Flour can be a fickle ingredient. In the right hands it is essential to creating all sorts of baked wonderments. In the wrong hands, well, its use can bring disappointing results.
Years ago a friend did suggest that in addition to my few talents, I should become “more comfortable with flour.” But really, why learn to bake when there are so many superb practitioners of the art in our region?
There is a new phenomenal bakery enterprise in Cornwall, Conn., where baker Susan Saccardi is definitely comfortable with flour. That essential ingredient is in just the right hands with her.
Her baked goods are sold under the name of Suzie’s Sweets, an array of unforgettable baked desserts, breads, muffins, cookies, custom cakes and more — all of which use flour to good advantage. Well, except the flourless pastries. Those are very good too.
At present, because Saccardi has not located a suitable physical building in which to locate a commercial bakery, she sells her baked goods at farm markets (the Coop Farmers Market on the Green in Cornwall on summer Saturdays), the Local in West Cornwall on Fridays, and in her own roadside bake stand at 108 Warren Hill Road in Cornwall on Fridays and Saturdays.
“I sell out of everything every week,” Saccardi said.
During a conversation at her certified home baking kitchen in spring, Saccardi described her baking philosophy and experience. We were joined by her son, Dean, home from college and studying remotely — making him available to help significantly with the business.
Energetic and on the move, Susan came and went from the conversation to tend to baking sheets entering and leaving the oven. Dean kept the conversational thread on course.
He reported that business is brisk. The recent influx of residents from New York City who fled the pandemic are hungry for the quality of their products. Serving as the IT guy for the business, Dean created and manages the website at www.suziesweetsct.com.
“With the amount my business has grown, my family has been essential to the business. I would not be able to do what I do without them nor would I want to. It is definitely a family affair,” Saccardi said.
Dean agreed, adding that his sister Dana helps when she can. And adult children Beth and Brian, who do not live locally, are also involved. In fact, Brian recently devised a cone device useful in making bagels, a hugely popular new item.
Bagels and scones are baked on Saturdays, Saccardi said. “These are traditional New York-style bagels,” she said, reminiscent of those enjoyed in her youth.
“I really took a long time to get my bagels to where I remember them as a child,” she said.
Saccardi recalled that her passion for baking started when her children were young and she was trying to find foods that were not overloaded with sugar.
“I started reading labels and not liking what I saw,” she said.
Aiming to keep it “pure and simple,” she wanted to create pastries with lots of fresh fruit.
“I want to taste the flavor of the fruit and not the flavor of the sugar or added ingredients,” she said.
“I try to use organic ingredients, fresh ingredients, and real vanilla extract,” she said, steering away from anything artificial. She exclusively uses King Arthur flour from Vermont. People who are “comfortable with flour” recognize that brand as top quality.
Local farms provide ingredients wherever possible. Rhubarb, herbs, fruits and vegetables are sourced from local farms including Nutmeg Acre Farm in Warren, Conn., for rhubarb, and Ridgway Farm for maple syrup, Hurlburt Farm for cheese and Buck Mountain Herbs, all in Cornwall, and others.
Cinnamon buns are new and very popular, she said. Cookies include oatmeal raisin, molasses, chocolate crinkle and mocha.
Saccardi said that Dean and she are talking about developing more Italian and German cookies.
Dean helps with the bread and focaccia, the latter using fresh local herbs and organic olive oil.
Her turnovers are enormously popular, filled generously with strawberry, rhubarb or apple. Cinnamon buns and mocha cookies are big hits, too.
Muffins are highly prized by customers. Saccardi bemoaned commercial muffins where you can’t help but count the small bits of fruit once you break open the muffin. Disappointing.
“I love Cornwall and I love to support the community,” she said.
Some day Saccardi hopes to find the perfect site for Suzie’s Sweets, but for now she’s doing just fine with her farm market and farm bake stand and a reputation for handling flour really well.
Santa Claus made a visit to the Cub Scout’s breakfast in North Canaan Sunday, Dec. 7, where he heard from Bria King, 4
NORTH CANAAN — Cub Scouts donned their Santa Claus hats on Sunday, Dec. 7 at the North Canaan Elementary School to host a pancake breakfast with Santa.
A steady stream of families arrived for the annual event and found an eager swarm of 14 Scouts from Pack 22, which covers Sheffield, Falls Village and Salisbury as well as North Canaan, waiting to take their breakfast orders.
Bryce Salmon, 14, now a Boy Scout in Troup 22, was stationed in the kitchen fulfilling orders as his mother, Amy Salmon, ran the griddle. Bryce’s younger brother, Declan, 6, from Lakeville, was busy like all the others taking orders, and was wearing his father’s Cub Scout uniform from the 1970s.
