Cupoladua Oven Bids Goodbye and Thank You

For the past 3 years, we have truly enjoyed producing and selling our unique, all-natural and gluten-free Cupola Cookies and Clouds. Owning a small business has always been a dream of ours and we are incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to accomplish this. So it is a little bittersweet to tell you that we have decided to stop production of all our items indefinitely. The last day to place orders of our products will be Friday, September 3rd. There are several key reasons why we made this tough decision.

The first reason is that Stephanie will be attending graduate school on scholarship this Fall at Syracuse University. We determined that running this business would be almost impossible for one person to handle. In addition, Theresa would like to dedicate full attention to a book project she has been working on for the last couple of years. With these recent changes in priorities, we felt it would be best to end our business on a high note.

We also wanted to thank you so much for your help and support of Cupoladua Oven over the years. You have contributed to making our business the success that it is today. It’s wonderful to think how much our little company has grown in such a short period of time. We hope that you and your customers have enjoyed our Cupola Cookies and Cupola Clouds and that you will remember our good for you baked goods and company fondly.

Stephanie Santoso & Theresa Santoso

I present to you....a video blog post!

Thought I'd spice things up a little and try video blogging, courtesy of the webcam on my MacBook. What do you think? Would love to hear your opinions and any ideas you have for subsequent video blog posts!

I recorded the blog post and then realized after I initially tried posting the video that the audio and video was out of sync because the video was too long. So...I had to split my post into two clips. Next time, my plan is to keep my video posts short and sweet!

Part 1

Part 2

Advertising On A Shoestring in the Digital Age

For the past couple of weeks, I've been reading this incredibly interesting book by Jeff Jarvis called What Would Google Do?. Jeff Jarvis is a guru of the digital age, having been a journalist covering various aspects of interactive and digital media, serving as a consultant in the field and also creating his own content through websites such as his blog, BuzzMachine.

An excerpt from the book description on the Harper-Collins website provides a pretty good idea of what Jarvis discusses in the text:

In a book that's one part prophecy, one part thought experiment, one part manifesto, and one part survival manual, internet impresario and blogging pioneer Jeff Jarvis reverse-engineers Google—the fastest-growing company in history—to discover forty clear and straightforward rules to manage and live by. At the same time, he illuminates the new worldview of the internet generation: how it challenges and destroys, but also opens up vast new opportunities. His findings are counterintuitive, imaginative, practical, and above all visionary, giving readers a glimpse of how everyone and everything—from corporations to governments, nations to individuals—must evolve in the Google era.

Mind boggling, right? I'm almost halfway through the book and many of the observations and conclusions the author makes are very insightful. It has actually made me rethink the way we've approached our marketing and advertising strategy. Having worked in advertising in the past and in some cases specifically with digital media (online banners, viral videos, etc.), I knew that online advertising could be very cost efficient. But in the back of my mind, I always felt that given how small our business was, online advertising would still be a stretch for our tight marketing budget. Up until now, most of the online marketing activities we've have involved blogging, Facebook and our website, cupoladuaoven.com. But today, we took a big step! We've started using Google AdWords, to reach a larger, more targeted group of consumers and hopefully increase traffic to our website. One of the main reasons we decided to do this was because we received a $100 credit for Google AdWords from our web hosting service. I've been curious about the efficacy of Google AdWords for some time, so I figured, why not give it a go. I'm a big fan of Gmail and Google Docs. We'll see if Google AdWords can help us enhance Cupoladua Oven's online presence.

No, No Nanette- Trade Show No-nos

Last week we attended an event called a buyer show, for a larger grocery retailer chain that has locations in the PA, MD, NJ, NY, OH, VA, WV. A buyer show is very similar to an industry trade show in that vendors ( in our case, smaller food companies) will set up tables or booths where they will exhibit their products and hand out samples. The executives and category buyers from the retail chain were the attendees for this particular event, in search of new products that customers might like.

My mom and I have only been in the business for about 2 1/2 years, which is considered relatively new when it comes to the packaged foods industry. But in this period of time, we've attended more than a few of these types of events and every time that we do, I find there are always vendors that act a certain way that, from a common sense perspective would deter buyers from going anywhere near their table. When I see these in action, they are funny, but they also make me cringe, because they can come off as rude or impolite. Let's call these trade show no-nos.

