Feed Me: The Humble Potato...

I have a thing for potatoes, and bread, and spring rolls--sorry, I tend to lose focus. We're talking about potatoes, right? Yes, potatoes. I have a thing for potatoes in tacos and with avocado-tomato-onion relish. It's so simple it's ridiculous--which makes it that much more delicious! Enjoy.

Spiced Potato Tacos with Avocado-Tomato-Onion Relish

Potato Seasoning Mix

1 Tbsp chili powder

1 Tbsp oregano

1/2 Tbsp paprika

2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp salt

Directions: Combine all the seasonings and mix well. I usually quadruple the amounts so that I have taco seasoning on hand whenver I need it

Potato Filling

4 cups diced red potatoes (1" chunks)

1 Tbsp taco seasoning

1/4 cup oil of choice (I use canola...and you can use more oil or less...I'm still not the oil police)

Directions: Heat oven to 425 degrees. Place oil on cookie sheet, add potatoes, sprinkle 1 Tbsp seasoning on top of potatoes and mix with hands to make sure the seasoning gets on all of the potatoes. Spread out into a single layer. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Avocado-Tomato-Onion Relish

2 ripe avocadoes, diced

3 roma tomatoes, diced

1/2 yellow onion, finely diced

1/4 cup packed cilantro, chopped

1 Tbsp orange juice (if you don't have orange juice use lemon, but not lime)

1/4tsp + 1/8 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground coriander (not cumin, trust me)

Directions: Combine avocado, tomato, and onions in a bowl and toss. Sprinkled on salt, coriander and orange juice and toss again. Finally sprinkle on cilantro and toss a final time. Try not to eat the bowl. I sometimes skip the potatoes all together and use this relish as my taco filler.

Taco Shells of choice (I used corn taco shells. I sprinkle them with water and then wrap with foil and bake at 260 degrees for 10 minutes. What I prefer to do is fry them up in a little canola oil because they taste better that way, but I have to wear a swimsuit in July, so...)

Then what, Reine? Do you need me to walk you through taco assembly? I didn't think so. Side note, I put my potatoes in first and drizzle a little sriracha on before adding the avocado relish.

You have been fed.

grace & peace,

Reine

Sweet Happening June 7th-11th

Hello Extended SweetArt Family!

Did you know our hours have changed? Did I mention that? I think I did but the heat has zapped my brain. Just so you know, we are now open Tuesday-Friday from 8am-6pm and Saturday from 9am-5pm. We have espresso/lattes (finally) and ice! Look at SweetArt, jumping into the ... ummm ...present.

Anyhoo, this week's special is a Falafel Wrap. Delicious little chickpea goddesses wrapped in a whole wheat wonder with all the fixins and a vegan sauce. No, no, please, don't thank us, just come in to see us...wax poetic, bring us flowers, chocolates (fair trade, of course:), and lots and lots of money. That will do.

It's official: Friday is Pie Day. Every single Friday we will try to resist from eating every pie we make. Savory and Sweet. Vegan and Vegetarian. As my numbero uno baker, Lisa, says, "We should be known for our pies. They're the best!" Or something like that. Well, she's right! I love pie more than anything else in the world (well, not more than my children and husband--most days--but pie is a very very close second). We will bring back the deep dish pizzas, and I feel a Caramel Banana Cream Pie with Real Whipped Cream coming to a store near you. Our store. This Friday. Shall you join us? We'd hate to eat them all on our own. We will, but we'd hate to.

Look for Feed Me to join this blog. What's Feed Me, you ask? Well, it's a recipe from start to finish located right here on this blog with photos. People always ask me for recipes (like I cook at home or something after working all day, LOL!). Well, after baking all day long, I actually do cook at home. Nothing fancy. Just Humble Exquisiteness (book title, maybe?). So here is my semi-promise (semi cause I'd hate to disappoint you), I will be posting atleast TWO recipes a week right here on this blog with photos. They will always be vegetarian (unless I totally give that up), and often times vegan and from time to time gluten-free vegan. So check in often. Cook at home (when you're not at SweetArt!). And tell me what you think (and only if it's good).

