Summer pours forth its bounty in these waning days of the season. For weeks, we’ve been feasting on Silver Rill corn, tomatoes, beans, blackberries, blueberries and zucchinis. Much of them came from friends and neighbours who’ve toiled in their gardens all summer and are now reaping of the overflow. Today, a friend in the Spalding Valley had us come by and pick a quarter row of this amazing basil!
We’re past the Pender Fall Fair, another celebration of delectable produce from the gardens of Pender. The sun shone on the Community Hall grounds and on the happy faces of all our neighbours. It was a fair in the truest sense, with music, dancing, contests, speeches.
The season of fairs and dances
Yesterday, September 1, the South Pender Growers and Makers Market happened on the idyllic grounds of the Church of the Good Shepherd. The forecast called for clouds and rain, but the skies cleared and the sun filtered through the towering fir and cedar scattered around the periphery of the grounds. It was a glorious day for meeting neighbours, admiring tables of produce, flowers arts and crafts and baked goods. There were even two bread makers … not just the Happy Monk!
I often feel wistful at the end of a season. This summer has been busy for Jennifer and me. The days have been a blur. But these end of summer rituals, the fairs and markets, the shows are a mark of passage for yet another glorious season. I look back on the days and have the sense that life has passed by right in front of our eyes.
We’ve had our fill of sun-dappled days, true. And afternoons by the sea and clear mornings. And the food! I wish Summer could stand still awhile. But that’s because I don’t want it to end! And here we are! Ah, life!
And now Fall beckons
Dylan Thomas’ own wistful poem, “Fern Hill” comes to mind in these days of the waning season. It is somehow more beautiful to look back on the glorious days than forward to the uncertain future.
Now as I was young and easy under the apple boughs
Dylan Thomas, Fern Hill
About the lilting house and happy as the grass was green,
The night above the dingle starry,
Time let me hail and climb
Golden in the heydays of his eyes,
And honoured among wagons I was prince of the apple towns
And once below a time I lordly had the trees and leaves
Trail with daisies and barley
Down the rivers of the windfall light.
But I know well that the glorious Fall, stretches out ahead of us. I look forward to the smells and colours. The cooler breezes, the first frosty mornings. And, always, the smell of baked bread coming out of the wood-fired oven!
![Happy Monk Tidings - Baker's Choice: Pender Island Apple Bread; Happy Monk Blog: A Water World; And Please Note: We're taking a Bread Break for Two Weeks! - [ See link in Profile ]](https://i0.wp.com/happymonkbaking.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed-pro/img/placeholder.png?w=980&ssl=1)
Happy Monk Tidings - Baker's Choice: Pender Island Apple Bread; Happy Monk Blog: A Water World; And Please Note: We're taking a Bread Break for Two Weeks! - [ See link in Profile ]
Rugbrød going out Sunday morning, for smørrebrød at lunch! For all to enjoy, but especially for my two Danish friends who have been clamouring for this Danish style rye for weeks! And @ellasharpmorton just back from Denmark, triumphant from her artistic conquests and rugbrød in her tummy!
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#rye #ryebread #rugbrød #danishrye #danishryebread #smørrebrød #openfacedsandwich #openfacesandwich #openfacedsandwiches #woodfiredovens #woodfiredbread #woodfiredryebread #breadhead #happymonkbakery #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakingcompany #bbga #southpenderisland #southpender #penderislandbc #penderisland
Today’s grey-skyed, wood-fired bake, the Salish Sourdough and the mighty Seed Feast. Forty-five loaves, bagged and delivered to Happy Monk customers. Tomorrow I’ll make a Danish Rye for this week’s Baker’s Choice … going a bit out on the limb to please two Danish customers who’ve been clamouring for Rugbrød and the promise of smørrebrød, open-faced sandwiches!
