Autumn is Here!

Hello fellow sweet treat lovers!

Can we just tell you how excited we are about autumn?  Don't get us wrong, we love the summer, and the beach, and the fireworks, and half-melted popsicles.  Mmmmm, popsicles.  But we love autumn.  The flannel shirts, apple picking and cider drinking (warm apple cider is amazing!), pumpkin carving, carol singing...wait, not that last one!  The weather is still nice, there's no snow on the ground, and the crunch of leaves underfoot reminds you just how beautiful everything looks outside.

Yes, autumn is our favorite.

And so far, we've had such a busy autumn schedule.  We had two orders last weekend for two separate weddings, another fantastic order for next week (look for pictures soon!), and we are talking to 3 brides about possibly baking for their big days.  Brides, you are so on top of things right now!  Way to go!! :)

On Tuesday we had a lot of fun helping the city break a World Record...a cookie-themed world record.  Reason #2,689 why we love this city!

Giant Eagle hosted the cookie dunking event (the first time in a long time we haven't hated the company), and it was so incredibly random it was wonderful.  Two cookies, a napkin, a cup of milk...and a world record shattered.  The previous record for number of people simultaneously dunking Oreos together stood at 1,700 (why this record already existed is still a complete mystery to us), but Pittsburgh managed to set the new record at 2,152.  Something new and fun to add to the resume, right under ninja.

We're also already gearing up for our annual Christmas Cupcake Sale in December too.  We hate thinking about Christmas too far ahead...but sometimes early prep is good.  We won't say too much more in this post, but it's something to keep in the back of your mind when you're stuck figuring out gifts for those barely-know co-workers.

Until then, enjoy the weather, Pittsburgh!  Make sure you stomp on a few extra-crinkly leaves!!

The Evil Galactic Empire

(The opinions expressed below are the opinions of us and us alone.  We were not paid for these opinions, and do not profit from voicing them.  All we ask is you read with an open mind!)

Ever fight for the little man?  If your answer to that question is no, have you ever wanted to fight for the little man?  I think most of us with a heart would say yes to at least that second question.  No matter how much we may claim to love the big guys, the bosses, the creme de la creme, deep down, somewhere, we all want that little guy to win once in awhile.

Most of the time, we all have something we're passionate about when we fight for the little man.  Maybe you volunteer your time at animal shelters helping animals who are unable to help themselves.  Maybe you're a die hard Pirates fan who truly believes this is the year they finally break this losing streak!  Perhaps you support local businesses and shun those big box companies that can make or break a community or town.  We all have that thing we fight.

For us at PSR, the thing we're most passionate is baking.  And as most of you know, we don't have some magic worm hole that delivers all of our baking supplies to us free of charge.  So we're forced to head out to the store for flour, sugar, eggs, and lots and lots of butter.

Unfortunately, we live in the North Hills, and as any North Hills resident will tell you, the only place for us do any major grocery shopping is Giant Eagle.  That's right, the closest Super Wal Mart is 30 minutes away in Cranberry, and the closest Shop N Save is 20 minutes away in Etna.  Long hauls for groceries.

We hate Giant Eagle!  Maybe that sounds a little harsh, but we've been frustrated with the company for years in terms of service, products, and most importantly, pricing.  We grew up in eastern Pennsylvania, and we lived in a town where there were multiple supermarket chains in one town, leading to competitive pricing, better coupons, and superb customer service.  Owners of each chain lived by one simple rule: they knew if their store didn't provide everything a customer wanted they could (and would) go somewhere else.

Here in Pittsburgh, the only major grocery store chain is Giant Eagle.  Nothing else is even close to competing in terms of size, locations, and products.  And it's hard to stomach shopping at a place that has such a stronghold over an entire city.  With little to no competition in some areas of the city, it's easy for Giant Eagle to set whatever prices they want, because if people aren't happy with it, they have few other options in terms of food shopping.  We're stuck with the high prices and no where to turn to.  Don't believe us?  Check out this Wikipedia link on Krogers.  Sure it's Wikipedia, but they have an entire section on the monopoly Giant Eagle has in the Pittsburgh area.

It annoys us that we're forced to pay unnaturally high prices just because Giant Eagle has cornered the market in the area.  As a new company, PSR has a careful tracking of all of our finances, and every penny counts.  Why spent $2 for a bag of powdered sugar when other places sell it for $1.29?

So we've fought back at Giant Eagle, one company against another.  Sure our employee list is one and only one, and our net profit last year was $-200, but as a business we like to think we have some say in where we spend our earned money to advance our company.  And for us, as a company, we don't spend a penny at Giant Eagle.

