Ode to My Sweet Tooth: Where I Live

My new running route, where I carry bear spray and yell every 30 seconds... but you can't beat the view!

I’m currently sitting in front of the staff lodge with my computer and six deer are walking across the pathway, obviously not realizing or caring I’m sitting two feet from them. Yeah Montana.

The staff lodge, where I am currently sitting and where my lovely room is.

Another week down! And yet, my week has really just begun. My weekend is Wednesday –Thursday right now so the order of the week has lost some of its meaning. Today was another day alone in the bakeshop, I never know what to expect!

The main lodge and location of the kitchen

The usual order of things is as follows: 5:30 am set up for the day (get butter, eggs out, turn on oven, etc.) by 6:45 I need to have made a dozen muffins for the continental breakfast. By 7:45 two pastries, today was croissants and blueberry turnovers. Of course my croissants went haywire in the proofer (large humidifier) and I had to start over right before time. So that was how my day started, rushed. I spent the rest of the morning making the bread for dinner, challah again, beautiful and easy, ten loaves of banana bread, two types of cookies for lunch, and some sauces and a strawberry coulis for the Marjoline (pistachio meringe, with vanilla, coffee, and chocolate buttercreams) dessert tonight. It’s a crazy feeling to look up at the clock and see that its only 10:30 am, but you’ve been working for five hours already. Although I hit some roadblocks (my crème anglaise got all foamy the first run through) I often found myself smiling today. I loved bringing out a plate of hot banana bread and peanut butter cookies for the staff today, just because I could. And I loved braiding six loaves of challah and watching the breadbaskets come back empty from the dining room. I love the act of baking and the rewards it incurs.

My domain: the bakeshop.

The ranch is putting in a three-hole golf course and driving range, so the owner was out here this past week with some golfing bigwigs. I have no idea who Johnny Miller and Something Macavoy are… but they’re walking around looking very official. This weekend is another Wild West Women group, much younger and much more down-to-earth it seems. I now have an invitation out to North Carolina to bake for a lovely lady named Dottie this winter. I think, however, that I’ll be using Pam’s connection at Bridger Bowl (local ski hill) to slide in as one of the resort’s bakers. Perfect seasonal work!

The hiking is unbelievable... the ranch is just down in that little gulch on Big Creek.

It has finally warmed up here. No more snow at the ranch and big blue skies. Everyone seems to be in good spirits. There’s even a dance tonight up in Whilsal to celebrate the end of branding season. The hiking remains wonderful and the people are great. I’ve finally started to really feel at home here and everyone has really come together, new staff and old alike. So here are some pictures of where I live! Don’t you just want to visit? Please do!