/back into the frying pan

wait. didn't I just do this? will someone pinch me?
yesterday I spent all day on the phone with purveyors, salesmen. placed orders, shopped, schemed, made lists, brainstormed, organized new product in brand new spaces, walked the neighborhood to get a feel for the place, and made one very strange trip to Jetro. have you ever been here? all I can say is this:

go here if you need to understand why we're doomed.

heh.

you might think Kmart is big. or maybe that's small next to Home Depot. still think I'm batting in a cage? think Costco times 10. the not-quite-as-good-looking Ikea of foodstuffs.
Jetro is the god of big.

Jetro makes Big Box look like a cheap forgotten gift under the tree.
my life is now complete.

you need a card to get in. you pass it over a scanner and then a voice from somewhere mechanically welcomes you. you can pick up a cart that's as big as my hatchback car to push around the "store." you will pass people along the way buying enough cases to line a tennis court. you must buy in case. you must buy no less than 25# of sugar. modern muzak echoes through, metallic as it bounces off one trillion tons of cardboard.

it's so inexpensive you wish you owned a storage facility so you could buy as much sweetened condensed milk as you wanted. you wish you're swimming pool could be filled with all those chocolate chips. how come no one told you about this place when you were addicted to Cheerios. life made simpler.

Jetro is the antichrist of the local, seasonal, organic, sustainable movement. don't go here if you have a heart condition. go here to do research. to understand how people who you think you don't know live. but of course you do.

I left empty handed and I thought someone might arrest me.

today I'm baking, sorting, signing invoices, and finding my rhythm in a new space. don't freak out, it's not a huge deal. I'm just happy to have my hand in the sugar bin again. delighted to reunite with rhubarb. will taste a number of yogurts. have my way with brown sugar and butter. mix up some cookie dough. test the ovens. zest some lemons. slice mandarinquats. candy citrus peel. scent the kitchen with warm ginger. organize containers. chop walnuts and poach dried fruit.

p.s. do you have a favorite brownie recipe you think I should take a look at? thanks!

Comments

[Anita]

ooooooo?

(yes!)

[JM]

this photo pretty much sums up the inherent wrongness of the cash-n-carry/jetro experience, i think. :)

[jen w]

sounds exciting!

my favorite brownie recipe ever is this one

[Aaron]

What kind of brownie are you looking for? I know of no baked good that is so divisive in its differing variations. Are you in the cakey camp, of the chewy crowd or a fudge fiend?

[jennywenny]

Sounds cool, I dont really know my way around these kind of places. The closest I've got is smart and final and that scares me enough with its enormous containers of crisco and ready made graham crackers. Ick.

I'm excited to learn about the new phase in your career and I'd love to attend a class if you're thinking of holding them again!

[Jennifer Jeffrey]

Oh. I am sooooo curious.

You sound happy. I'm glad.

[cookiecrumb]

Didn't I just read about you on EaterSF?
Have fun.

[Colleen]

I do not have a favorite brownie recipe, but I have been looking for one! I have tried 3 or so in recent months, and none of them get that dense, chewy texture that I so crave from a brownie. I will be watching to see if a good one crops up!

[Lori S.]

My current favorite brownie recipe is the one in the Tartine cookbook, but that's partly b/c chopping the big block o' chocolate up with a cleaver was so much fun.

[ann]

Shuna, I'd like u to make Michael Recchuiti's brownies

[shuna fish lydon]

Loooove all the brownie tips and recipes!

I've just been sent one from another pastry chef, complete with detailed how-tos and why-for's!

I'll let you all know what I came up with. I need something that's sturdy, can last in a walk-in for a bit and has a taste a person won't soon forget...

[Julie]

Since I find Costco a completely frightening experience on a number of levels, I probably won't venture into Jetro any time soon.

Here are my quintessential brownies. They fall strongly into the chewy rather than the fudgy camp...

[shuna fish lydon]

GO JULIE!!

yeah for learning HTML!
Those comments above you? I changed them myself... so thank you most heartfeltedly for doing the code for me!

and thank ou for your recipe. it looks as though you have worked forever on it and I appreciate that of course!

[Rebecca Kidd]

Best of luck in the new endeavor! I await with bated breath on the new development.

[Julie]

Well, Shuna -- it's thanks to you that I can do the HTML. I used your HTML cheat sheet, which I now consider an invaluable tool.

The recipe, as the story tells, is more of a family heirloom with tweaks. I spent a lot of time in a state of brownie promiscuity (ah my misspent youth), going from the arms of one recipe to the next, before I came home and settled down. I'd love to know if you try it, and how it works for you.

[Fatemeh]

Rumor has it that you'll be doing some consulting in my neck of the woods...