Hello all! I wish to share with you a great group of people: Monster’s For Charity. Ok, so you may say, “What the heck? Monster’s doing good deeds?” To that I say, “Indeed!!”
Headed by MonsterMatt Patterson, Monster’s for Charity is a group of ghouls who not only enjoy giving you a good scare, but are out there doing good deeds. From horror scream queens like Debbie Rochon to artists like Kyle Kaczmarczyk Matt Patterson has assembled a hard wroking, hard playing group of rogues that will give you their heart. Ok, maybe they will cut out a heart in a movie or graphic novel as well lol!
So where does your’s truly the Kitchen Wyche come in? Not having a cult following of my own, I did what I could. I donated my favourite Wyche’s Brew to the auction: Raven’s Brew Coffee Dead Man’s Reach. With a slogan like “Served in Bed, Raises the Dead” how could one go wrong?
The lucky auction winner was @mcvladie. Well, maybe the charity was really the winner, but Carlotta seems pretty pleased with the treasure.
I am also very pleased as my brick and mortar The Podge will be stocking Raven’s Brew Coffee starting in February. For those of you in Western New York, come down for the beans. Anyone else, we will be happy to ship in the continental US. Depending on the weight of your order, we will either ship USPS flat rate or UPS. We want to get you the best price, so don’t worry.
On a personal note, I wish to thank my real life friend Monster Matt for helping me find my voice on Twitter. I also wish to thank my new twitter friend McVladie for helping give me a well needed lift. It’s been a rough year but it’s rounding the corner!
Monster’s for Charity
Kevin Gardner has shared his recipe for the brown sugar used at Five Points Bakery. It is also sold there in pretty cool vintage jars.
Brown Sugar
1 cup white sugar
1-2 tbsp black strap molasses
YEP!! It’s that simple!!
I’m sure most of you have had your brown sugar get hard as a rock. I found this very simple gadget that elimates all that hassles:
This is a “Brown Sugar Saver”. It’s made of terra cotta and all you do is soak it in water for about 20 minutes. Then you put it in your jar or bag. That’s it. That water keeps the sugar moist but doesn’t make it wet. It keeps the sugar soft for about 3 months.
Five Points Bakery
Five Points Bakery……..what can I say that hasn’t already been said? I mean, there have been 13 other stories written about them in the last year that I been able to find on the internet. Trust me, this is not overkill. I am deeply compelled to continue singing the praises already bestowed on them.
In March of 2009 I visited Urban Roots Co op garden center. I noticed that there was quite a bit of activity going on in the adjoining store. I asked Michael who was moving in. He stated a bakery.
Why it took me almost a year to get back, I’ll never quite know. It’s not like I hadn’t been near there. I had been to Lexington Co op and Guercio’s more times than I can count. This particular trip had me in search of Thai Pink Egg Tomato seeds from Richard Price’s Faerie Garden Seeds. Lexington co op had run out, so off to Urban Roots I went.
I was greeted by the intoxicating scent of cinnamon rolls as I entered the store. After making my seed purchase, I followed the pied piper over to Five Points Bakery.
Behind the counter, Melissa Gardner was carefully bagging a customer’s purchase of multi grain bread. Behind her, Kevin (Melissa’s husband) was rotating willow rising baskets with more of the same. Sunshine streamed in through the front glass, lighting up the rows of canning jars on the shelves.
While Five Points Bakery is named after the five point intersection of Rhode Island, West Utica and Brayton streets, I (of course!) felt it was a sign from the goddess. The five points of the pentacle symbolize the five elements: earth, air, fire, water and spirit. In item that is baked at Five Points, you can literally taste them. From the earth the local wheat is grown in to the wind that carries the bees for the honey. From the fire of the ovens, not to mention the sun that warms the earth, to the rain that nourishes the seedlings. Most important is the spirit that goes into the labor. How much more spirit can you put into a loaf of bread than the energy of two people actually milling the flour right there, right in the store? The Gardner’s actually have a Samap natural stone mill.
Almost all of the ingredients for the Gardner’s offerings are locally sourced. Five Points buys their wheat from growers in Hamburg, Hunt and Kendell NY. Eggs come in from Colden, butter from Moravia, veggies from good ol’ Alden. The greatest thing about shopping at Five Points is that you don’t have to ask or guess about the origins of the offerings. You know that everything is either local or fair trade. Back to that shelf of canning jars: contained within vintage glass top jars are oats, beans and homemade brown sugar to name just a few things. I buy a lot of canning jars at yard sales or thrift stores. Over the years I hard amassed a few dozen glass tops. I brought them with me my next trip. Kevin and Melissa charge a small deposit for the jars, but a fair amount don’t make it back. It felt good to give them a home. The cinnamon rolls Melissa gave me in return were an unexpected, but delightful treat.
Five Points offers “shares” of bread. You can subscribe for a full year or per quarter. What you get is a weekly care package of selected items. If you cannot get into the city on a weekly basis, or if you think you just cannot eat that many baked goods, just stop in and pick up a loaf (or two, or three!). While you are there, check out the cooler. Inside you will find locally raised beef, pasture raised eggs and milk that actually has the cream on top. Trust me, it’s worth the trip!
Five points Bakery 
426 Rhode Island St
Buffalo NY 14213
716-884-8888