The Toad & The Butterfly, a Blog

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.

All over the state, sugarhouses are firing up evaporators, steam is rolling out the roof vents, and people who know what they’re doing are turning tree sap into one of the greatest foods on earth.

Running a food company that sources directly from small farms means we actually get to know the people behind the ingredients. These women are wonderful, thoughtful, funny, wildly capable humans who care deeply about their land, their animals, and their communities.

If you have ever wondered why Fat Toad Farm Cinnamon Caramel tastes so layered and balanced, here is the secret: we use two kinds of cinnamon. On purpose.

I just finalized our projected needs for the 2026 growing season. I send our totals to the farms we work with, they tell me what they can grow and at what price, and then I spread our orders across all of them.

I’ve been making it on cold weekend mornings, but it might be even better as an afternoon reset. Just a few minutes. Kettle on. Stir. Breathe.

I think that Valentine's Day is as much about joy as it is about love. Joy for others, joy for yourself, joy for existence.

I have always loved the depth and texture of roasted butternut squash, and I was thrilled to discover it was the perfect foil for smoked onions and red jalapeños. The result was Ooh La La, a sauce I adore just as much as the album itself.

When you cook with alcohol, especially in caramel, you concentrate everything. Good flavors get better. Bad flavors get louder. With only five ingredients in our Salted Bourbon Caramel, there is nowhere for a bad bourbon to hide.