1) Eating your own samples- Buyer and trade shows can be 5-8 hours long, so it's reasonable that one would get hungry during the event. But eating samples from the plate you have just set out for attendees is not particularly attractive and somewhat unhygenic if you are still wearing the food service glove you are using to set out the samples (yes, this does happen)

2) Sitting down at your table- The hours can be long, but sitting down while attendees are checking out your display creates the image that you are not enthusiastic about being there or that maybe you just don't care. I think one of the worst things I've seen is when a potential buyer approaches a table and a vendor remains seated the entire time that buyer is speaking to him/her. To me, that says to the buyer, "Hey- thanks for stopping by, but my feet really hurt, and you're not important enough for me to speak to you at eye level."

3) Assuming a football block position- Sometimes one can unintentionally resort to standing like he/she is a member of a high school football team (arms crossed, legs shoulder width apart, with a stern look of intimidation on your face). This happens most when the show gets a little slow. I always try to remember to check the way I'm standing and the facial expression I have on because, let's face it- no buyers are going to approach you if you look like you're about to tackle them.

Hello, MacBook.

There comes a time in every computer's life when you have to say goodbye. Such is the case with my Dell laptop, which, poor thing, had three different viruses over the course of 6 months. To it's credit, it has served me dutifully for the past 5 years. The third time my laptop was infected, I was almost sure that my files (including tons of music and current documents relating to Cupoladua Oven) would perish. Fortunately, my boyfriend, Phill, saved the day, by using Ubuntu to salvage my files. Whew!

In any case, I had been shopping around for a new laptop and looked at several different options- another Dell, HP or an Apple MacBook. In the past, I've hesitated to consider the MacBook because it's significantly more expensive up front, but after I figured out that the average battery life for a Dell or HP is around 1-2 years, I had to factor in the additional couple hundred dollars of buying a new battery down the line. In the end, it was the fact that Apple computers are notoriously more virus-resistant and that the battery would last significantly longer than the other brands before I would have to purchase a new one that made me decide to crossover. And I won't lie- as someone who appreciates good style, the MacBook is incredibly sleek. I ordered my MacBook online earlier this month and it arrived last week. Consider me a convert!

Hilarious Mac vs. PC ad:

You say tomato, I say tomato.....

O.K., so this song lyric doesn't really translate that well in writing. In any case, I have some photos to share of our garden! We broke ground on our little garden plot last weekend and managed to plant some of our seedlings earlier this week.

So far we've planted radishes, green beans, rhubarb and cucumber.

This week, we're hoping to plant mesclun greens, winter squash (marina di chioggia squash), spaghetti squash and a couple different varieties of tomatoes. Unfortunately, it was unseasonably cold last night and today it's pretty nippy. But the seedlings we've planted so far seemed to survive last night's frost. It's supposed to be warmer later this week, so we'll hold off on planting these seedlings until it's a little less chilly.

Breaking ground in the garden

The seedlings that were big enough to plant in the garden- cucumbers and champion radishes.

Champion radishes

Phill planting the rhubarb

Rhubarb looking happy in our garden

An interesting approach to food photography

Hamburger Spread, photograph used for Mc Call's Magazine, circa 1944

Credit: Nickolas Muray/Courtesy of the National Museum of American History Photographic History Collection

When I think of food photography, I generally think of appetizing close-ups of fresh produce or sizzling dishes with brightly colored ingredients that instantaneously make you drool. Today I read a thoughtful piece on NPR called "Color Sells: Nickolas Murray's Food Photography." It made me think just how much food photography and the art of food styling has changed over the years. Murray is credited as being one of the earliest adapters of the three-color carbro process, a photographic technique which enabled him to create images with color that were incredibly saturated and meant to make the food featured even more irresistible to the viewer. This particular style of food photography came of age in the 1940s and 1950s in publications such as Mc Call's, Vogue and many other fashion and lifestyle magazines.

