The Toupee Man

So far, my posts written have been about people that I've met while working at the bakery, which usually have had a happy or positive ending. Unfortunately, not all experiences have ended so well, and I think it's important to include the sad ones, because really, that's life. This experience took place a couple summer's ago. When you work during the summer, it's pretty easy to spot the "regulars" and you form relationships with them, because you see them almost every day. This one man who came in everyday worked across the street at a men's store called "Garvey's." He was known as the "toupee man" because always wore this really bad toupee that was sort of an off-colour orange, slightly brassy, not really blonde. It was one of the worst I'd seen, and because of it, that became his namesake. Just like we were the "bakery girls" he was the "toupee man." Despite the fact that he wore this..thing..he was a very nice man. I'd say mid/late 60's. He always ordered the same thing: a lemon tart, a sausage roll and 2 turkey pot pies to go. One slow afternoon, it was myself and another girl working, when toupee man came in. I only realized it was him until after he left, and after the shock of our conversation had begun to wear off.

First off, he wasn't wearing his toupee. He had very little hair that was grey and sparse. That through me for a loop right from the beginning. Second, he wasn't dressed in a suit like he normally would have been. He was wearing a short-sleeved t-shirt and on his arm he had a cotton swob and a large bandaid over it. I presumed he had just gotten blood taken. Before he said anything, you could tell there was something wrong. He didn't say anything right away, just his order, this time only for the 2 turkey pot pies. Finally after what seemed like hours of silence, he flat out told us that he had just been diagnosed with cancer. He was coming from the doctor's office, didn't want to go home, so he came here. Why he chose to tell us first, I'm not sure. I found out he lived alone. The turkey pot pies I thought were for him and his wife, were actually for his two dogs. Before he left he turned around and told us to "keep smiling." We couldn't really think straight from that point forward. What do you say to someone after hearing that?

When I came back from school to work over the Christmas Break, I had learned that the cancer was fast spreading and he passed away early in the fall. It really made me think about how short life was. From that point forward, I decided that whenever I'm stressed or worrying about something that really shouldn't be worried about, I try to think that no matter how dire a situation may seem, I would still rather be in it, than not.

I decided to post a recipe that toupee man would enjoy. Here is a turkey pot pie recipe that would have been perfect on a rainy day like today. It takes some time to make, but it's worth it.

Ingredients

• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) vegetable oil
• 2 tsp (10 mL) dried thyme
• 1 cup (250 mL) chicken broth
• 1 cup (250 mL) milk
• 3 cups (750 mL) cooked turkey, diced
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) all purpose flour
• 3 cups (750 mL) mixed vegetables
• 5 medium potatoes, quarted
• 2/3 cup (150 mL) milk

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degree F. In a large pot, heat the oil. Saute the onion, celery, thyme in the oil until softened. Stir in the flour and continue to cook, stirring constantly over low heat for 5 minutes. Stir in the stock and milk. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered, stirring until thickened. Stir in the turkey and the mixed vegetables. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour into a large casserole or glass baking dish. In a large pot of water, cook the potatoes until tender. Drain well. Add the milk and mash. Salt and pepper as needed. Spread the mashed potatoes over the vegetable and turkey mixture. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes until hot and bubbly.

The Perfect Way To Propose...

It's getting to that time of year where people who were so stuffed from the holidays begin to emerge back into the bakery. I completely understand. Sometimes separation only makes a relationship stronger. The fact that this relationship involves food and not another person is another story.. but who am I to judge, right? I specifically remember this one time when a young man came into bakery one January afternoon and said that he had a great idea, but it would only work if we (the bakery) were in it 100%. As I spoke with him I could see he was excited, a little shaky in his voice, but that made sense after he delved deeper into his plan. He wanted to order a custom fondant cake that would say "Marry Me" on it. We were to place it in the main display window on the set date, he was to come by with his girlfriend who would look at the display window and see the message. This was when he would get down on one knee and propose. It was the weirdest feeling because I had known this man for maybe 30 minutes and for some reason, I had butterflies in my stomach, as if I was part of this woman's proposal--which I guess in some weird way I was.

 Every detail you could imagine was covered. Honestly I stressed not so much about the cake, more about her reaction--what if she said no?! I would feel somewhat responsible and that would end up being the most awkward experience of my life...the cake was edible and paid for- would he still want it? Probably not. That's a pretty sad image of a "Will you marry me?" cake smushed in a garbage bag. Regardless, the cake was made and the plan was a go. Everyone in the bakery knew about this, and the days leading up to it was all anyone spoke about. Finally when the day came, my eyes were glued to the clock. At 3:00, just like paperwork, the couple came and at the time I just stopped what I was doing and watched (in a non-creepy way, I was very discrete!) It was amazing-I had never witnessed a proposal before, and when she realized the cake was for her and what was going on, I got so excited! (If you know me, then you'll know that my excitement involves clapping and speaking very quickly!) She said yes (thank god) and they came into the bakery, everyone congratulated them, and we gave them their cake  It was just a great day. All the stress and worry was worth it to see someone's reaction as good as hers. 

After that experience, it made me think-this is the perfect way to propose to someone. It shows that a lot of time and thought went into it, and seriously how could you go wrong? Love it. 

For the recipe, I think it's appropriate to post one that was the same cake and frosting flavour as the cake made for the couple. Red Velvet. This one comes from the Baking Queen herself, Paula Deen. It's absolutely delicious. 

