ever have a pretty stressful week where you think, "Honestly, can I NOT catch a break this week?"  That was my week.  I was feeling pretty bummed out, and then a good friend came to me with several gifts.  Not only did she decide she wanted to donate supplies to my Christmas fundraiser (flour, sugar, powdered sugar, butter, etc.) but she needed me to make 150 cupcakes too.  Yay!!  Business, and supplies, and a way to keep my mind off of the craziness that is my life.  Talk about major blessing!!

Now it's time to study, and study hard.  My ServSafe exam kicks off in less than 24 hours, and I'm nervous about it.  It could either go really well, or really awful.  A lot of it is common sense (for example, do not put food in chemical bottles), but then there are all these small details I need to remember, like the distance shelving units need to be from the ground, and the height that a sneeze guard needs to be at on a salad bar.  Time to memorize, memorize, memorize.  And maybe write out a few flash cards too.

So, it's time to turn on the Office, throw in a load of laundry, eat a sugar cookie or 10, and get studying.  Par-tay!!

Lis

The Most Wonderful Fundraiser of the Year

It's here!!!  That day you've all been waiting for!!  The day our secret announcement finally becomes public knowledge!!  OUR CHRISTMAS FUNDRAISER!!!!

So here's the deal....we are trying to raise money to open a baker, as you all know.  More money = less debt = less stress = more creative baking ideas!  Easy math equation, right?  We figured it would be rude to just ask for money outright, and instead decided to ask for a trade.  We will give you six delicious, homemade cupcakes, each unique and decorated for the holiday season.  In return, you will give us 12 George Washington bills.  Or two Lincolns and two Washingtons.  Or 12,000 Lincoln coins (ugh, please don't do that!!)  Or $12 for those who don't like riddles.

When you swap money for cupcakes, we want to let you know that 100% of the proceeds will go to the "Buy Lis a Bakery" fund.  We won't go Christmas shopping with it, or pay our rent, or make it rain!!  All of it will be put into the bakery fund, and spent to make this business a reality.

If you're not into the holidays, or sugar, or small businesses, we've got it.  We don't blame you, and certainly won't hate you for not buying any.  What we would love, though, is if you could share this with your friends.  All of them.  You must have, what, like 600 Facebook friends??  That's 600 potential cupcake buyers!!  So please, copy the link above, post it everywhere, and help spread the word.

Done drooling over the picture above??  Ready to finally place your order?  Click here, it takes you to our order form.  It's that simple!!  Click, type, press enter, pay, and soon you too can taste the magical Christmas cupcakes we're about to bake up.

As always, thanks for all of your support!!!

Lis

Bagel Blog

Bagels.

Aren't they delish?  I mean, think about it, how yummy is that circled piece of dough?  I grew up in a family where every Saturday my dad went and bought fresh bagels from the local bagel shop.  Yummy!  I'm the type of person who will eat the same thing for months on end, and then randomly get tired of it and switch to something else.  I remember in middle and high school going through an egg bagel phase, an onion bagel phase, a cinnamon and sugar bagel phase, and a plain bagel phase.  I'm not a huge cream cheese fan (though I do love me some cheesecake), so I usually ate my bagels warmed with butter.  I guess to me, bagels are comfort food.

Until today, I had never attempted to make a bagel before.  I mean, there's Panera, Brueggers, Einstein Bros., Lenders frozen bagels. SO many bagel selections, it seems kind of dumb to waste your time and energy making them from scratch.  But what I love about baking is the adventure of trying to learn something new, the good, the bad, the absolutely awful (like my macaroons).  There's a challenge to learning new things, and these are the kind of challenges I like.

First I needed to learn how to bake a bagel.  Ha, that sounds funny, but it's true.  I mean, I can make bread dough as well as the next budding baker, but there had to be some secret to the successful bagel, something different that takes the dough from being just another loaf to the magical roundness of the bagel.  I found the secret, but I'll get to that in a minute.

So, let me be honest about a very important part of my personality: sometimes I don't think things through all the way.  I think "Hey, __________ would be an amazing thing to do/say/buy/build/bake" and forget about that one big problem that accompanies that statement.  Today, that one big problem happened to be time.  Why do we buy prepackaged bread at Giant Eagle?  Because it takes flipping forever to make bread!!  Bread baking is not an after work kind of activity.  Especially when it requires the additional steps that bagel making does.

Still, I plowed on.  I mixed, I kneaded, I let it rise (that's what's so time consuming about bread!!).  I kneaded some more, and some more, and some more.  Punched a lot of frustrations out into this poor loaf.  The past few weeks all sort of built up into one glorious pounding, and it felt wonderful.  If you happen to eat one of these bagels, know that I baked some pent up frustrations into each and every delicious bite. :-)

Once the dough was ready, it was time to form bagels.  Easier said than done, and I definitely need some work.  But then it came to the best part, the secret moment where this dough goes from being just another loaf of bread to the yummy goodness of bagel perfection: boiling.