The article debunked a mystery that I had been curious about for quite some time. Since I have always enjoyed perusing through cookbooks of yesteryear, I have more than once come across those that have featured this kind of photography. In fact, I remember coming across several of these at Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks when I lived in New York. To me, the photos always looked a bit contrived, too stiff and frankly unappetizing. The food in these types of photos seemed to a bit too waxy, but I can still relish (no pun intended here) the artistic quality of the shots. They are extremely stylized, with a hint of reverse photo-realism, in that some of the photos almost look like paintings. It's a look that I will always associate with a particular era, where jello molds were loved by all and maraschino cherries were the garnish of choice!

Jazz for Foodies

Did you know that April is Jazz Appreciation Month? Well, with the month coming to a close, I thought it would be appropriate to celebrate with a couple of my favorite jazz tunes about food. There is something really wonderful about how vocalists like Diana Krall or Nancy Wilson can make food sound incredibly delicious, romantic and even a little sensual. Below are three of my favorite food-related tunes.

Do you have any favorite food related songs that you love? It doesn't have to be from the jazz genre. Would love to hear what you're listening to!

"Peel Me A Grape"- Diana Krall

"Frim Fram Sauce"- Nat King Cole

"Days of Wine and Roses"- Nancy Wilson

(just as a disclaimer, this is probably not the most interesting video clip, but at least you can listen to the song)

Mary, Mary quite contrary, How does your garden grow?

So as a side project, my boyfriend, Phill and I are going to be planting a garden! I have to give him a big chunk of the credit for this idea, because he has been very enthusiastic about this since February, when it was still really blustery outside and the ground was completely frozen.

My previous experience with growing produce haven't been the most positive and have mostly consisted of bug-ridden strawberry plants and shriveled up tomato stems. You would think this would make me apprehensive about trying to grow fruits and veggies again, but if anything, I'm convinced that I will be able to fully redeem myself if we can just make our first garden together a success!

Where are we planting our little fruit and veggie patch, you ask?

My parents house. We asked them if we could use just a small section of grass on either the side of the house or behind it. After some negotiating (Dad was concerned the chicken wire/ screening we we'd have to use to deer and bunny-proof the garden would be an eye sore), they agreed to let us use an area of the yard located on the back right-side of their property.

Needless to say, I have never been this excited about top soil and seeds before! Yesterday evening Phill and I started planting a bunch of the seeds in tiny cups. We'll wait for these guys to sprout and then once they're big enough, we'll transplant them into the garden.

Tomorrow we're going to till the soil in the garden area- the first of many steps towards what will hopefully be a cornucopia of herbs, fruits and veg throughout the summer and fall.

Will keep you posted on how our little seedlings do! In the meantime, check out the photos below for a visual of the progress we've been making. Are you planting anything this Spring? Fruits, veggies, flowers? Let us know what and where!

Our seed babies- pictured here are zucchini, green pea and summer squash.

Some of the organic seed packets we've been using.

The site for our future garden- as demarcated by the white string!

Ideas for New Products or Flavors?

Finally- it's Spring in Pittsburgh! Those of you living in warmer climates have no idea how wonderful it is not to have to wake up an hour earlier to shovel a driveway covered in a blanket of snow.

The trees are green again and the flowers are blooming- pretty inspirational weather, if you ask me. On that note, we're always thinking of new flavor combinations or product ideas for Cupoladua Oven. In the past, a couple of them have been:

-Green Tea Cupola Cookies

-Vanilla Cupola Cookies

-Chocolate Chip Cupola Cookies

-Cheddar Cupola Clouds

-Blue Cheese Cupola Clouds

So far, our best sellers right now are Chocolate Cashew Cupola Cookies and Parmesan Pink Peppercorn Cupola Clouds. My theory is that the Chocolate flavor is popular because just about everyone loves chocolate. I think the Parmesan Clouds are more popular because this cheese is more commonly known, compared to Smoked Gouda.

Which brings me to the question of the day- Do you have a new flavor for our Cupola Cookies or Clouds that you'd like to share with us? If you have any suggestions or think any of the potential flavors above sound scrumptious to you, let us know by posting your thoughts!

Baby It's Cold Outside.....

I saw these lovely berries on a tree in my neighborhood and they reminded me of little ornaments. Festive, no?



