Me-Oh-My-Pie Shop

Red Hook, NY - On our trip to New York state we were advised to go to this pie shop in Red Hook. The pie was awesome, but we were in late and most of the pies were sold. My wife and I each had a delicious slice of Chocolate Mousse pie.

As you can see from my shirt, I like Pie, well...just about any baked good. I guess that is why I am "Doughy" myself.

Freund's Farm Market

East Canaan CT - With a sign that says, "Do you need Pie Therapy?",how could I not stop. Freund's Farm Market is chock full of stuff from baked goods, gifts, tee shirts, flowers, you name it. They even do catering, if you are having a wedding they can do the food, flowers, and can even supply the Justice-of-the-Peace. Click ==>HERE<== to go to their website.


This is the side of the building, just walk through the flowers to the entrance.


A large supply of gifts,you can even buy "Cow Pots" made with composted cow manure. For these pots they won a green thumb award in 2007 from the Mail Order Gardening Association.


Here is my favorite...Baked Goods. I did not go for the "Pie Therapy" just Cookie Therapy that day.


My choice, a very thick Oatmeal Cookie with three kinds of fruit baked inside.



The Chickens.


The fruits of the chicken's labor...Rachel's Radiant Eggs, Fertile, Fresh, Free Range, and other "F" words.


Last but not least, the greenhouse overflowing with wonderful plants.

Click Here for Link to their Website

Gloria's Pantry and Bake Shop

Cuttingsville, VT - Not being able to resist a bakery, I stopped at Gloria's Pantry and Bake Shop on my way up to Castleton, VT to pick up a new soapstone sink for "The Grangehouse". Gloria's Pantry doesn't just do fresh made baked items, it's main business is selling Jams, Jellies, Relishes, Honey, and Maple Syrup. Gloria will create a "Vermont Made Gift Box" and ship it anywhere you would like. View her website ==> Gloria's Pantry <== and you will be amazed at how many items she makes.

Here is a quick view of inside the bakeshop. I bought one of her cookie bars and I was not disappointed, if I remember correctly it had chocolate, nuts, maybe caramel. All I know is I wish I bought more!


Here is a photo if the entrance to the shop, which is in back of her house. So on your way up to Okemo Ski area, make sure to stop by Gloria's, you will not be disappointed.

Gloria's Pantry Link click HERE

King Arthur Flour Baker's Store

Norwich, VT - On the way back from Vermont today my wife and I stopped at the King Arthur Flour Baker's Store. At this store you can buy flours, baking mixes, have a cup of coffee and freshly baked pastries, take a cooking class, watch a cooking demo, or even check your e-mail with the free Wi-fi. Of course anything for baking that you could want.

This is the outside of the store.



I got this girl to stop what she was doing for a photo.


A photo of some of the pastries. We took home a loaf of artisan breads they make there for dinner...delicious. Excellent crust!



I asked this woman to stop for a photo in the demo kitchen. Another woman came over and said that was her station and this woman would make the Internet...again. All in good fun.


A photo of King William taken by my wife.


Information about the store CLICK HERE

Whoopie Pies

West Kingston, RI - I ran across this Whoopie Pie stand and of course I had to check it out. These treats were being sold in someone's driveway; stored in a cooler with a cashbox to put your money in on the honor system.


The day I went the flavors de jour were Chocolate and Pumpkin. I've had chocolate before so I went with the pumpkin. It was a good selection, I'm sure the chocolate was just as good. Now if you don't know what a Whoopie Pie is, sorry no photo, I pigged it down too fast, it is two round pieces of cake, each like a mound with a creamy filling between. To tell you the truth, I don't exactly know what was the filling in these. It tasted somewhere between a cream and frosting, but not too sweet. Depending on the recipe, I think you can put anything from whipped cream, to cream cheese, to frosting, to mashmallow cream.

So if you are in West Kingston stop in and try one; I don't know the exact road but it is just around the corner from Kenyon's Grist Mill (a future post).

Barb's Baked Goods

Sheffield, MA - As I passed by this shop I said to myself, "This is my kind of place, I have to stop". I walked into the front door and I was taken aback some because I was walking into a living room. Luckily, Deb said hello and brought me into the dining room where the baked good were located.



This is Barb with today's offerings. She told me she gets real busy baking pies for Thanksgiving. So if you are in Sheffield, MA, stop by and have something to eat and a cup of coffee.


You can contact Barb at 413-229-8091 or SheffBarbara@yahoo.com

Bread Euphoria

Haydenville, MA - Behind the nondiscript entrance is Bread Euphoria. Anyone who reads my blog knows how I love bakeries. Inside is a small area where you can enjoy breakfast or lunch. On Fridays and Saturdays they make pizza. But the big draw for me is the bread. I picked up a loaf of Three-seed bread, a round loaf of whole wheat sourdough with millet, flax, and sunflower seeds; the sunflower seeds were on the top of the loaf also. As we like to say, "it had lots of debris in it"; just the way we like it. My wife and I made short work of that(full disclosure - mostly me). Bread Euphoria makes use of as many locally grown products and organic as they can; whenever possible they use locally grown wheat. Yes, you heard that right Massachusetts grown wheat(I will have to look into that).



This is a photo behind the counter, the woman to the left is, Geri Pollard. She and her husband Mark are the owners. Check out their website for more information. (on their website, doesn't Mark look like Penn Jillette from Penn and Teller?)

MRS. MURPHY'S DONUTS

Southwick, MA - Mrs, Murphy's is an institution in Southwick Massachusetts. I went there on Saturday morning and the place was hopping.