If you can imagine, I had to boil a large pot of water, and then drop the raw dough into the water for about 5 minutes.  If you're confused, don't worry, so was I, but every website I read (including Wikipedia, and we all know we can absolutely trust Wikipedia!) said that boiling the dough before baking it gives bagels that crunchy outside shell and the soft middle we all love about bagels.  Well...this is a learning experience, so I'm all in!  Into the boiling pot they went.

Afterwards, they took a quick bath in an egg wash, half were sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, and into the oven they went.  You should smell my Mexican crack den right now, it smells delicious, all cinnamon-y and yeast-y and bagel-y.  Mmmmmmmmmm :-)  Shame you're not here.

For my first bagel making experience, I was surprised at how well they turned out.  The recipe is easy if you have the patience to devote to the process...from start to finish it probably took me 2 1/2 hours to make 8 bagels...we're not setting any land records there, but, again, it was a learning process.  Maybe someday I too can earn the title of speed bagel baker.

Well, it's off to finish up some fundraising paperwork for the fundraiser we're kicking off here on Thursday, and then it's off to bed for this girl.  I have the most amazing breakfast in the world waiting for me tomorrow, though: fresh, homemade bagels!!!

Lis

Happy Halloween!

Some Halloween cupcakes we brewed up today... Boo!!

Cutting Corners

Well tonight was one of those glamorous nights of near-bakery ownership that everyone hopes to someday experience: Finance Night.

Oh, so sexy!  I know, don't freak out, there's plenty of my finances to go around for everyone.  But it had to be done, much like your bi-yearly trip to the dentist, and sometimes you just have to grin and bear it. :-(

So tonight's financial journey was about my own personal finances: more importantly, me looking at all the spending in my life and finding ways to cut back.  It's unfair for me to ask others to help me build my bakery through financial contributions if I am not willing to make similar sacrifices.  So I sat down with my best friend in the world, mint.com.

If you've been around me at all since I graduated college, you've probably heard me go on and on about the wonders of mint.com.  I swear by the site, and always advise people to give it a try.  It's a free site that helps you manage your finances, set and keep a budget, set financial goals, pay down debt, and save for retirement.  I discovered the site in 2009, right out of college, and it has honestly helped me through my post-college days of two jobs, no money, and lots of bills to pay.  I wouldn't've survived my first few post-college years without it.

Tonight, mint.com helped to show me areas of my life that I can cut my spending on to help save money for my bakery.  Anything frivolous  over the top, or not needed, time to let it go.  Out went my subscription to Weight Watchers (I was still paying for that), and some dumb online journal I had signed up for (when left alone with my debit card...).  Out went my Netflix subscription, which hurt a little, because I actually do use that, and budgets were rolled back for food, shopping, entertainment, and gas.  I'm not trying to become Amish here, but if I can save money, I will.

I kept my cable for now, mainly because it's not something you can simply cancel online.  It's a tough decision, though, to cancel my cable.  I like to have the tv on in the background a lot, because I live alone and it saves me from talking to myself.  At the same time, I don't watch a ton of television live--most primetime shows I catch on Hulu over the weekends, and other than Discovery I.D. (my guilty pleasure) there's not a lot on TV I HAVE to watch.  At the same time, though, it's nice to be able to watch the Steelers game, or hockey when they're actually playing, or to settle down for a nap and a TBS movie on a Sunday afternoon.  It's expensive though, so I'll have to think about it.

Being a good steward of my money means not spending it on things I do not need.  I probably only cut about $75 a month back in my budget tonight, no record setting pushbacks by any means.  More will come later, perhaps, with cable and maybe car insurance.  But for now, that $75 can be put to better use, helping me to set up my bakery that much sooner.  So maybe I'll eat a little more Ramen again, like I did back in college...sometimes, sacrifices need to be made to achieve one's goals.

So, here I go, venturing out into the world tomorrow on a very strict budget.  Sounds like so much fun, haha!  I just have to keep remembering, I'm doing this for a reason!!

G'night all!
Lis

Macaroon 2.0

A bit of honesty here: while all of my Pittsburgh born-and-bred friends are gearing up for the Steelers game, I am working on business ideas and plans in my bedroom.  My cable-less bedroom.  And at 9pm I'm watching Revenge on television.  Let me know when hockey's back, and then you'll see the true sports fan within me come out.

We're not here to talk about hockey, though (sad :-( ...)  We are here to talk about my second attempt to make the perfect macaroon!

