August 2023

The gardens settle quiet in the heat this time of year. The crops turn over to tall vining trellises of tomatoes and cucumbers, green beans and low carpets of melon. The greens distressed, the lettuce wilts like a dress less primped and now dull from the sun parching green from it’s leaves. Life seems to slow, sleep perhaps in the mid day august sun. I watched three monarchs in the noon day heat yesterday. They danced full of life on the butterfly weed and I realized that soon they will embark on their migration south to Mexico. They are gearing up and filling to the brim their spirits and endurance for the trip. They are three different butterflies before they reach their final destination. If you haven’t done a deep dive into this magnificent phenomenon than I suggest maybe you do. It is fascinating and inspiring. The transformative magic of this creature is something to be admired. Their strength, endurance, spirituality, trust and evolution. To watch them flit about like young girls in a field….floating from flower to flower has most of us fooled. Don’t be fooled……transform and pivot, endure and evolve. I will be my bread and a butterfly too and see where the wind takes me.

July 2023

July is for pie. Either because the trees are laden with fruit or simply because it rhymes. I’m sure both reasons will do as will the pie on your Fourth of July table…..deep dish abandon of peach, nectarine and cherry jubilee. Perhaps a dive into blueberries turned purple in sugar steeps, juices bubbling out the lattice work…a pie crust country chic that pairs well with your blue gingham apron at the picnic firework party. Tastes well after that hot dog or burger on the grill….your corn on the cob. Pie follows just fine with most anything you can think of as long as you serve a little whipped cream or vanilla ice cream on the side or maybe plopped right there on top for melting down the sides.

Welcome to July….to sun and summer…..to summer gardens…….to adventure food on the go……to relaxing in ways that find your feet in the water and your head in the clouds.

June 2023

June and salt of the sea becomes a wanting so close yet so far away this year….. May grey sets into June gloom and beach days are but hopes and dreams still. Instead I run the hills in the morning smelling sage deep set into the brush and dew of the morning clouds. It is dark and cold like winter….the yellow mustard has grown tall draping over the trail as if willows….they cry watery tears across my arms and shoulders……lashes of yellow petals cover my skin. It is hard to say the last time the spring has offered such decadence in the way of growth…..wildflowers and vines…thick in the hills and I’m reminded that with rain comes life that could overtake our limbs and flesh without much thought. The power of lady nature. We maintain decorum with whacks and cuts of the trails and blossoming gardens but control is far from grasp as these wild plants twist into light and creatures scurry about finding space for daily doings and living life. This year my most treasured moment has been the sleeping bee in a petal blossom bed…..pollen covered yellow and napping like a baby. That secret cradle must float heaven in the wind and rock a tired drunk bee strait to sleep. It is hard not to get dazed by the smells myself and that dense ojai sage soaks perfumed mist into my skin. It smells different then the late summer dry sage in the Santa Ana winds which calls spirits in the hills. The early summer sage is soul dampened in the earth as if steeped in a bowl of soup….with that salt of the sea…. it would make for a pleasant meal.

MAY 2023

May has arrived in odd fashion as the mist took form of rain…and the warm feels of sunshine have been exchanged for morning hot chocolate once again. Extra large with whip cream to boot and I find my efforts to better my routine are thwarted by the clouds and my lack of ambition when the temperature drops below seventy degrees. Perhaps I’m cold blooded like the snake and only warm in the sun….reptilian creatures for which the desert delights and the dry heat excites. I wonder sometimes if it is just habit for me now after years of work by an oven, that the exceedingly warm space is comfort for me, an adaptation to environment like that of the Darwin finches, beaks so well specified for island sustenance. I have evolved into a heat seeker, sun worshiper, iguana on the rock all because of an oven…..and I wait for the summer heat with dread and secret anticipation.

Welcome to May! More to build as I explore this avenue of words and stories…..an outlet for expression in the midst of food and mayhem. Some of you have reached out with desired recipes which I will post and questions about building small bake spaces which I hope to answer. Keep the questions coming! My greatest wish is that this space offers inspiration in the way of art and food. I don’t believe in right or wrong ways in the kitchen or in life…..I believe in curiosity and exploration….letting your days guide you to create and enjoy.

APRIL 2023

 A new month and a new sac(k)! Welcome to April! For those of you joining us new this month I’d like to welcome you too! Welcome to my ever evolving and creative space of food thoughts. Our inaugural month of March was but a toe dip into the multitude of ideas that pop into my head any given day. I wish I was an organized woman but alas my vibes tend to stray towards disarray more often then not so whether there is any rhyme nor reason to what I collect here for you might not be the point. Perhaps it is the creativity that is born out of a menial task or a simple observation. The day to day, if watched closely, is a grab bag of fabulous interactions, conversations, beauty and of course food. So I journal it here, for you. At the end of every month we will archive the stories and recipes and start a fresh empty sac(k) to begin again. To bring more stories to light and food to tables! Enjoy!

PS. My Fabulous Friend Fiona will be contributing monthly playlists to The Sac(k) (link at the bottom). These music montage mixes might be the crux of my kitchen musings. Anyone who watches me work knows without the music I might not make it through the day! So click on some tunes and enjoy the work and play and exploration of this beautiful spring season.

So much love , Kate

MARCH 2023

Hello and welcome to THE SAC(K), Kate’s Bread members site. My name is Kate and I will be your hostess with the mostest here in The Sac(k), as we are so lovingly calling this hyper creative landing zone for all of my ridiculous food related downloads. With any creative project I hope to offer you even the smallest form of inspiration in your day to day lives all dressed up in the delicious art of food. Baking bread has defined much of my life. It seems that it has been my most trusted companion through the many ups and downs. It has also been my subject as a creative and I have found great joy in bread as my muse. The stories in my life have only become more intriguing, curious, hilarious, and beautiful with bread as my craft and the connections with community and new friends has been worth every baker’s sleepless night and early morning. I hope to give to you all in a new way now…..a food journal as my mind and heart understand it. Essays, photos, video, recipes, interviews, music, adventures and more to come. Thank you for your beautiful support. And here we go!