The neighbors' hedge

I went out yesterday for a walk 

and got stuck 20 meters away from the house for about half an hour. It happens sometimes to some of us... I hope...

Just passing by

That's it. This is me, just passing by, looking for new 

subjects to frame. And I found them. Trees. Tree trunks. Branches. It turns out they are quite photogenic. 

Here is a day's exploration of the trees. 

A trip to the past

 

In my mind I am a  photographer, coder and a web designer. In reality I bake bread and decorate birthday cakes. I guess it could have been worst. I love to create so it suits me just fine.

I have one of those vanishing professions because I am an artisan baker - I do everything from scratch and by hand. If you know what you want I can make it for you. As long as there is quantity, shape, weight and desired flavour I can calculate what and how much ingredients to use, how long it would take (depending on working conditions, temperature mostly) and I can make exactly what you want. Or if you have a special recipe I can come up with a matching bread to enhance the flavour. The possibilities are endless. That is the beauty of artisan work you can create to your hearts content. I am so proud of our wholesale bread list, it had 100 different types of bread on it, if you cared to choose any! 

But then there is survival and these days the big shops offer much cheaper products and in much bigger quantities, prepared faster and easier than in the little bakery around the corner. So slowly, slowly they are disappearing. As mine did. The unfortunate times gradually killed our business even thought we were working so hard up to the very end. 

And it still did not work out. 

 We ordered our flour from France and it was the best bread and pastry flour you could get. The ingredients we used were as fresh as they could be and as local as possible. Every single loaf, baguette and pastry were shaped by hand. And of course there was nothing added in our recipes unless it was needed. Nothing to boost the taste artificially or to make the products bigger. Everything was home made. Literally. 

Have you ever read the ingredients label on a pack of ready made cup cakes? Next time you are in the supermarket do that and remember that you only need flour, sugar, eggs and margarine and that they don't have to last for a week. But I am not here to talk about the pros and cons of supermarkets.

We had so many loyal customers over the years. Some of them would come every single day of the week to pick up their coffee and croissants for breakfast and a loaf of bread for lunch later on. Some were coming here for the summer and would order from the US or the UK before they fly to make sure their order of cakes or selection of breads and desserts was ready on time. Those were good times. ;-)

I love my work and I had great fun while I could. It took a lot out me as well because the end was difficult and hard. We worked 15-16 hours a day and still we could not make it. 

But I am not worried, I have my skills, I have my hands, I have my imagination.
I know it will work out.    

Anyway, this is a trip to the past. Here is a glimpse of it. 

 

Blue cheese and walnuts loaf

Blueberry muffins

Sun-dried tomato bread

Yummy bruschetta with roasted vegetables and grated mozzarella

Meringues - before and after  

All kinds of cookies  

Bacon and onion bread

Crunchy Meringue cake with almonds and lemon butter cream

Mixed berry tarts

Hand made croissants - rolled and baked every morning!!

Anything with chocolate?

Jalapeno and Cheddar bread

 

 Christmas time

Birthday cakes

Thank you for staying all the way down here.