Ok, so I think we officially have enough people wanting to take classes where it's not just three people (myself included) looking at each other in an uncomfortable weird way. So, here's where you come in. Let me know what you'd like to take if you were to take a cooking class. Here's what I've been thinking:

• Gluten-Free Vegan from Breakfast to Dinner
• Frost that Cake like a Pro (cheesy title...work in progress)
• Vegan Holiday Cooking (Food that non-vegans would want to eat)
• Girls Night! Tipsy Drinks, Nibbles & More (vegetarian)
• Brown Bagging It (lunch for you & the kids--if you have kids--if not, lunch for you)
• And something else that would be profoundly well attended!

As always, thank you guys so much for keeping our dream alive. The business is changing for the better, things are great, and we couldn't do it without you.

Speak kindly to each other (it can change a life). Have more patience (especially when we're crowded:) And know how beautiful, special and in-such-great-shape you are! (the last one was for me...taste-tester guilt. Don't judge me)

grace & peace,

Reine, Cbabi & the Entire SweetArt Crew!

Ode to Billy Goat...

I'm having an all-out affair...with Billy...Goat Chips.

Honey, it's shameful. SHAME. FUL. And as hard as I try-- there's no stopping me. I mean I am sneaking around. Hiding behind the sandwich prep table...Grabbing two or three. Then six or seven. I cannot stop myself.

And just when I'd committed myself to Swimsuit Season.

don't judge me,

Reine

Sweet Happening for the week of May 24th-May 28th

Hello Extended SweetArt Family!!

Thank you for tuning in to this week's SweetArt Happenings. We truly appreciate the love and support as we learn the art of business. It's an art, honey, and some week's it's not easy.

This week's special is the Flora. Remember that? Our spinach and herb hummus wrapped with mixed greens, tomatoes, carrots, and avocado with a drizzle of love? So fresh. So delicious. So try it this week. It will be here all this week.

You will notice a few new things in the shop this week. The first major thing is our hours. We will be opening up Tuesday-Friday from 8am-6pm. Why so early, you ask. Well, the other new thing is our espresso machine. We will finally be making lattes! And during this first week, we're taking off a sizable percentage to all who order between 8am and 10am Tuesday-Friday of this week! How large of a percentage? You'll have to come in to find out!

The other new things you'll notice are the tables. We have our first delivery of certified-green and locally-sourced wood tables from Mwanzi Co., a Green Building Supply Company here in St. Louis, Missouri! Visit them at www.mwanzi.com We don't know if we are the first bakeshop/cafe in St. Louis to have a community table (a large table where many people/groups can sit together...you may not know each other, but that's the beauty of it all!) We started SweetArt to bring the community together and what better way than through a community table? We are so excited, and we hope you enjoy these tables as much as we do!

We've been doing some great things with our house-made puff pastry--namely our Puff Pockets: sweet or savory filled goodies wrapped in flaky puff pastry. It has become the new and improved muffin (in our eyes).

We are booked this Friday and Saturday for all custom orders. We apologies to those who were planning on ordering this week, but we have somehow booked up with orders and weddings (praise GOD!!) We will have PLENTY of cupcakes and other goodies on each of those days, so please be sure to visit us and get what you need.

This week's goody: try to love yourself. As always, I'm speaking mainly to myself. We can be so critical of all we do and all we are. I've decided to do a 40-day self-love cleanse where I say nothing negative about myself, and where I say something positive throughout the day about how glorious I am! It's not easy, but really--it should be. I bet I'm not alone with this one--especially as the season changes and shorts and sleeveless tops are required for the heat. It would be great to wake-up, put on my clothes, and say, "Damn, gone girl with yo' fine self!"--instead of the usual self-critical, non-loving verbage. 40-days. Wanna join me?

Thank you to you all for the love and support. Hope to see you this week!

grace & peace,

Reine, Cbabi, and the entire SweetArt crew!

Sweet Happening May 10th-14th

Hello Extended SweetArt Family!

The weather is finally breaking (and it's officially time to get the ac fixed in our car), but more importantly--luscious fruits and veggies are beckoning us to put them in pies and tarts, make curds out of them and put them in cupcakes and shells of puff pastry (that we make in house-from scratch, bien sur, and whip them into buttercreams to fill between whoopee pies. And, just in case you didn't know, when fruit is added to any dessert, the calories and fat magically disappear. I know, I know--I didn't believe it at first either, but it's proven science in the In Your Dreams Journal of From-Scratch Baking.

