Rosemary Mouse Sightings

We are finally on vacation. But reports of Rosemary Mouse sightings are coming in to us by email. To stay up-to-date on the spread of Rosemary Mice throughout the state, check our Rosemary Mouse sightings blog at http://www.StarlightMice.blogspot.com.

Two-Week Break

Our plan at the moment is to take a short break and go somewhere. So we will not offer any special items for the next two weeks. However if we run into some interesting food stories on the road, we'll post them.

This is your chance to diet for a couple of weeks so that you can order something really yummy when we get back.

Speaking of yummy, Carol Carter won this week's apple pie. She was at the bakery in a flash to pick it up. She said she's never won anything... up until now. She emailed me to tell me it was the best apple pie she'd ever eaten in her whole life. Whew, the pressure. Can I ever make one that good again? What exactly did I put in that pie? Oh yeah, it's those apples from Ladybug's apple tree. Our dog Ladybug looks like she weighs 350 pounds after this apple season and now she's picking the fig tree. Sigh.

Kathy's Rosemary Mice

You may recall The Story of the Rosemary Mice I shared a few weeks back from my friend in Ojai. Well guess what? I discovered one sitting on my cutting board this week! I think they are breeding.

Actually, I've been making vegan challah for the co-op (an egg bread without eggs...), and using the scraps to make challah mice, birds, and hedgehogs. This week when Dave and I were forming the Rosemary Potato Bread and Buns, we had some leftover dough so I made Rosemary Mice!

When I made a delivery yesterday to the Breast Cancer Resource Center, they were just putting together a platter of cheese and fruit. We added a Rosemary Mouse. Now who could look at that and not laugh? I can visualize these mice spreading to cheese platters across town.

Since we always have a little dough left when we loaf the breads, we may find our freezer filling up with Swedish Rye mice, Anita's Black Bread mice, Rustic White Bread mice, and Multigrain mice as well as Rosemary mice. Be sure to ask us if you are preparing a cheese platter

Rosemary mice meet to discuss breeding plans.

So off we go to places unknown. Start dieting. We'll see you in two weeks.

Thanks!

Nancy and Dave Oster, Starlight Bakers

Grandmotherhood and Apple Pie

Congratulations to Lucy Thomas and Dale Taylor who won last week's drawing for Starlight Sticky Buns! Both winners left smiling.

Oh yeah, did I mention that I'm a grandmother?

Well, since my apple tree gave us a crop of sweet tasty apples this year (and I became a grandmother), I'm going to do a drawing this week for one ready-to-bake apple pie. My streusal topping includes homemade almond paste (made with real almonds and no artificial almond flavoring). To enter your name, you must vote in the Starlight cookie poll on the upper right of this page and email me (Nancy@StarlightBakery.com) to let me know you voted.

Your pie can be kept in the freezer until about an hour and a half before baking. Defrost, then put it into a 375 degree oven for about 1-1/2 hours. Our apples are really good this year.

Rosemary Potato Bread or Hamburger Buns

There are two options for our specialty bread this week. You can purchase it as a Rosemary Potato Boule or as hamburger buns. The buns come in groups of 6. We just used the last ones in our freezer so it's time to make more.

Ingredients: Organic flour, potato flakes, olive oil, water, rosemary, pepper, yeast and salt.

Rosemary Focaccia
Our fragrant and lovely Rosemary Focaccia will be available as well.

Ingredients: Organic flour, yeast, water, olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper.

Ready-to-Bake Chocolate Chip Cookies
We have a good supply of Chocolate Chip Cookies on hand, so let us know if you need some. My friend Anita had her granddaughter visiting from France this summer. She says her granddaughter enjoyed baking up these cookies for special treats.

Ingredients: Organic unbleached flour, chocolate chips, butter, brown sugar, eggs, cane sugar, walnuts, dried apricots eggs, crystallized ginger, vanilla, baking soda, salt.

Prices on This Week's Special Items

• Rosemary Potato Boule (1 lb) - $5.00
• Rosemary Potato Hamburger Buns (6) - $5.00
• Rosemary Focaccia - $6.00
• 12 Unbaked Chocolate Chip Cookies (what, no Rosemary?) - $8.00
  

We've Added Tuesdays for Pickup!
Now you can pick up your orders from the our kitchen at Crumbs 5392 Hollister on Tuesdays from noon to 6 pm. We will continue to offer Tuesday morning delivery to your place of work if that is more convenient. Feel free to stop by for a visit on Tuesday afternoons... visiting with friends is our favorite part of having the bakery.

Thank you!

Nancy & Dave Oster, Starlight Bakers

Peanut Butter Cookies

This week I'm making frozen portioned peanut butter cookie dough. We use these a lot when we want a quick snack. Just put the frozen cookie onto the tray and pop it into the toaster oven set at 375 degrees. I usually bake about 8 minutes and then press down the centers. I bake them another 4 minutes to crisp up the edges.

