Author: admin

I suppose this might be a big indicator of my age, but if you don’t know about Rain forest Crunch, it was a butter crunch candy made by a company called Community Products, Inc. sometime around the late 80s and into the 90s. It was made with cashews and Brazil nuts and some of the profits were to try to curb rain forest destruction. Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream also had a flavor called Rain Forest Crunch that used the candy in it. I was a small child but I remember absolutely loving it. As a result, I have decided to recreate my own version of it.

I have decided to add macadamia nuts to it, because I like them and they seem to go well with cashews and Brazil nuts. I also thought I’d sprinkle a little Hawaiian Red Salt on top to stick with the tropical theme.

My first batch was too similar to brittle, and so it was too crisp for my liking. I wanted something that crunched, but was not really hard like glass. That is a characteristic of brittle, which has significantly more sugar than butter. A crunch candy has a more even ratio of sugar to butter and thus a crunch without a snap.

My second go resulted in the butter and sugar breaking after I removed them from the heat, but still it had the mouth feel I was going for. Stay tuned for my final result…

I’ve been pretty lazy about making posts, so I’m committing to doing at least one a month. Hopefully more, but let’s start realistically.

January has been a good month. My family and I traveled to San Francisco and we did touristy things. Growing up in the area, I did not do much in the way of touristy activities as it was such chaos. We went on the cable cars and street cars, ate at Ghiradelli Square, walked Fisherman’s Wharf and more. It was really fun. Hopefully my boys remember.

I’ve also submitted my application for my Cottage Food License which will allow me to sell my home baked goods! So those things I’ve been playing with and envisioning could become a reality. I’m really excited to make this happen. When I left the restaurant almost 9 years ago, I did so, in part, so I could pursue my dream starting my own business— particularly to make chocolates. In the beginning I was good about putting in my time to practice and work on ideas and recipes. I would take things in to the office and my coworkers would try them and give me feedback. However, slowly I didn’t make as much stuff and I got busier with my paying job and other home life. This is an opportunity to reset and continue to pursue my passion.

Hopefully I’ll get my license and be able to sell some delicious Valentine’s Day goodies.

Here’s a picture of chocolates I made back in the day!

I’ve been working on some stuff! Short little post but here are some muffins and scones I’ve been baking.

Ultimately I’m working towards some morning pastry boxes for people to take to work for their coworkers or for a morning meeting, or hey, for a morning at home. Coffee not included…

Well, here it is… my first post, and, frankly, there are so many things floating around in my head that I don’t even know where to start! So I guess I’ll start with a brief blurb about what I want to do.

I have been working in the medical device industry for the last 8 years, and have always found some aspects of the business fascinating, but I really love to make things–sweet things. After earning my Bachelors degree in Chemistry/Biochemistry, I went to culinary school and got a Baking and Pastry Certificate. I worked in the restaurant industry for 7 years after culinary school. When I returned to the biochemistry field, I negotiated 4 days a week, so I could focus on my own culinary endeavors on the fifth weekday. That kind of dissolved after awhile as I had other things start to consume my time, but now I want to refocus.

I will start working on some of my old recipes and also work on new ones and chronicle my work here. It will also be a way to showcase my skills. If you see anything you might want done for you, be it a dessert for a party, wedding or another event, please reach out.