This week we're introducing two new cupcakes: Grace and Tropical Getaway. Grace is a chocolate cupcake filled with raspberry curd and topped with white chocolate buttercream and a fresh raspberry sitting all-pretty-like in the middle of fluffy ridiculousness. Tropical Getaway is a surprise shocker (a surprise because I don't usually like coconut). This little gem is a golden vanilla butter cake filled with key lime curd and topped with coconut Italian meringue buttercream and toasted coconut. Not that it has to be said, but, we make all of our curds in-house, from-scratch without any junk ingredients. That's why it tastes so familiarly good. Is familiarly a word? Alas, who cares, it's good. Stop in this week to welcome the new babies

You've seen a change in faces in some parts of SweetArt. We have some new crew in the house! And this is the first time I have EVER spoken about our staff, and I can now because they are all good! This bunch feels like a family unit (finally). For however long everyone stays, I am happy to have them all. Our baking staff is Lisa, Tamar and Ken and myself (of course). On lunch we have Lena, Michelle and Annette. And for counter charmers we have Rena, Sympho and Laura. Fred is the dish engineer and cupcake-case refiller on Saturdays and we are working hard and loving what we do.

GLUTEN-FREE GLUTEN-FREE!!! After years of requests for gluten-free goodies we finally have a daily gluten-free AND vegan cupcake. Although we are still a bakeshop that uses gluten, we make our gluten-free cupcakes first thing in the morning on separate equipment and while using separate ingredients (obviously gluten-free flours) we also use separate baking powder, salt, etc. We want to keep things as safe as possible. For now, our gluten-free goodies are also vegan because that has been the most requested.

Our menu has changed...and I want to keep it the way it is for a while...or atleast until I tire of it:) Our Sweet Burger, Flad Burrito, Klemm and Shaw paninis are staples, while our Vegan Philly Cheezesteak, Vegan Banh Mi, and Magnolia Sandwich are our newbies. Try something new if you always get the same thing; it will be delicious!

Our sandwich special this week is a Hot "ham" & cheese panini: vegan ham, white cheddar, caramelized onion jam and a fantastic mustard are grilled to perfection on Companion's Bada Bind Hoagie roll. We have two salads: our Greek Salad which always gets love and a candied almond-cherry-goat cheese diddy that is so good I had it for lunch--it's the truth. Need it vegan? Just say "no goat cheese, please" and we'll make it happen.

What would you like to see as a special in the shop? The old Botanical? How about the Flora with the spinach and herb hummus? Anyone a fan of pimento cheese (or is it just me? I am from Tennessee, after all)? We are taking requests for what we are calling, "You choose next week's special!" Think seasonally if you can--it's cheaper for us:)

Also, drop your business card in our bucket (or a piece of paper with your info on it). Each month we will be choosing a winner of our "Happy Un-Birthday Cake"...cause cake tastes better when it's for no reason at all! We will make a 6-inch cake of your choice for you to enjoy with some friends or family or no one at all(we won't tell!)

As always, we couldn't do this without you. We are so so so grateful for your support and encouragement. We do what we do because of you.

grace & peace,

Reine, Cbabi and the Entire SweetArt Crew!

Reacquaint Yourself...

The other day I found one of my old business cards...when the company's name was
Moon* Day*Soul Treats. On the back of the card I had information about our baking philosophy...always from scratch, no hard-to-pronounce, weirdo ingredients, etc. That is still our philosophy years later, and for that, I am very, very proud.

But what struck me was the last tag line: Reacquaint yourself with the old-school way of baking. Some of us have been fortunate enough to have a grandmother, great-aunt, Papa and maybe even mother, who took the time to bring those eggs to room temperature, sift some flour, cream some butter, and make some magic just for us. That is all we are trying to do at SweetArt. We get so excited when something delicious turns out just right. We're using ingredients that were kept at-ready in my grandmother's pantry. And we always will. And that people come in everyday to see what came out of the oven still blows my mind. So honored to do what I do...and so thankful to have good customers.

So, I know swimsuit season is approaching (I know, honey, I'm doing Zumba to offset the "taste-testing"--note the quotation marks :), but don't let that stop you from reacquainting yourself with the old-school way of baking. We do it everyday...and just for you.

grace & peace,

Reine

Kristy's Cake

Here's a couple photos of Kristy's wedding cake. We loved doing it and we hope she loved it as well.

Reine