So, How Was Your Day? Breakfast: Soft egg scramble with sautéed spinach, sea salt and black pepper. Lunch: Juice Land juice (spinach, banana, hemp protein, chia seeds, and coconut water). Dinner: Gluten free meatloaf with rosemary roasted potatoes and caramelized bacon brussel sprouts. Morning ➛ Wake up at 5:00am and wash my face so I can keep waking up, get dressed. Put two Ristretto Black Nespresso coffee pods into my cube, froth some almond milk. Begin checking my e-mails; write out my to-do list, which keeps getting longer. Wake up my son Leo for school and ask him what kind of pancakes he would like today: gluten free chocolate chip. Take Leo to school. Call my boyfriend Joseph to finalize our plans for the Grammy Awards. My intern Abigail arrives to help me bake, package and ship 200 almond kisses for a pre-Grammy party at the SLS Hotel in Los Angeles Noon ➛ Vinyasa power yoga class. Very quick shower and costume change; wet hair makes me cold. Update my blog and get the social media and website fully integrated with my new Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for the first ever gluten free community cookbook. Pick up Leo from school. Open my front door to greet my babysitter, Nadya. Conference call with my business manager, Diane to finalize interviews with local chefs to support the community cookbook; we high five with excitement. Night ➛ Nadya goes home. Start making dinner. Do homework with Leo. Eat dinner. Leo has two servings! Give Leo a bath. Read The Man Who Walked Between the Towers before the lights go out…but then I am back to work. Approve photos from my food photo shoot from yesterday; have to plan a re-shoot. Brainstorm a couple new recipes. Lay down to read Hitch-22. I mind surf tomorrow as I drift off to sleep. Three Last Things… 1. What’s up with all the food magazines? I get caught up on all my reading at night, so I always have a stack of foodie magazines to flip through before I hit the hay. 2. Bacon Brussel Sprouts. Damn. Do tell. Cut 1/4 lb. (4 pieces) thick sliced bacon into lardons. Melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat and when it foams, add 2 tablespoons light brown sugar and 1 tablespoon castor sugar. When the sugar melts, and the bacon and fry until caramelized, stirring often to prevent from burning. Remove from heat and transfer to an unlined plate to cool. In a clean frying pan, start with 2 tablespoons of salted butter and a tablespoon of pure olive oil, heat over medium heat until the butter is melted. Sauté a large diced shallot over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of honey, and a splash of sherry vinegar, whisk to combine. Add 3 cups brussel sprouts which have been cut in half lengthwise, and cook for 8 minutes, stirring frequently and they begin to brown. Season to taste with salt (start with 1/2 teaspoon) and freshly cracked black pepper. Stir in the caramelized bacon and serve. 3. So, someone at the Grammys wanted to “Kiss” you back for your delicious treats…your pick would be? Well, since my first kisses are usually on the cheek, hands down, Paul McCartney. He wrote the song that inspired the name of my company after all! Karen lives in Austin, Texas with her son Leo. She is part mum, part pastry mogul (she’s the Official Gluten Free Expert to Whole Foods Market)…she’s the Jay-Z of gluten free. blackbirdbakery.com   photo credit: Marshall Wright

So, How Was Your Day?

Breakfast:

Soft egg scramble with sautéed spinach, sea salt and black pepper.


Lunch:

Juice Land juice (spinach, banana, hemp protein, chia seeds, and coconut water).


Dinner:

Gluten free meatloaf with rosemary roasted potatoes and caramelized bacon brussel sprouts.

Morning ➛

Wake up at 5:00am and wash my face so I can keep waking up, get dressed. Put two Ristretto Black Nespresso coffee pods into my cube, froth some almond milk. Begin checking my e-mails; write out my to-do list, which keeps getting longer. Wake up my son Leo for school and ask him what kind of pancakes he would like today: gluten free chocolate chip. Take Leo to school. Call my boyfriend Joseph to finalize our plans for the Grammy Awards. My intern Abigail arrives to help me bake, package and ship 200 almond kisses for a pre-Grammy party at the SLS Hotel in Los Angeles



Noon ➛

Vinyasa power yoga class. Very quick shower and costume change; wet hair makes me cold. Update my blog and get the social media and website fully integrated with my new Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for the first ever gluten free community cookbook. Pick up Leo from school. Open my front door to greet my babysitter, Nadya. Conference call with my business manager, Diane to finalize interviews with local chefs to support the community cookbook; we high five with excitement.



Night ➛

Nadya goes home. Start making dinner. Do homework with Leo. Eat dinner. Leo has two servings! Give Leo a bath. Read The Man Who Walked Between the Towers before the lights go out…but then I am back to work. Approve photos from my food photo shoot from yesterday; have to plan a re-shoot. Brainstorm a couple new recipes. Lay down to read Hitch-22. I mind surf tomorrow as I drift off to sleep.

Three Last Things…

1. What’s up with all the food magazines?

I get caught up on all my reading at night, so I always have a stack of foodie magazines to flip through before I hit the hay.

2. Bacon Brussel Sprouts. Damn. Do tell.

Cut 1/4 lb. (4 pieces) thick sliced bacon into lardons. Melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat and when it foams, add 2 tablespoons light brown sugar and 1 tablespoon castor sugar. When the sugar melts, and the bacon and fry until caramelized, stirring often to prevent from burning. Remove from heat and transfer to an unlined plate to cool. In a clean frying pan, start with 2 tablespoons of salted butter and a tablespoon of pure olive oil, heat over medium heat until the butter is melted. Sauté a large diced shallot over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of honey, and a splash of sherry vinegar, whisk to combine. Add 3 cups brussel sprouts which have been cut in half lengthwise, and cook for 8 minutes, stirring frequently and they begin to brown. Season to taste with salt (start with 1/2 teaspoon) and freshly cracked black pepper. Stir in the caramelized bacon and serve.

3. So, someone at the Grammys wanted to “Kiss” you back for your delicious treats…your pick would be?

Well, since my first kisses are usually on the cheek, hands down, Paul McCartney. He wrote the song that inspired the name of my company after all!

Karen lives in Austin, Texas with her son Leo. She is part mum, part pastry mogul (she’s the Official Gluten Free Expert to Whole Foods Market)…she’s the Jay-Z of gluten free. blackbirdbakery.com   photo credit: Marshall Wright

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