“This watch is exactly two days slow.”

Do you like tea? I love tea. I think I’ve always loved tea. My father was born in Ireland and I partially blame it on that. You become accustomed to things. Or, it might be that as soon as we were old enough, we drank it out of our bottles; quite diluted with milk, but tea none the less. My nephew, who is four, requests, nay, requires at least 2 cups of hot tea a day. Coffee is grand, and plays a fantastic mental trick on me, letting me think the caffeine helps me wake up in the morning (the truth is caffeine doesn’t really do much for me, sure, too much makes my hands shake but you can give me an IV of it and put me to bed, and I’ll sleep) but tea gives me comfort. But, not any old tea, I prefer the English or Irish Breakfast Tea. While I was in London, we went back to the hotel everyday for tea service at 3 and it was my favorite part of the day! So tea…do you have tea at your restaurant/bakery/shop? It might be worth looking into. According to QSR Magazine  not only is tea the world’s second most popular drink, water coming in first, but tea sales are growing like they haven’t seen in many years. With people looking for healthier alternatives in their diets carbonated beverages and juices are losing step while tea, hot and cold, and all its natural glory is shining through. The Tea Association estimated that tea imports (almost all tea sold in the US is imported) increased more than 10% over 2010 and restaurants are seeing a 3-5% increase in sales over the past few years. It might be a hot little number to think about…everyone does like a croissant and cappuccino, but you can’t deny tea and scones.

Tea parties are fabulous fun are fabulous fun at any age, a good way to re-acclimatize your customers with peti fours and come cucumber sandwiches made on your house white. Tea and cake, beautiful tea cups and pots, high tea, there are great opportunities to educate and have fun with your customers. Brands, choices and quality are plentiful, so secure some samples and have a tea party of your own! Tea is most delicious with some sweets…I’d recommend some Irish Soda Bread (22091), scones (22091, yes the same) and some delicate almond florentines made with Florenta (02122). Read more of the QSR article here for more numbers, more about iced tea and some info on the flavored herbal teas. 

As for the title of the quote at the beginning of the bit, it’s from a fantastic movie…who can guess?! I’ll send a sample of the Irish Soda Bread and Scone mix to the first correct guess! Don’t cheat! Reply here to the blog. I'll give you a hint in the form of a riddle. "Why is a raven like a writing desk?"

Taste of Fall!

Since we are talking about Florenta (see below!) I think that’s the recipe we will go with today and to make it especially fall like for the first day of the new season, Pumpkin Seed Florenta!!

1 ea 500g pouch of Florenta
1lb 4oz Pumpkin Seeds
Pinch of Salt

Method

1. In a bowl, mix all ingredients and place onto a parchment lined sheet tray making sure to bring the mixture one half inch away from all edges of the pan (to avoid washing the pan!!).

2. Bake at 375 degrees until lightly golden brown. If you want to make uniform pieces, while still hot from the oven, use a pizza wheel to cut even pieces. If you are packaging to sell on display by weight, break in rough pieces, and package in display containers. If you are feeling especially free on time, dip in white chocolate for National White Chocolate Day!!

*If you would like to do more than one bag at a time, scale each sheet tray to 2lb 5oz.

Save Time!!

So, I was wondering, how much time do you have in your day…because really,
lately I think they’ve been taking some time away. I don’t know who “they” is,
but I swear it’s not 24 hours anymore. I think we are down to a solid 22,
because I know I can’t get all I need to get done during the day, no matter how
much I organize, list and dive in head first! But, I do have a secret I’ll
share with you. There are a few helpers I know of, that actually do make life
easier and give me back some time I’m certain I’ve been robbed of! I have
pretty high standards so my theory is if it doesn’t compromise quality or
taste, and saves me time, it’s definitely worth it. I’ll share a few of my
favorites, although I don’t know if I want to reveal ALL of my secrets!!

My very favorite, I’m talking the top one, is called…Top 1 (24029). It really
is. It’s an all natural, bake stable, pre-made pastry cream. In my past life, I
spent a few years looking for just this product, with no success. Most tasted
too acidic, nothing like pastry cream, were not bake stable, the wrong
texture…you get the picture. This beauty is spot on and while there is nothing
exactly like home-made pastry cream, I challenge you to find something this
darn close. The color, texture, mouth-feel, flavor…it’s all there! It’s
packaging is pretty much amazing; it’s aseptically packaged in 4 pound
pre-filled pastry bags and unopened it has a one year shelf life. After opening
it requires refrigeration but with four pounds per bag, it won’t last long
enough to take up that much room in the fridge. It’s a huge time and labor
saver, plus, really tasty! Win, win, win.

The next awesome product we talked about a few weeks, ago; Florenta (02122).
Florenta is a dry powdered product that creates one of my favorite snacks, nut
brittle. It takes a total of about 2 minutes to put together, 16-18 to bake and
a few more to cool. Done and done…on to the next product. There are no
thermometers, hot sugar burns, pots to clean…just a sheet tray with a pan liner
(to make clean up a breeze!), a bag of Florenta and whatever you want to put
inside it. It can be savory, sweet, soft, hard…nuts, dried fruit, oats, and
coconut. You can use a lot of the Florenta and make thick brittle, less and
make thin brittle or even less and make granola. You can add water or egg white
and make granola bars that are chewy or hard, you can cut it right after it
gets out of the oven and dip your uniform pieces in chocolate, or when it comes
out of the oven put chocolate chips on it and let them melt then spread them.
There are lots of options, lots of flavors and the best thing is I haven’t met
anyone who doesn’t like it. Packaging options are endless and they make great
gifts! Packages for holidays, teachers, house warming gifts, dinner parties…you
follow me? Send me an e-mail and ask for a sample and see where it takes you. I
have recipes and ideas and you will have profits!

The last product for today anyway is our Golden Eclair Mix (42021) and then a
fantastic recipe. Initially when I thought of making pate a choux with a mix, I
thought if it’s THAT easy, it can’t be good. I remember the first time I tasted
it, and I was POSITIVE, I mean CERTAIN, that our baker in the lab had made them
from scratch. They had a beautiful open crumb, a lovely color and tasted as
good as any I had made in a kitchen or tasted from a bakery. Then I saw the
bag. This product came from a bag! The directions said add hot water and mix.
Seriously, that’s it!! NO stove top, no whisking like a money!! Nothing! Hot
water, a mixer and a piping bag, then bake!! And while making pate a choux
doesn’t typically take that long to begin with, this takes seconds. It’s
another of my favorites. Plus, when you use the Golden Eclair Mix and fill it
with Top 1 and sprinkle with Sweet New Snow (53060), now you have time for a
cup of coffee and a sit down! Since we are talking about it on the blog and
in the newsletter, we are running another special! For a limited time you can
purchase just one bag of the Golden Eclair Mix, instead of the usual palette
requirement! Stock up and enjoy some time free time to keep reading!!