Wow. Has it really been 4 months since my last post? How time flies!

I can't believe it's already December. It's officially winter here in Western Pennsylvania. We actually had some snow yesterday- the first we've had all year, I think. It didn't accumulate, so it was festive without being too much of a nuisance.

We've been so busy these past couple months. To give you an idea, I actually just threw out the pumpkin that was sitting in front of our house for the past two months. I have a feeling a Christmas tree purchase may still be weeks away.

In the meantime, enjoy this clip from one of my all-time favorite holiday movies:




One year when I was in college, my mom purchased a small artificial pine tree and trimmed a bunch of the branches off so there were only about 6 or 7 left. She decorated it with a bunch or really colorful ornaments. When I came home for the holiday break, it was waiting for me in my room! She told me it was my very own Charlie Brown-style Christmas tree. One of my fondest holiday memories!

Heating things up in the kitchen

Summer daisies are in full bloom here in PA.

It actually hit 90 degrees in Pittsburgh today! It's funny because everyone up here feels like today was sweltering, especially since we've had such a mild summer and virtually no humidity. (Sorry people down south- I'm not trying to make you jealous, I swear!)

But when I was growing up in Virginia, we thought we were incredibly lucky if we had 90 degree weather in August. I remember breaking a sweat just walking from the mall to the car. I also don't miss the mosquitos- lots and lots of mosquitos that yielded lots and lots of bug bites as a I recall.

When the weather outside is just a bit warmer and you're in a commercial kitchen with multiple ovens on at over 300 degrees, you can definitely feel the difference though. We started baking extra early this morning and luckily, we finished just before noon, which was great, since noon is one of the hottest times of the day.

I stumbled on a charming little piece on CHOW called "Julia Says: Wise words from the great sage of American cooking". It definitely made me smile.

Julie & Julia

I'm sure you've all seen or heard the hype surrounding the new film "Julie & Julia," starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. As a self-admitted Nora Ephron junkie (Who couldn't love the neuroticism of Meg Ryan's character in When Harry Met Sally or that precocious kid in Sleepless in Seattle?), I gravitated towards this movie when I first saw the trailer.

I've always admired Julia Child from afar but have not really had much of an experience with her recipes or her show. I know it sounds a little silly, but I think I'm going to hold off on watching the film until I have a more first hand experience of Julia Child in general. My reasoning is that I don't want my impression of who she is as a chef and person to be affected by the characterization of her in the film. Call me a purist, but this woman is a culinary legend and I feel like it would be a little unjust for my first real encounter with her and her cooking to be based on a movie. And on that note, as anyone out there seen the film yet? I'd be curious to hear what you thought of it.

What I do love about the film already is that it has brought Julia Child to an audience that perhaps would have been content with being entertained and educated about cooking by the celebrity chefs of today. Case in point- I was at Target yesterday and next to each other on a shelf were the books "Julie & Julia" by Julie Powell and "Mastering The Art of French Cooking," by Julia Child.

It has made those who have only heard the name Julia Child in passing, curious about the woman behind the name and has provoked discussion about the way we used to cook and eat and what has or has not changed. One example is this stirring (no pun intended!) article that Michael Pollan wrote for The Times Magazine, entitled "Out of Kitchen, Onto the Couch". It's a long one, but if you get a chance, check it out- I think you'll find it thought provoking. It will definitely give you something to chew on.

I did find some clips of Julia Child on YouTube though! See her make an omelette on her show, The French Chef, below.

Summer Fancy Food Show- Richard Avedon Style. . . .

... just kidding. No Richard Avedon photos here, but here are some shots we took while we were in New York for the Summer Fancy Food Show.

enjoy!

A side view of our booth

Long view of our booth- colorful and spacious, no?

Jean (one of my best friends from college) came up to help us work the show and staff our booth. Thanks Jeannie!

Staffin' our booth....

Speaking of photographers, did you hear that Annie Leibovitz is in financial trouble and is at risk of losing her homes and the rights to her work? I love her photography and saw a wonderful exhibit of her work at the Corcoran Gallery several years back. I hope she can work her finances out- she's worked so hard over the course of her career and I can't imagine what it must feel like as an artist, to be in jeopardy of losing it all.