As you know, my bakery skills are self taught, from my Easy Bake Oven days forward.  I have never sat for a single class (that will change soon), and everything I've learned has come from friends, family, the internet, and maybe 20 bazillion Food Network shows.  Oh, and a little common sense too ;-)

That being said, sometimes my first tries are far from perfect.  My first tiered cake was, well, a disaster.  It took me 3 times longer than it should have to actually get enough cake to use, and then it heavily leaned to the one side.  My first chocolate cupcake was either the best or worst cupcake in the world, depending on who you ask.  My original attempt at spritz Christmas cookies almost burnt the Mexican crack den I live in to the ground.  Sometimes my baking classes are nearly catastrophic.

For those of you who are brand spanking new to this blog, last week I tried and failed to make an edible and beautiful macaroon.  It was edible, but it looked awful.  You know those macaroni projects your kids bring home that look like a train wreck, but you post them on the fridge anyway because you want your kids to feel like something they invested time and energy in is worthwhile??  Yeah, that's how I felt about these macaroons.  I was happy I had tried, but man I couldn't wait to throw them away.

So take two was today. And I have to admit, I was bound and determined to make this recipe correctly this time.  Sometimes, when I'm impatient, or think I know everything, I'll tend to edit recipes to my liking.  For example, the recipe I was trying said "sift the powdered sugar, cocoa, and almonds together once to properly mix ingredients before stirring", but, thinking this was a dump step, I skipped it last time.  I'm not saying it was the deal breaker for my Round 1 Macaroons, but you better believe I was going to follow every darn step perfectly this time.  To a T.

About an hour later (after my food processor had had enough), I pulled my first batch from the oven:

Perfection!  Finally, it seemed I had mastered the tricky art of macaroon baking.

Here's what I love about recipes like this: once you understand how the base recipe works (i.e. how a macaroon becomes a macaroon) the creativity you have is absolutely endless!  I made chocolate because, well, I have a weakness for the flavor, but I was already dreaming up flavor combinations and designs I would love to try out.  Definitely a mint chocolate recipe.  What about a lemon cookie with a raspberry glaze icing between?  An apple cinnamon combination, or even something more daring like rose and almond?  This is why I love baking!!  It's almost like a complex science experiment, and once you understand what needs to be done you can have as much fun as you'd like with it.

Any other suggestions for some delicious macaroon flavors and fillings?  What about a PB&J macaroon?  Would you eat that?  Let me know if you have any other fabulous ideas for macaroon flavorings!  This could become my new favorite thing to make!!

Lis

State of PA Business License

Fun fact: Allegheny County does not offer business licenses, they are only offered through Harrisburg. When you call Harrisburg, they funnel your calls into different call centers, depending on what sort of business you would like to start. After going through the Department of Horticulture (????) and the Department of Agriculture, I was rooted BACK to an office in Allegheny County, that works for Harrisburg, which deals with business licensing in the region. From there, I was told to leave a voice mail and someone would call me back.

30 minutes later and I am no further than where I began. Dear Pennsylvania state government, who created this system?

Love,
Lis

Macaroon Mishaps

Look at that photo. Just feast your eyes on the beauty of it...

A chocolate macaroon.  A perfect cookie, paired with another perfect cookie, sandwiching together some beautiful cream icing for the ultimate sweet treat.  Does life get better than a macaroon sandwich?

On Sunday I decided to spend a football-free day off trying to perfect my macaroon recipe.  If you've never made these before, they're easy enough, when it comes to ingredients.  Almonds, powdered sugar, cocoa, egg whites, and a hint of sugar.  But these are ridiculously time consuming to make, and will dirty every dish in your kitchen.  For most of you non-bakers, you also probably don't have some of the supplies required for the perfect macaroon.

I had all the supplies, though, and all of the ingredients, minus the almonds (and holy cow, the evil galactic empire that is Giant Eagle ACTUALLY HAD ALMONDS ON SALE!!!!!!  But I digress).  A quick trip to the store fixed that.  I thought, hey, this is a good recipe to learn in the process of opening a bakery, I'm going to spend the day and learn how to make macaroons.

These were my macaroons.  Hmmm....a little different from those little drops of heaven above.  Well, to be fair, these taste delicious.  They melt in your mouth like meringues  have this sweet nutty taste from the almonds, and the chocolate creme icing in the middle is to die for.  As for the appearance, well...that could use some work.

