Bread & Tomatoes

August 24th, 2010 § 5 Comments

Hi there! Hope you’re well today! Right now I’m listening to my nephew and son hit plastic balls with a plastic hammer through some kind of plastic ramp contraption. I don’t know if that description effectively communicates how noisy it is in here, but suffice it to say that my ears are ringing.

Anyway, I’m going to try to focus on writing this next installment of the Loving Local: Celebrating the Flavors of Massachusetts blogathon hosted by Tinky at In Our Grandmothers’ Kitchens. I’m having a great time with this so far, and I’ve found so many great, local, food-related blogs that I need more hours in the day to keep up with my reading. Seriously, I have a blog reading problem.

Today I’m shining the spotlight on Daily Bread Bakery Cafe and Shivick Farm!

Daily Bread Bakery Cafe

I honestly cannot say enough about this bread. It is dense and chewy and the flavors are amazing. My favorite is the Olive & Caper loaf. Oh my gosh, it is so, so good. Addictive. I lightly toast it and use it for fried eggs sandwiches smeared with goat cheese and a slice of tomato. Also for a tomato, hummus and cheddar cheese sandwich. Oh, and it’s also delicious dipped in good olive oil or covered with a layer of soft organic butter. I could wax poetic about this bread! I ate my last piece yesterday morning, so I definitely need to pick up a loaf tomorrow! The Garlic Parmesan, Multigrain, plain ciabatta and Monkey Bread are also amazing.

Seeing this on their website makes the bread even better, if that’s possible: “We strive to care for you and the environment we live in. All breads, fillings, and salads are considered for healthy living and without preservatives, growth hormones, and as close to the source as possible. Our containers are made of recycled paper and we try to recycle as much of our own waste as we can.”

Helllooo Olive Caper bread!

More glorious bread, wrapped and ready to take home

And helloooo Garlic Parmesan!

Shivick Farm, Oxford, MA (no website available)

Shivick Farm is the home of the “Tomato Queen,” Fran Shivick, who was recently featured in a Worcester Mag article. She is famous for her tomatoes, which we have enjoyed often this summer (with bread from Daily Bread, of course!), so thank you Fran! Take a look at what they have to offer: