Cracked Cauldron Spillings

Manager has enough funds to keep the Cracked Cauldron afloat for 5 more months.

In that time, she'll either establish as a Personal Chef (so far, she's only had party type clients, one-offs, and not many of those), or we'll find an inexpensive place and open as a coffeehouse to begin with, and expand from there.

Depending on location, we can open as a coffee house for under $20,000.00, and still offer very good cookies, small cakes, tarts, meat pies and soups.

No breads. Bread requires the expensive mixers, ovens, proofers, and retarders.

Coffeehouses also have less strict health code requirements to meet.

And just to tempt you, a recipe:

Lavender Shortbread

2 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup lavender buds
1 cup unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 325º. If you have hot spots in yout oven, put a baking stone in on the bottom rack and let the oven heat for at least 45 minutes. Mix the flour and sugar together, cut in the butter, then knead lightly, kneading in the lavender buds. Roll the dough out thickly - 1/3 - 1/2 inch. Either score it to break apart after baking or cut it with small cookie cutters. We like to cut the dough into small squares, then press the tops with a cookie stamp.

Place the cookies on baking parchment, or lightly grease a baking sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

These delicately perfumed shortbreads are excellent accompanied by Earl Grey tea, or Prince of Wales or Honeybush or rosehip. Other flavors of tea will clash with the perfume of the lavender shortbread. And coffee just doesn't go with this at all. However, a warm almond milk seems to complement it nicely.