bread that's worth the dough

    Where have I been, you ask? Well, my friends, I have been cooking! One of my dear friends Heather owns a charming bakery called Cheesecake Therapy that has great and incredibly imaginative flavors of cheesecake to offer in addition to incredible cupcakes, tarts, pies, scones, bread pudding, and whatever else she feels like whipping up that day. She called (read: Facebook messaged) me a couple months ago eagerly looking to start a Sunday brunch and asked if I would help her in the kitchen so that's been my fun new venture! Not only do I get to work with a wonderful woman in a fabulous bakery, I get to help plan menus and help cook classy, fun, unique, and delicious brunches!

Look at that fancy chef's jacket!
Also, look how cute that bakery is!

  Arvada is full of all sorts of wonderful little places to eat, too. They're hidden gems in the area because, if you know anything about that city, it's not like it's known for it's hip scene, but there have been some really cool new places popping up all around the Old Town Arvada area. (if you're not from Colorado, sorry. This one is pretty city specific!) In addition to Cheesecake Therapy, there is always the D Note which has great pizza and jazz, Scrumptious which is full of old and new candies of every variety, Mannekin Frittes which specializes in french fries, and one of my new favorite places, the Great Harvest Bread Company.

Ham and Gouda? Yes, please!

    

I discovered Great Harvest on accident when I spontaneously ended up at the Old Town Arvada St. Patrick's Day "festival." I put the word in quotes because it was about 1 block long (yet still managed to have a Scentsy booth. I swear that shit is like a CULT. I should know--my mom sells it. haha) and really the only thing to do there was drink green beer, eat free samples of indian food, and try the green bread that Great Harvest was selling. Then (since there was hardly anything else to look at) I noticed some other VERY EXCITING breads! I ended up buying a Stout and Gouda loaf and a Potato Dill loaf of bread because they looked so good and it was the BEST DECISION I'VE EVER MADE. Seriously. 

    So next time you're in Arvada and you're thinking, "I sure wish i had some delicious bread..." check these guys out. I went in a couple of weeks after the delicious Stout & Gouda loaf was gone to get another loaf of it and found out they run more "seasonal" flavors, so I ended up getting a Santa Fe Jalapeño Cheddar loaf for sandwiches and a Cinnamon Chip loaf for dessert/snacks/breakfast/anything because that was the best bread in the world. 

Cinnamon Chip loaf.
This is seriously like bread porn. See how tasty it looks?!