This is the front of the building, well kind of the side but there were too many cars coming in and out for me to safely stand in front.

Here are three of the workers mugging it up for the camera.


I'm afraid I didn't ask but I think this is Mrs. Murphy(?)standing in front of the pastry case; yes they have a lot more than donuts. On the menu is soup, sandwiches, salads, and egg sandwiches(served all day). The also have espresso drinks just walk in and ask one of the baristas/donut dames to serve you up a cup.


I couldn't leave without trying something so I ordered up an eclair. I was not disappointed, the eclair was approximately 7.5 inches long, filled with a smooth custard and topped with a thick chocolaty frosting. WARNING:Eat with plenty of napkins, it is just bursting with goodness. It took two napkins to clean the frosting and custard off my face. I give it four forks and two thumbs up. In the past I have had their donuts and they are fantastic, not those tiny ones they serve at Krispy Kreme.

PASTICCERIA ITALIA

Southwick, MA - My dogs and I went for a short ride today to see if we could find to photograph. On our way back, we passed this bakery, and you know me, not one to pass up a bakery, we stopped in.


The cases were filled with acres of pastries of all varieties. Believe it or not, I did not partake this day, I did buy a loaf of bread, delicious I must say. I have had pastries and they were scrumptious, four forks!


This young lady was badgered into posing for my by Giovanni Botta, one of the family that owns this bakery, they also own one in Bloomfield, CT. The guy who sits next to me at work goes there every day and has their Foccacia Pizza, made with sausage, spinich, potatos, cheese and who knows what else, it is very good, I have had it once or twice myself; I just found out today that these are owned by the same family.

For more info CLICK HERE

HEALTHY COOKIES AT BERKSHIRE MOUNTAIN BAKERY

Housatonic, MA - On my travels today I stopped in the Berkshire Mountain Bakery, I've posted about this bakery before. I bought a loaf of bread and one of these cookies.



I looked up some of the ingredients to see exactly what they were:

Spelt Grain - Is a subspecies of wheat, a staple from the Bronze Age to the Middle Ages. It is still grown today because it requires fewer fertilizer it is popular with the Organic Farming Movement.

Sucanat - It is a contraction of "Sugar Cane Natural"; Sucanat is basically dried cane juice. It contains the most nutrients of any cane derived sugar. It is not to be confused with Turbinado Sugar which only contains a trace amount of molasses and it is crystalline; Sucanat contains all the molasses and it is grainy instead of crystalline.

Palm Fruit Oil - Not to be confused with Palm Kernal Oil which is the unhealthy variety. It contains many valuable vitamins and is very high in caroteinoids. In fact it has 13 to 15 times more carotenes than carrots.

The cookie was very tasty, sweet and moist. The sunflower seeds and Pinenut seeds gave it a nice texture when you bit into it. Give one a try it is a 100% better than one of those dry gaggy granola bars.

Information from: Science in Africa
and Wikipedia

CHRISTMAS COOKIES - 2007

We have friends that take Christmas Cookies very seriously. They start the test kitchen about Thanksgiving to pick which cookies will make the cut this year. After choosing the cookies they bake until just before Christmas and put the cookies in these boxes which have a different label every year. The best part, other than the cookies is the map, a la Whitman Sampler Chocolates, but with humor. To get the jokes you have to know a few things first, they raise goats and chickens, they call their farm, "The Little Farm", they have a Kubota tractor that they call the Bota Weasle.

McDONALDS - OLD STYLE

Massachusetts Turnpike - This McDonalds in in a rest stop on the "Mass Pike". It has the same style as the original McDonalds when they were still just take out. Of course, this is an eat in McDonalds and recently built.

Oh, by the way, I tried donuts at the McDonalds in Westfield MA,yesterday and they were just OK. To be fair I had them about 7pm so they were probably not as fresh as if I had them in the morning. I don't know if baked good in McDonalds are widespread or just in this area. Let me know if they have them in your area.

BREAKING NEW GROUNDS

Portsmouth, NH - This is the other place to sit, sip coffee or tea and watch the world go by. Breaking New Grounds is located in Market Square, the hub of activity. It is a gathering place for man and beast, many people have their dogs with them(you can see at least one in the photo and another behind the sign). So next time you are in Portsmouth stop in and have a cup...and a pastry of course.

CERES BAKERY

Portsmouth, NH - The Ceres Bakery was founded in 1980 on Ceres Street, across from the tug boats. In 1983 they moved to their current location on Penhallow Street.

Out front of this bakery is a place where many people sit and rest while enjoying some fine baked goods. Although, I have seen signs asking people to not block the sidewalk and entrance. But I’m sure the benches out front increase business.

On the Ceres website is a paragraph on the name Ceres.
“The ancient Romans worshipped Ceres as a goddess of agriculture – one of the forms of the universal Earth Mother”.


More Info: Ceres Bakery

COLLINSVILLE BAKING COMPANY

Collinsville, CT - Well you know me, no visit is complete without a visit to the local bakery. We went in and they have an assortment of baked goods, especially cookies and fresh baked bread. You can see the photo above is all the different kind of cookies. I had a molasses cookie and my wife had a sugar cookie with M&M's.

CANINE CUPBOARD

Portsmouth, NH - I told you this is a very dog friendly town. This is a dog treat bakery. My wife and I stepped in to see what is was all about and it was full of people and dogs buying these fancy treats.

This is the bakery case where you can choose some of those fancy treats. My dogs would swallow those whole. The dogs I saw seem to really like them.