The Toad & The Butterfly, a Blog

I was positive that I'd figured out the best possible ice cream sandwich.

Turns out I hadn't bought a caramel company yet.

My favorite thing about making new micros every month is that we're pushed to be creative on demand. Sometimes creativity comes in a flash of insight, but there is a special earned feeling to creativity that you have to build as a skill.

These days, I still love caramel (I mean, why else would I buy a whole caramel company?). But what I want out of my caramel has changed.

This is exactly what I want Pepper Patrons to feel like. A chance for connection and learning, understanding why ingredients taste the way they do, and share in the experiments happening around our kitchen.

Peak season strawberries are perfect. I know that. You know that. The people standing in line at the farmers market know that. But...

Last week about half of the Butterfly Bakery crew headed down to Honey Field Farm in Norwich for our annual Farm Day. Once a year we trade sauce making for farm chores.

Sticky fingers. Toasted marshmallows. Melted chocolate. And a drizzle of caramel before the closing graham cracker.

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.