Do what you love and love what you do

One thing I've missed a lot since I've started our business is the extra time I used to have to watch films and go to theatre, like I used to do when I was living in New York.

But every now and then, I think back to those lazy Saturdays and Sundays when I used to meet up with friends at the Loews Kips Bay or the Sunshine for a documentary. Then there was the time I camped out at the Public Theater box office in Astor Square for 10 hours- (starting at 3 a.m.!) to get free tickets to see Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline in Bertolt Brecht's "Mother Courage and Her Children." Definitely one of the most memorable and thought provoking, that I've ever attended.

Even as busy as we are now, I still try to find ways to balance work and everything. I'm not married and don't have kids, so I try to spend time with my friends when I can. I might not be able to go out as much as I used to, but I've figured out other ways to continue my hobbies. I just watched a really inspiring movie called "Spirit of the Marathon" on Hulu. The documentary profiles 6 different runners who are participating in the Chicago marathon. I thought it was simultaneously inspiring, tragic and hopeful. To me, one of the most important points of the film was that the marathon can be seen as a metaphor for life and I think many marathon runners feel the same way. The idea that to challenge yourself to complete a 26 mile race is to challenge yourself in life and to continue to be determined, have optimism and faith (spiritual or otherwise), that at the end of the day, you're going to cross that finish line.

Yes, I know, you're saying right now that I should never go into reviewing films for a living and I agree with you, wholeheartedly.

But really guys, check out the film if you get a chance- at the very least you will feel like getting up and doing something when you're done!

Watch "Spirit Of The Marathon" here.

L-U-C-U-M-A

Lucuma!

What, do you say, is lucuma? It was the one thing I left off of our top picks from the Fancy Food Show and probably my most favorite find of all. Silly me.

Lucuma can be described as a unique, delicately flavored tropical fruit native to South America and can primarily be found in Peru and Chile. It looks something like a cross between a mango and avocado. Round in shape, it is very verdant on the outside, with a flesh that has a beautiful golden yellow-orange color. While at the show, I tasted both lucuma ice cream and lucuma flour (basically dried ground lucuma, which you can add to baked goods, yogurt, smoothies or anything to which you would add a fruit topping). I'm enfatuated with the flavor- I really think it tastes like something of a cross between a mango and avocado with a little hint of vanilla thrown in.

Fresh lucuma has been a rareity in the U.S. up until now, but based on what we heard at the show, the U.S. is making a big push to import the fresh fruit, so maybe you'll be seeing these little guys at your local store soon!

Check out how lucuma is enjoyed in it's native South America here.

Our Top Picks from the Summer Fancy Food Show

Our second year exhibiting at the Summer Fancy Food Show went just as well, if not better than the first! I still need to upload the photos of our booth, but I'll post these soon.

I was telling my mom the other day that something about attending events like these, where we have a booth, exhibit our products and talk to attendees about our company is so invigorating. My description makes the event sound like a shower or something, but I really do feel even more inspired and motivated after returning from the show. You really have to be there, at the Javits Center at noon on the first day of the show to really understand what I mean.

Last year, my mom and I manned our booth for basically 7 straight hours during each of the 3 days of the show. This year though, my good friend Jean was so kind, and offered to come up from Washington D.C. to help staff our booth, which meant we all could have a couple more breaks than last year and more time to explore what other exhibitors had to offer as well.

Here is a list of our favorite finds, in no particular order:

1) KIND bars- Delicious and healthy fruit and nut bars with unique combinations like Apricot Almond, Mango Macadamia and Almond Cashew.

2) Black garlic- Fermented under high heat for one month, this garlic has all the health benefits but without the strong smell or harsh after taste. Personally, I like regular garlic because of the smell and the after taste! But my mom could not stop talking about the black garlic the entire time we were at the show and we did bring home a couple cloves of it with us. Now we just have to figure out how to cook with them!

