Ready, Set…And Start Your Ovens!
With Christmas a mere two weeks away, are you feeling like you’ve just stumbled out of the starting gate in the baking equivalent of the Boston Marathon?
You’re not alone. According to a survey for Bertolli olive oil, 85 percent of bakers fire up their ovens between Thanksgiving and Christmas (making us wonder how the other 15 percent have the nerve to call themselves bakers.)
Overall, the survey showed, 65 percent of women and 43 percent of men bake on a monthly basis, including 74 percent of mothers and 53 percent of fathers.
And almost two-thirds (64 percent) said they’ve altered recipes or made substitutions to lower fat content or calories. Which, we must warn you, does not make Santa a happy man.
They’re ripe
Today marks another addition to the Spokane natural and gourmet food scene with the opening of Huckleberry’s Fresh Market at Ninth and Monroe.
Owned by Rosauers, the store features fresh produce and organic and natural grocery items, along with such familiar goodies as breads from Fugazzi and Cobblestone, pastries from the Rocket Bakery, desserts by Sweet Cravings, bagels from The Bagel Company, Spokane Wine Co. wines and beers and a special coffee blend by 4 Seasons.
There’s also a cafe and juice bar, cooking and health information and massage therapy and aromatherapy services. Store hours are 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
Wander bread
Mary Houser Caditz, author of “Wandering and Feasting: A Washington Cookbook,” will offer food samples and sign books today in Pullman from noon to 2 p.m. at the WSU Press Holiday Book Fair in the Compton Union Building, and Thursday in Spokane from noon to 2 p.m. at Made in Washington in River Park Square downtown.
The book, published by Washington State University, includes more than 200 regional recipes from cooks throughout the state.
Past repasts
Another new book from WSU Press, “The Way We Ate: Pacific Northwest Cooking, 1843-1900,” by Seattle food historian Jacqueline Williams, explores how the region’s pioneers set up their kitchens and prepared food following the journey over the Oregon Trail. Look for it in bookstores, or call (800) 354-7360.
There are several snippets from Spokane, including, in the section on alcohol, how “(local) etiquette required that invitations to parties should specify whether they were to be eight or ten gallon dances, or possibly even more pretentious affairs.” Guess things haven’t changed all that much after all. , DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Drawing
MEMO: We’re always looking for fresh food news. Write to: The Fresh Sheet, Features Department, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210. Call 459-5446; fax 459-5098.<