The Toad & The Butterfly, a Blog

When you’re saying the same words over and over and over at an event, it’s glorious to watch people revel in the caramel.

There is absolutely no theme to these three. They’re just what sounded good when we sat down to dream up September sauces.

Pawpaw is North America’s largest native fruit, but cut one open and it tastes like it came from somewhere with more brightly colored birds and less snow. Soft yellow flesh, big dark seeds and flavors of mango, banana and grapefruit.

I almost forgot to send out the weekly email! I’m at the Big E now. It’s the 4th largest fair in the US and we’re vending for all 17 12-hour days.

I’m not quite ready to call summer over, but I am ready for the part where it gets dark early enough to light a fire in the pit without staying up past bedtime.

This is shaping up to be a spectacular season, which is great, but it also means that the peppers come early and fast.

This is the third time that we have been called out in Food & Wine - more than any other craft hot sauce maker in the world. I’m incredibly proud. But the coolest part of getting national attention like this is knowing the folks who helped us get here.

When we bottled up the Pride Pack 🌈 Sauces we had a little bit leftover of 4 of the hot sauces. I didn't tell anyone about it because I wanted to give the Pride Pack 🌈 it's time to shine.

When we want a weeknight dessert, but don’t have time to make a weeknight dessert, caramel comes in clutch.

Growing up, I always associated corn with the East Coast. I grew up in California, which has an abundance of great produce, but you can’t get corn picked just hours ago when you live in the "big city."

Today, goat's milk caramel is still made by only a handful of companies in the US. And we're by far the largest. Which is crazy to say because, um, have you noticed how not-large we are?

I became a Guster fan when I saw them opening for Barenaked Ladies in 2000, and then more so when my now-husband and I bonded over our love of the band. And then even more so when Guster’s lead singer and I bonded over our love of all things weird and wonderful.

Vanilla and peaches belong together. And the rich, nutty depth of the goat's milk caramel completes it.

A couple of weeks ago I was asked to speak in the Fermentation Tent at the Vermont Brewfest. I spoke there last year and had a great time, but this year we'd already sold out of our only fermented hot sauce, Rum Barrel Fermented Smoked Jalapeño. I needed something new to bring with me.