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#woodfired #woodfiredoven #coboven #Mildrith #Mildriththeoven #woodfiredovenbread #sourdough #sourdoughbread #bread #realbread #naturallyleavened #baker #bakery #bbga #artisanbread #breadhead #sourdough #sourdoughbread #penderisland #southpenderislands #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany
Happy Monk Tidings - Baker's Choice: Danish Rye (Rugbrød); My daughter, Ella Morton's art exhibits; Blog Post: Coronavirus in the Sky; PLUS: Wood-fired Oven Update - [ See link in Profile ]
Happy Tidings from the Happy Monk Baking Company - Baker's Choice: Rye-Currant Pan Loaf; Blog Re-Post: The Island Within; And Mildrith Gratitude - [ See link in profile ]
Whole Grain Spelt Pan Bread for the Baker’s Choice, yesterday. And a bunch of old guys came round to the Happy Monk’s place to collect their loaves. Lots of gratitude for the bounty of the bread, the grain, the oven, the warmth of the season, the great neighbours and the people of Pender Island.
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#woodfired #woodfiredoven #coboven #Mildrith #Mildriththewoofiredoven #woodfiredovenbread #spelt #speltbread #bread #realbread #naturallyleavened #baker #bakery #bbga #artisanbread #breadhead #sourdough #sourdoughbread #penderisland #southpenderisland #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany
Pyromaniacal glee. Firing up Mildrith for a Sunday morning bake. Sprouted Rye Pan loaves going in tomorrow at, let’s say, four a.m. These loaves smelled like cookies as they bulk fermented this afternoon. Buttermilk, malt syrup, Hoyne’s Dark Matter beer, whole spelt and rye flour and tons of toasted seeds! Not to mention the sprouted rye berries!
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#woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredovenbread #rye #ryebread #speltbread #hoynebrewing #hoynedarkmatter #bread #realbread #naturallyleavened #baker #bakery #bbga #artisanbread #breadhead #sourdough #sourdoughbread #penderisland #southpenderislands #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany
Pillowy, sesame-flecked loaves of Harvest Bread, or Struan Bread by another name. You throw in a little of whatever grain and meal you have, in this case oats, cooked brown rice, cornmeal, drizzle some Pender Island honey, lots of wholegrain flour. And make it with sourdough! A glorious, flavourful loaf, tender. Sublime when eaten hot from the toaster, schmeared with salted butter.
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#struanbread #harvestbread #pillowybread #woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredovenbread #bread #realbread #naturallyleavened #peterreinhart #baker #bakery #bbga #artisanbread #breadhead #sourdough #sourdoughbread #southerngulfislands #southerngulfislandsbakers #southerngulfislandsbakeries #penderisland #southpenderisland #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany
Happy Monk Tidings - Baker's Choice: Struan Bread; Happy Monk Blog: Revisiting Rachel Carson and her landmark Silent Spring - [ See Link in Profile ]
Looking for the heart of a Saturday night! Loaves of Rye Buttermilk Loaf emerging from Mildrith, the wood-fired oven, and all the glorious smells. Times have changed! No longer the cutting loose on a Saturday night, but blissful bread-making splendor and appreciation of the startling Waxing Gibbous moon and its reflection off the waters of Boundary Pass!
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#woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredovenbread #bread #realbread #naturallyleavened #baker #bakery #breadhead #ryebread #bbga #artisanbread #breadhead #olives #olivebread #sourdough #sourdoughbread #penderisland #southpenderisland #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany #waxinggibbous #moon #southerngulfislands #tomwaits #tomwaitslyrics
#happymonkbaking Seed Feast!
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#sourdough #sourdoughbread #bread #breadhead #woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredbread #redfife #redfifewheat #seedbread #realbread #bbga
Thank God for dappled things ... Happy Monk breads do not involve the death of any trees. The wood used to heat Mildrith the wood-fired oven comes from wind-fallen trees on Pender Island which are donated by property owners for a tax receipt. They are then bucked and chopped by volunteers of the Green Angel Choppers and sold to Pender residents for the going rate of $350 for a cord of firewood. Proceeds are then put into worthy community projects, such as funding solar energy panels for the community hall. The Happy Monk Baking Company is just one stakeholder in a chain of community “pay it forward” endeavor!
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#community #payitforward #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakingcompany #woodfiredovens #woodfiredoven #woodfiredbread #woodfiredhottubs #woodfiredbaking
Happy Monk Tidings - July 29 - Baker's Choice this week: Rye-Buttermilk Loaf; Happy Monk Blog: The Pandemic is Beginning to Leave Its Mark. Again! [ See Link in Profile ]
‘Tis not through envy of thy happy lot,
But being too happy in thine happiness,—
That thou, light-winged Dryad of the trees
In some melodious plot
Of beechen green, and shadows numberless,
Singest of summer in full-throated ease.