It's not always easy, because we also don't believe in supporting Wal Mart if we don't absolutely have to.  But we've become friends with the wonderful people at Aldi's, and have fallen in love with their products.  The powdered sugar prices we listed above: Giant Eagle sells a 2lb bag at $2/bag, while Aldi sells a 2lb bag for $1.29.  Seventy cents adds up when we regularly go through 8-10 bags a month.

What's surprised us the most is how comparable Aldi products are to Giant Eagle.  Who cares if it's not name brand if it tastes the same?  Finding that there's no taste difference has sealed the deal for us and our switch from Giant Eagle.  Our customers don't know the difference, but our bank account certainly does.

Again, please remember these are our opinions, and our opinions only.  Some of you may love Giant Eagle.  That's great.  But we encourage you to check out the prices of things you're buying next time you're there.  Is it any surprise that Giant Eagle's new advertising campaign is "New Lower Prices"?  There's new grocery blood being slowly breathed into the area, and the high prices are going to slowly have to come down if Giant Eagle wants to keep their cornerstone in the market.

For us, Giant Eagle's high prices, combined with their poor stores (have you ever been in the McKnight Rd Giant Eagle??) makes the switch to Aldis and online suppliers easy for PSR.  It's something we'll continue to fight for until Giant Eagle learns how to fairly price their items.

We'll be back next week with an all new baking story, and some fun new treats to share!  Have a wonderful week!!

New Year, New Stuff!

Well hello 2013, didn't you creep up on us a little bit...?  Still getting used to writing "2012" on my things, and now have to make that 2 turn into a scary looking 3 with a few well-crafted pen strokes.  Remember when time seemed to stand still when we were kids?  What happened to those glory days?

Anyway, HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!!  We're excited that we can officially begin telling people, "Yes, we started our business last year."  What a nice ring that has instead of, "Oh, we started our business a few months ago, don't laugh, we're serious about making this work."  It sounds so much more professional when you can tell potential clients that you have successfully been in business since 2012 with no major mishaps.

This is all paled in comparison to the amazing news we have for everyone today.  For those of you who are new to the blog, or only read a handful of our posts, this past year has been operated on a shoestring budget.  As of right now our baking bank account has $162 in it.  We are by no means ready to trade on the NYSE. We're growing, though, which is evident in the fact that we even have a separate business bank account.  But this is still a shoestring operation until further notice.  We buy only what we need, everything in bulk at discount stores, and bake only what is absolutely necessary.  We use Facebook and this blog as our only means of advertising, as both are free.  We have wallpapered the Pittsburgh area with our business cards that someone gifted to us.  We have no working dishwasher, and make every order by hand with a small hand mixer and a few well-loved mixing bowls.

Until today.  Today, everything changes.  Today we can officially announce we have enough money to buy the one appliance we have always dreamed of owning, a professional KitchenAid Mixer.

For those of you who think, "Those things are only like $400, why haven't you bought one yet?" let me remind you of our shoestring budget.  While we do have a separate full-time job at a company, those funds are used to pay bills, buy food for us to eat, and pay down those dastardly student loans.  There's little left over at the end of the month for high-end appliances, and all the funds that are left over are saved for the day where we eventually do open our restaurant.  We believe in the theory that we use what we've been blessed with, whether it is a hand mixer with a questionable motor, cupcake tins from the Soviet era, or donated supplies from friends and loved ones.  Opening a business is a marathon, and well-planned finances help you finish the race.

So for the past 6 months we've been saving our coins and small bills in a jar on our dresser.  You know the routine, you get ready for bed, empty your pockets out and find 84 cents you didn't know you had.  Into the jar it went.  It's money we didn't even realize we had, so adding it to the jar was nothing.  Didn't even thing about it.  Every time we had $50 saved up, we would make a trip to the dreaded Giant Eagle (that's another story for another post) and buy a Visa gift card.  Slowly, ever so slowly, we were going to save up for this mixer.

We had help along the way.  Donations from friends who heard about our coined plight.  Gifts from friends and family.  We were once even paid for a job with a $50 gift card (totally unexpected but appreciated).  Slowly the number of gift cards grew.  Slowly we realized this would eventually work.

So as 2013 rings in across the world, we are happy to announce we finally have enough gift cards to buy that dang mixer!  The professional size, of course, we do have an image to keep up.  :-)

Now all we have to decide is what color we want.  Any suggestions?  Our flour/sugar/rice counter containers are red, yellow, and lime green.  Should we go with a color that compliments that like an aqua or pink or orange?  Or do we go with something classic and timeless like ivory or black?  Maybe we should consider which color is the easiest to clean...

Let us know your thoughts about color choices, or any other helpful KitchenAid mixer tips you might have.  And if you order anything from us from this point on, know that we did not mix it by hand!  We will soon be the proud owners of an amazing KitchenAid mixer! :-)

Happy 2013 everyone!

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