Bakery Road Trip

Seret and I went on a Baked Goods Odyssey last month, two friends in search of unusual pastries.  Seret is amazing in many ways, not the least of which is her ability to take one bite of a doughnut and toss the rest in the trash.  I, on the other hand, had no compunctions about downing every last bite of that vegetable-glazed cakey sticky .... well, let's not get ahead of ourselves, shall we?

We'd done a bit of research, on-line and through degrees of separation from native Tucsonans with culinary talents and we had a general plan.  Once we started, though, it became obvious that we were making it up as we went along.  "OOOhhh look at that one" was all I needed to steer The Schnozz into the strip mall (it's all strip malls.... just like Long Island has become..... though I never saw a taco truck on Sunrise Highway.... but I digress...) and park in front of Ghini's Cafe.

Park in front of it.  No worries.  No meters.  My choice of spots, even without invoking my awesome parking karma.  We entered through the bakery

and began to smile.  I mean, seriously, who could resist that face?  We bought a long loaf of interconnected mini-baguettes which I really meant to photograph for you but the smell of warm bread over-powered my senses and the loaf was damaged before the picture could be taken.  Trust me, it was pretty and it was good.

Continuing down Campbell I returned her to Beyond Bread for some ice tea and memories of the lunch we'd shared there a year before.  The free samples were tempting

and the cashier was charming

but we had miles to go before we'd eat.

(sorry about that)

Long ago, talking about kids and nutrition and food in general, Seret, the best cook I know, suggested that I make a conscious decision with every bite I put into my mouth.  It's a good mantra to bring out when my mouth is hungry but my brain and my belly are full.  It's also allowed me to taste things I'd ordinarily shun.  Am I practicing mindful eating?  Is that a thing like mindful speaking.... a meditative technique involving lots more silence than I could deal with? But, yet again, I digress.

We tried to find something interesting in downtown Tucson, but that was, predictably, a failed enterprise.  We parked easily (really, why not when there's nothing there at all) and the Hotel Congress was good for a quick look/see, but the offerings at Maynards weren't that interesting so we headed further south where we found Le Cave's Bakery, right where it was supposed to be.  (Don't laugh, some of the places we tried to find could not be accessed by land nor sea, as far as we could tell.  Ask anyone who's ever tried to follow any of the numbered streets or avenues.  But again, I digress.)

Since 1935, this unassuming warehouse on a corner lot, with a dusty display window and no signage to speak of, this immaculately kept interior contains some of the world's most heavenly smells.  Remember the sticky-gooey-glazed-wonderfulness of the first paragraph?  It's called a vegetable donut and no, it's not broccoli or asparagus or carrot flavored.  Rather, it is completely vegan.  And it has been since 1935.  Why?  Because it tastes good, I guess. 

I made a conscious decision to put every single marvelous bite into my happily awaiting mouth.  I saved Seret's freebie from the trash (I'm telling you, she walks the walk) and made sure that none went to waste.  (I am not even going to the waist space..... ).  It was very mindful munching.  

Here Comes The Bride.....

I've known her for all but 6 weeks of her 26 years on this earth, and I've loved her for every one of them. Just 4 weeks to the day older than the Big Cuter, she was a girly-girl in love with Ariel who didn't mind getting dirty. Seret taught her to swim, and she was a dolphin. She played tennis in the cul-de-sac and had a stroke to die for. She was brave and thoughtful and curious and the only girl in Play Group.

Everybody aways wanted to sit next to her; little boys were bitten over the right to do just that. Her smile lit up a room and a McDonald's commercial and the Jumbotron at Kaufman Stadium*. Through it all, she remained the same wide-eyed kid I'd pushed in a stroller.

The Twins thought that they were pretty good baseball players until they caught for her at Stinson Beach. Her dad tried to give them the catcher's mitt, but, hey... we're 13 and totally cool and she's a girl throwing a softball and that lasted exactly one pitch. By the end of her work-out she had a crowd of on-lookers grinning from ear to ear. Oblivious, she ran into the ocean to cool off. And The Twins were right behind her.

There are kids who play on travelling teams for their resumes and there are kids who can't do anything else and then there are kids who are lucky enough to love what they're very very good at and to have coaches who are worthy of their talent. She did. They went to Nationals and she coached a travelling team of her very own when she was really too young but oh, wow, is she good! and now she's the Girls' Varsity Coach at the High School.

Apparently, she's not too young to get married. Having been invited to this event when she was still a babe-in-arms, you'd think I'd have had time to get used to the idea. Forget it. I couldn't look at her or say the words without the little hairs on my arms doing jumping jacks. She found a man who completes her, and since TBG and I have spent the last 34 years filling each other's holes I'm pretty sure I know what she means. Maybe she's not too young, at that.

Daddooooo's mantra was "All brides are beautiful" but this one would have brought a special smile to his face. Her borrowed goods were stunning but it was hard to see them through the reflection of the joy that surrounded her. They were so happy. Their smiles were huge and then they looked at each other and somehow, impossibly, they grew larger. Their eyes twinkled and their hands entwined and they couldn't stop smiling. Grins as she was held aloft on a chair by many strong and handsome and dancing young men. Grins as she threw her Cubs garter. Hugs and smiles and so much love that nobody wanted it to end.

Now they'll go back home and get the puppy from the kennel and resume their lives as if nothing and everything has changed. There's no more planning or organizing or rehearsing. It's just life from a new point of view. A really really nice point of view.

Mazel Tov!


*where the Kansas City Royals play.... for those of us less familiar with the latest nomenclature..... like when did Shea become Citi??????