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#johnkeats #johnkeatspoems #odetoanightingale #summer #poetry
Spelt-Honey loaves get a dose of Barry’s Bees honey for tomorrow’s Baker’s Choice bread. This is really delicious honey and it comes from our fair Pender Isle! Beautiful aroma and subtle flower taste! Can’t wait to start pulling these loaves out of Mildrith, the wood-fired oven!
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#honey #honeybread #spelt #speltbread #sourdough #sourdoughbread #artisanbread #woodfiredoven #woodfiredovenbread #bread #baker #bakery #bbga #realbread #breadhead #penderisland #southpenderisland #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany
Happy Monk Tidings - This week's Baker's Choice: Spelt and Honey Loaf, featuring Barry's Bees Honey!; And Blog Excerpt: Confessions of a Would-Be Baker [ See Link in Profile ]
Happy Monk Tidings: Baker's Choice: Mountain Rye for the rye aficionados and the Happy Monk Blog: This Living Rock Island - [ See link in profile ]
The signature of a real wood-fired oven, written on the backside of a Salish Sourdough loaf from last week. You can see the rectangular impressions of the hearth firebricks. This is as good as a certificate of authenticity, made by Mildrith and the Happy Monk, South Pender Island!😃 you won’t see it in pan loaves, though. Look for it next time you open up a bag of HM bread!
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#woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredovenbread #bread #realbread #naturallyleavened #baker #bakery #bbga #artisanbread #breadhead #sourdough #sourdoughbread #penderisland #southpenderisland #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany
Sourdough Pan Loaf raised on a pedestal.
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#woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredovenbread #bread #realbread #naturallyleavened #baker #bakery #bbga #artisanbread #breadhead #sourdough #sourdoughbread #sandwichloaf #panloaf #penderisland #southpenderisland #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany
Olive Loaf, with a couple of Kalamatas winking at you from the crust. .
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#woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredovenbread #bread #realbread #naturallyleavened #baker #bakery #bbga #artisanbread #breadhead #olives #olivebread #sourdough #sourdoughbread #penderisland #southpenderisland #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany
Sometimes seems as if the bake week happens in a hypnotic trance of woodchopping, fire-building, dough-mixing, loaf-pulling (from the oven), not to mention all the “back-end” tasks like stamping bread bags, ordering and bookkeeping. Spent two hours this morning chopping and stacking wood for tomorrow morning’s bake before even starting on the dough-mix, but was thankful to stand up every now and then and listen to the amazing birdsong here on Pender Island.
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#woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredovenbread #woodchopping #woodchopper #firewood #bread #realbread #naturallyleavened #baker #bakery #bbga #artisanbread #breadhead #sourdough #sourdoughbread #penderisland #southpenderisland #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany #thirdmanrecords
Inside Mildrith yesterday morning, 11 Salish Sourdoughs risen and baked exuberantly to a luscious golden colour. The oven had baked two loads previously and it’s still just shy of 500ºF in there. She’s my inanimate love with a soul!
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#woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredovenbread #bread #realbread #naturallyleavened #baker #bakery #bbga #artisanbread #breadhead #sourdough #sourdoughbread #penderisland #southpenderisland #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany
New Blog Post: The Allure of the Tassajara Bread Book, a 1970s classic that seems to be as relevant now as it was back in the day. Also” the week’s Baker’s Choice: Whole Wheat – Spelt Sourdough Pan Loaf. [ See Link in Profile ]
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#tassajarabreadbook #tassajarazenmountaincenter #classicbreadbooks #classiccookbooks #zencooking #zenbaking #southpenderisland #penderisland #southerngulfislands #happymonkbakery #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakingcompany #bread #breadmaking #sourdoughbread #artisanbread #artisanbreadbaking
100% Rye with Currants, a happy loaf to enjoy on this day of rest. .
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#woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredovenbread #sourdough #sourdoughbaking #sourdoughbread #rye #ryebread #ryebaking #ryecurrantbread #southpender #southpenderisland #southerngulfislands #southerngulfislandsbc #penderisland #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakingcompany #happymonkbakery #bbga