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons red food coloring
• 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 1 pound cream cheese, softened
• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• Chopped pecans and fresh raspberries or strawberries, for garnish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.

Garnish with chopped pecans and a fresh raspberry or strawberry.

Mr. Bogey

Every so often, there are customers that come into the bakery that leave you smiling every time. The man that I'm writing about in this post does just that. He is a 85 year old scottish man, with white hair and glasses that sit on the tip of his nose. He would come into the bakery every Sunday and order a "rrrrraisin bread" (imagine thick scottish accent) and put it under the name Bogey. Bogey is not this man's name. I don't know his name. For the past 4 years all he's gone by is Bogey, which was the name is his adorable dog. He would come in every weekend, pick up his bread and be on his way. For a period of time we stopped baking raisin bread on Sundays and he would come in and ask "Can't ya just stick a couple rrrraisins in a loaf for me?"...we did. How could we not? He is a cheerful man that you loved like a grandpa because he was just that cute.

For a while he stopped coming into the bakery and we all thought the worst. Turns out, he was fine, sadly Bogey the dog was not. When Bogey passed, we didn't see him for a while. I felt so badly I wanted to find him and personally deliver raisin bread to his door every Sunday. Then, out of the blue, Mr. Bogey appeared. This time though it's different, he doesn't order raisin bread as often, but he does make a point to go for a walk everyday, and when he does pass the bakery, he will stand and wait, and wait, and wait until someone behind the counter sees him and gives a little wave. He waves back, and then he continues on his walk. I hear he does this to the girl's at Lululemon as well. Adorable. He is one of the few customers that I look forward to seeing because he's friendly, knows what he wants, and then off he goes. The perfect customer.

I decided it was fitting to post a recipe that had-what else? Raisins! Personally, I have to be in some sort of foodie mood to eat raisins, some days I love them, other days, I'm picking the raisins out until each one has been removed and thrown away. These scones are delicious, especially heated and with either butter or jelly. If you have a couple free hours on the weekend, I definitely recommend giving these a try!

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 cup raisins
3 eggs divided
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk, divided

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Spray a large baking sheet with vegetable-oil cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. With a pastry blender or two knives, cut butter into flour mixture until particles are the size of small peas; stir in raisins.

In a medium bowl, beat 2 eggs lightly with 1 cup milk. Add to flour mixture; stir just until mixed.

On a lightly floured surface, knead dough gently. Pat or roll out the dough into a circle 1/2-inch thick. Using a lightly greased and floured 3-inch biscuit cutter, cut into rounds, cutting close together to generate as few scraps as possible. Dip cutter into flour as often as necessary to keep dough from sticking. Push scraps of dough together so that edges join; firmly pinch edges with fingertips to make a partial seal. Pat this remaining dough to 1/2-inch thick; continue to cut 3-inch rounds. Space 1-inch apart onto prepared baking sheet. When making scones, work the dough quickly and do not over mix.

Note: Scones can be cut into any shape you desire. Use a drinking glass to make circles, or cut into squares or wedges with a knife. Dip the edges of the cutter in flour to prevent the dough from sticking. Do not pat the edges of the scone down; instead leave the cuts as sharp as possible to allow the scones to rise in layers.

In a small bowl, combine 1 egg and 1 tablespoon milk; brush onto scones. Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and serve warm.

Tips: When the scones are cool, wrap airtight and hold at room temperature for up to one day or freeze to store longer. To reheat, unwrap scones (thaw wrapped, if frozen) and place onto a baking sheet. Bake in a 350 degrees oven 8 to 10 minutes or until warm.

Yields 12 to 14 scones. 

The Beginning: Always a good place to start

When given the assignment to create a blog, my mind started racing a hundred miles a minute. I really couldn't decide on one particular topic that I thought would be interesting for me to write about on a weekly basis, but more importantly, interesting for others to read. By the end of that day I made a list of subjects that I deemed had potential. I started with beauty tips (too personal), fashion advice (who am I to say who has style?) travelling (I really only go to two places). Needless to say the list ended up being crumpled up, and thrown into recycling. I find that my best ideas come to me when I'm not trying so hard to think of them, and this time was no different.

The idea to create a blog about my experiences past/present about the influence baking has had on my life seemed like an obvious choice that I for some reason had disregarded. Believe it or not, baking has greatly impacted who I am today--from childhood memories, to my first job, to baking for others. It's something that has been a constant thread of enjoyment amidst times of happiness, sadness, confusion and frustration. I've decided to streamline the topics discussed on Confessions to really focus on my experiences at the bakery I currently work at, and the people I've met over the years while working there. It is amazing the type of people that walk into the bakery-there's something about the smell of freshly baked bread that gives people a sense of comfort, which in turn can turn into a confessional. I've learned that you can never put a label on someone, and that regardless of background, life experiences, etc people everywhere simply want to be listened to and heard.

With each blog entry, I intend on posting a recipe that I think goes along with the story or overall theme of the post. Over the years I've collected and sampled hundreds of recipes so don't worry, you can trust me when I post a recipe that it's going to be good.

So that's it. First post: finis.

-Erin

P.S. I decided because it was the first post, to share a picture that I love of me, my nan, and my older brother Mike rather than a recipe. It's my blog, I can do what I want.