This is good if you are watching your calories because they taste wonderful and they're easy to make but you can't get very many into the toaster oven.

I'll also sell them baked, but frozen is safer if you're watching calories.

Ingredients: Organic unbleached flour, butter, egg, sugar, vanilla, baking soda, salt, brown sugar, peanut butter.

Cracked Wheat Bread

This is actually a picture of our multigrain bread because Dave hasn't made me a loaf of cracked wheat to photograph yet. I'll change the photo as soon as I get one.

The difference between the cracked wheat and the multigrain is that it will be a bit wheatier and will have just cracked wheat rather than the variety of grains Dave uses in his multigrain.

Here is our tentative ingredient list. (It has been a busy week trying to get back to work... last night was our first baby bath, which took 4 people plus baby.)

Ingredients: Organic whole wheat flour, natural yeast (barm), organic unbleached bread flour, cracked wheat kernels, ground flax seed, agave syrup, canola oil, yeast, salt.

Rosemary Focaccia

Our weekly standard. Great for sandwiches or toasted garlic bread.

Ingredients: Organic flour, yeast, water, olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper.

Prices on This Week's Items

• Unbaked Frozen Peanut Butter Cookies (12) - $8.00
• Cracked Wheat Bread (1 lb) - $5.00
• Rosemary Focaccia - $6.00

Orders and Workplace Delivery

Email me your order (Nancy@StarlightBakery.com). Our deadline is Sunday noon so that we can shop for ingredients. I will send you a confirmation email when I receive your order. If you don't receive one, email me or call me (252-0418) to confirm that I received the order.

We bake on Mondays. During the day I work on cookies, muffin mix, scones and cinnamon rolls to keep in the freezer so you can order those anytime. We bake our breads on Monday night.

We can arrange delivery to a place of work or a neighborhood (if you order with a group of friends so several customers can pick up from one place). When you email your order we can plan pickup or delivery.

Thank You!

Nancy and Dave Oster, Starlight Bakers

Pure Sweetness

Yes, the great moment finally came. Saraphina has arrived. She is, of course, beautiful, sweet, and sure to be brilliant. She was born on Thursday afternoon weighing in at 7 pounds 6 ounces. Are we lucky or what? Both of her parents are well and very happy... although a bit tired.

New Blog Format

After hearing from many of our customers that they are no longer receiving our weekly newsletter, we have decided to switch to the blog format so that your weekly news will not get caught in your spam filters. This is apparently what has been happening. This means that you will need to bookmark this blog site and check it weekly for the specials of the week, food stories, and other interesting tidbits on food happenings around town. I am planning to update it on Wednesdays so that you will have more time to check it and order for the following Monday baking.

Friends of Hannah-Beth Jackson BBQ

Speaking of food, I'll be baking chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter cookies this week for a free BBQ at Stowe Grove (580 N. La Patera Rd) to honor Gap firefighters. It takes place on Sunday August 17th from 12 pm to 3 pm. Hannah-Beth is running for State Senate so this is a chance to thank the firefighters, hear from Hannah-Beth (which is always interesting), and have some good BBQ. Or you can just come to eat my cookies. To RSVP, email barbie4HBJ@cox.net or call 967-6165.

Rustic White Bread

I know our newsletter is a little late this week, but we will be making Rustic White Bread on Monday evening (made with a wild yeast starter that gives it a bit of a sourdough taste and texture). If you want to order some loaves, let us know by Monday noon and we'll include your order in the count.

Ingredients: Organic bread flour, water, barm (wild yeast starter), yeast, and salt.

Rosemary Focaccia

We are also making our Rosemary Foccaccia, as usual.

Ingredients: Organic flour, yeast, water, olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper.

Prices on This Week's Items

• Rustic White Bread (1 lb.) - $5.00 ea.
  
• Rosemary Focaccia (1 lb.) - $6.00 ea.
  

Orders and Workplace Delivery

Email me your order (Nancy@StarlightBakery.com). Our deadline is normally Sunday noon so that we can shop for ingredients. However, this week we will take orders until Monday noon since we are a day late in getting our newsletter published.

I will send you a confirmation email when I receive your order. If you don't receive one, email me or call me (252-0418) to confirm that I received the order.

We bake on Mondays. During the day I work on cookies, muffin mix, scones and cinnamon rolls to keep in the freezer so you can order those anytime. We bake our breads on Monday night.

We can arrange delivery to a place of work or a neighborhood (if you order with a group of friends so several customers can pick up from one place). When you email your order we can plan pickup or delivery.

Thank You!

Nancy and Dave Oster, Starlight Bakers