I think a lot of people would be utterly frustrated if this was their end result.  Maybe I should be a little too.  Maybe I was a little when I saw the volcano of chocolate-covered dishes that were sitting in my sink waiting for me.  But let's be honest, this is a learning experience for me.  You have no idea how many cookies, cakes, cupcakes, icings, and fillings I've messed up in the past year.  Lots.  They talk about us "Going Green"  constantly on television commercials: obviously they do not see my dumpster full of baking catastrophe garbage bags.  It's a learning process, especially for someone who is a self-taught baker.

I'll learn, though, and next time make an even better macaroon.  Soon I'll be making perfect macaroons, worthy of photographs from professionals, and their own blog post.  I was going to make some more tonight, but I'll let you in on a little secret: I still have a few dishes from yesterday to finish.  You'll learn very quickly that I hate dishes with an absolute passion.

So remember this post when I'm richer than Betty Crocker ;-)  There was a moment in time when I could not create macaroons any better than the next Holly Housewife!

Hope the rest of your week is great!!  If you need a sweet pick-me-up, let me know how I can help.

Lis

Rookie Mistake

Man...

Sometimes I'm not sure I'm going to make it in this world when I have such scatter-brained moments.

I just realized the email address on all of my communications was incorrect.  Aye.  If anyone wanted to contact me, they were S.O.L. simply because I cannot type.  Rookie mistake, get it together Lis!!

I just went through and updated EVERYTHING!  Blog, Facebook account, website.  Looks like I might be ordering some more business cards too.  Yay.  Haha.  Oh well, it's my own dumb fault!

If you want to contact me, the correct email is pghsweetrelief@yahoo.com.  Regardless of what you might have listed, that's the actual email that works.  Or, if you'd rather not take your chances, just call me.  Way easier ;-)

Lis

The First Steps

**Gulp**  Well, I did it...

I officially signed up for the Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association's ServSafe class.  A class like this is mandatory in the state of PA for any restaurant that wants to open.  It teaches me all sorts of health codes, how to keep my kitchen clean, and how to serve customers in a sanitary environment.  If I want to open a bakery this is a must complete.  I have an 8 hour course and then 3 hour written exam.  I must pass with a 75% to receive my certification.  Go ahead and start praying now.

The whole event cost me $175.  That's a lot of money for a girl who is still trying to recover from her $100,000 dollar investment at Geneva College.  I'm trying not to think about all the things I "could've bought" with that money, and instead focusing on the blessing's I have received this far in my short journey to be able to afford that class.  Hopefully I will pass the test on my first time so I don't have to pay the extra fee to sit for the exam again.

I'm so going to be a fish out of water, though.  I studied history in college.  HISTORY!  Just today I was lecturing a co-worker on 10th Amendment rights, and what that means to us as U.S. citizens. (To be fair, he kind of deserved the lecture.)  You want to talk about the communist fall of the U.S.S.R. in the early 90s, I'm your gal!  Want to debate whether Andrew Jackson did in fact promote genocide on U.S. soil with his treatment of Native Americans, I'll be up all night hashing it out with you.  I'm a nerdy history lover!

...and I just paid $175 to the PARLA to sit for my ServSafe exam.  Yikes!  I'm going to be like that new kid in school who they put in advanced math by accident when she really didn't make it out of Algebra I yet, watching all these people around me sound very dignified and important while I struggle to remember how to FOIL (first, outer, inner, last).  Oh geez, is this going to be difficult.

Crapazola!  I just realized this test is on a Monday!  As in, I have to take a day off work to do this!  **Checks calendar**  Do I even have vacation days left?  I think I do.  And if not, well, guess I'll be using one of my holiday days to sit for the exam.  Yay!!

Now to start studying.  It's like college all over again, except without the random dance parties and ice cream runs. :-(

Lis

Build Lis a Bakery!

I'm really gonna be drilling that idea into your head over these coming months!!

So here it is!!  On top of everything else I'm doing in my crazy life, it looks like another blog is in the works.  ::shameless plug: my original blog www.myalphabetyear.wordpress.com is still up and running and loves to have visitors::

I was blogging about opening a bakery on my actual blog, but I realized the purpose of that site is not to chronicle every bakery moment that happens in my life.  That blog is about living life to the fullest, setting off on adventures, and trying not to hit deer in my car!  It already had its own function.

The thing I love about my friends, though, is that they want to know what's happening in my life.  They want to know how my bakery plans are going, and what I'm doing to make my dreams come true.  So I started this blog in hopes of helping answer the ever-present question "How's that bakery thing going?"  

I'll update when I have news, so it may come in spurts.  Have patience with me, this is a marathon, not a sprint.  If you were hoping to sit down to a delicious baked good in my newly-opened place in 6 weeks, well, dream again.  (Unless you are a rich benefactor, of course.  If that's the case, PLEASE CALL ME ASAP!!!!)  

I'll be back, with new details!!

Lis