The Toad & The Butterfly, a Blog

This month we went into the freezer and pulled out some peppers that don't always get the spotlight. Boldog Hungarian peppers. Velociraptors. Beautiful, classic cayennes.

When we sat down to decide what we wanted to do for Pride this year, I knew I wanted to do something different. One person suggested that we simplify things. Then another suggested we make it more complicated.

Today we're officially launching Pepper Patrons, which means you can now join the farms, peppers, experiments, and flavor obsession behind this year’s sauces.

It starts with a spoon and a jar. Maybe you tell yourself you are just checking the texture. Just making sure it is still as smooth as you remember.

When I made my first hot sauce back in 2010 with my now husband, I definitely didn’t picture 13+ million people watching the biggest band in the world take on the hottest sauce I’ve ever made. But here we are.

If you’re putting together your own picnic condiment kit, this sauce pulls it all together.

Once a month I sit down and map out newsletters and social posts. It makes life easier later, when I’m cranking out five newsletters and 10 social posts a week while running a whole dang company.

The April Microbatch drop features a no heat, a low heat and medium sauce that makes folks lose their ever-loving minds.

There are two kinds of dessert people. The ones who plan ahead, bake from scratch, and have a cooling rack situation. And the ones who remember dessert about five minutes after dinner.

There’s a moment every year when you smell that first grill firing up and you take a deep breath. Dinner moves outside. Friends linger longer. And whatever’s on those grates deserves better than ketchup.

None of this requires new equipment, new skills, or even that much effort.

We don’t boil maple syrup or work in the woods ourselves, but we get to work with some of the best people who do. And this is the weekend that reminds us just how much work goes into that one perfect ingredient.

There are lots of ways to make coffee better. But I’m here to suggest the easiest possible upgrade.

This one tastes like sitting with your favorite people in a cozy, wood-paneled gin bar. Or sipping cocktails in a cabin in the woods.