3) Tasmanian cheeese- I'm a bit upset that I don't remember the name of the cheese or the company that made this cheese, but it was by far, the best I tasted at the show. And believe me, there was a lot of cheese. What I do remember is that this cheese was handmade in Tasmania with whole milk and it resembled Brie, except it was so flavorful! Midway through tasting this cheese, I got this very distinctive peppery taste that gave the cheese a little kick.

4) Baconnaise- It really didn't sound appetizing to me at first, but there has been so much hype around bacon salt and baconnaise (both products are produced by the same company), that I had to try it. I kid you not when I say that I was so surpised- it has a great smoky flavor that I would definitely use for sandwiches, burgers or even add to a salad dressing. Try the Lite Baconnaise-it's only 30 calories per serving.

5) Rozendal Vinegars- These earthy and exotic wine vinegars are made in South Africa. My mom loved the Lavender vinegar, which is made with organic lavender grown right on the Rozendal farm.

Summer is the season for fancy food

I'm writing to you from the Big Apple. Actually, Clifton, New Jersey, which is where we've been staying for the past couple of days since we've been exhibiting at the 2009 Summer Fancy Food Show. Today was our last day at the show and it has been a great run!

I'm about to head to bed because it has been a pretty exciting, yet exhausting couple of days and we are driving back to Pittsburgh first thing tomorrow, but I'll be writing about our experiences at the show later this week.

This was our second year exhibiting at the show and it never ceases to amaze me, the amount innovation and creativity is out there in the food industry. It's so inspiring and it really makes my mom and I want to keep finding ways to improve our products and come up with new ones.

I'll be back to chat soon!

Nostalgic Memories of My New York Kitchen

While I was living in New York, I got used to reading certain publications and even after I moved away, never really broke the habit. A couple of the pubs: The New York Times, New York Magazine and The New Yorker. Mostly, I peruse the websites of these pubs, rather than picking up a hard copy, although, given the state of the newspaper industry these days, I'm feeling a bit guilty about this and probably should purchase an issue every now and then.

Each of these pubs catered to a different facet of my life in New York- The New York Times has always been my source for the hard news- this is where I would turn to for any breaking events, like the time the entire city smelled like maple syrup and people worried that it might be some kind of subtle attack on Manhattan. (Not to worry- turns out that this smell wafted over from Jersey, from a company that manufactures fragrances.)

New York Magazine was where I turn to get my dose of the arts and pop culture, while still feeling like I'm educating myself. And their reviews of NY restaurants and bars are really reliable. I like that they try to cater to those on smaller budgets (i.e. me) in addition to the 5th Ave. crowd.

Opening the New Yorker and reading the table contents makes me feel well read. The stories are prolific and eloquent. Plus, their cartoons are hilarious.

Which brings me to a recent find I made in the Video section of the New York Times website. There is a short video series called kitchen 4B. In it, NY Times recipe tester and writer Jill Sanpietro shows how to make recipes in her apartment with an extremely tiny kitchen. Here's her latest video on how to make risotto:




I'm hooked on this video series- it's unpretentious, really entertaining and really reminds me of what it was like to cook and entertain in the smallest of spaces. One year, three of my good friends and I made a complete Thanksgiving dinner for 8 people in our tiny apartment. We were amazed at how we were able to pull this off in such a tight space, but in the end, I think the meal was that much more delicious because it was such a challenge.

Never again in my life will I take counter space or a dishwasher for granted.

Like A Food Network Star (almost)

Last Sunday, my mom and I participated in a Gluten-Free Day that was hosted by the brand new Whole Foods in Annapolis Maryland. We were on the store floor handing out samples of our Cupola Cookies & Clouds for a couple hours, and then, we did an hour-long cooking demonstration in the store's fantastic Culinary Center!

During our cooking demonstration, we made three short recipes (two appetizers and a dessert) that featured our products. The Culinary Center kitchen was state of the art- it was a lot fun to be able to use all these shiny new appliances- definitely a "kid in a candy store" kind of a moment for me. And on some very basic level, now I know what it would be like to have your own cooking show, like Paula, Giada or Martha.

Here's a list of the recipes we made:

1) Parmesan Endive Boats
2) Artichoke Canapes
3) Summer Fruit Trifle with Quinoa Custard

If you'd like a copy of any of the recipes above, feel free to send me an email here.