Declan Salmon, 6, of Lakeville, wearing his father’s Cub Scout shirt from 1977, takes an order from Makenzsilea Watson, 16, of Lakeville.John Coston
Sonia Gale, another leader from Pack 22, also was helping out in the kitchen said, “We do this every year, and this is the first time at the school. We were at Pilgrim House before.”
Fourteen scouts ran a tight ship as they split up and covered all the tables, taking orders for pancakes, sausage and coffee and juice.
Santa Claus (Joe Brady of Winsted) toured the tables to visiting with young and old and seemed to be a magnet for the Scouts, who drifted around him as he moved through the busy scene.
Bryce Salmon, 14, a Boy Scout in Troop 22, dishes out pancakes as the orders come in from Boy Scouts in Pack 22.John Coston
What if I told you the only way you can get your college degree is by spending the next 20 years paying off the debt to attend that school. Would you still go?
Many people I know need to achieve that dream of walking across a stage and receiving a diploma to put themselves in a better position in life. However, that dream comes with a price tag now. A price tag that is so big at times that these people that I know have to give up on their dreams.
It has gotten to the point where higher education to earn a good paying job seems to be an unreachable luxury. Many kids who have a passion to pursue a certain career after high school cannot because they are too poor to reach a higher level of education. This makes higher education less about ability and more about affordability, reducing opportunity and diversity on campuses.
Even for those who make it to college, rising tuition widens the gap between students from wealthy families and those from low-income backgrounds. Many talented students must work long hours while studying, leaving them less time to focus on academics and extracurricular activities. The rise in cost takes away time from campus events and functions that students can attend during some downtime to get a leisure activity in.
In my personal experience as a student athlete, not only am I a full-time student that must prepare and study for class, but I also must prepare and train for my sport while also taking up a part-time job at the school. Balancing sport, school, and the mindset of making enough money to stay in school comfortably leads to lack in performance and mental health.
The issue of debt doesn’t just affect individual students. The issue of student debt affects entire communities and the country’s economy. When young people are forced to take out massive loans, they end up delaying important milestones like buying a home, starting a family, or even beginning a business. Instead of contributing to economic growth, they spend years trapped in a repayment cycle.
Furthermore, many students who start college but cannot keep up with tuition end up dropping out, leaving them with debt but no degree to show for it. This cycle creates long-term financial stress and limits upward mobility for millions of Americans.
The constant rise in tuition makes college feel less like an opportunity to learn and more like a business transaction. The cost of education discourages students from pursuing degrees in fields that truly interest them. Instead, many choose careers that simply offer higher salaries, rather than following their passions or pursuing work that benefits society. This means a lack of teachers, social workers, and artists. which are professions that shape communities and culture. When education becomes only about survival and not personal growth, society loses creativity and compassion. Schools should focus on helping students succeed, not just on making profits.
Colleges often justify tuition increases by pointing to improved facilities, technology, or campus programs, but those benefits mean little if fewer students can afford to experience them. Education should be a right, not a privilege reserved for the wealthy. If the goal of higher education is to prepare the next generation of thinkers, leaders, and innovators, then it must be made accessible to all who are willing to work hard for it.
Overall, the growing cost of college is transforming education, which is supposed to be a pathway to open doors, into a barrier that limits success for many hardworking students. Colleges and policymakers need to find solutions to make higher education more accessible and affordable.
Expanding need-based scholarships, increasing state funding for public universities, and controlling unnecessary fees could help ease the cost that gives many students an untenable burden. Investing in education benefits everyone by creating a stronger, more skilled population that can achieve a career after their time in college to help boost the economy and quality of life in our country.
If tuition continues to rise unchecked, fewer students will be able to achieve their educational goals, and the nation will lose out on the talent and innovation that come from diverse backgrounds filled with motivated graduates who still have so much potential left to reach.
Collin Jefferson is a sophomore at Mitchell College majoring in Business Management.
7,600 pounds of Turkey
We are blessed to have a dedicated group of nonprofits doing incredible work to improve the lives of people in our community. You know the names — Jane Lloyd Fund, SWSA, Salisbury Volunteer Ambulance, Lakeville Hose, and many others. But there is one charity that may fly under your radar, that does extraordinary work, especially this time of year.
Sunday in the Country Food Drive raised funds, organized logistics, and delivered complete Thanksgiving dinners to 800 area families last week. Including an additional 425 lbs of chickens and two tons of dry goods. They purchased all the food from local businesses, with local employment in mind.
And their work is only halfway done- they will be providing the same number of dinners for families in need this Christmas. Sunday in the Country Food Drive has provided these services for the past 33 years, and its donations help an average of 13 local food pantries meet their needs.
If you can find it in your budget to donate to this worthy cause, you will help brighten the lives of many in this community, perhaps even your neighbors.
Sunday in the Country Food Drive, P.O. Box 789, Millerton, NY 12546
Sundayinthecountry.org
Love Where You Live,
Kendra Chapman
Lakeville
