Cookies crumble Easter plans for a great cause

Local bakers step up in support of Homeless Alliance

Happy Easter Monday, everyone! Yes, Easter Monday is a thing. In some places it’s called Bright Monday. As fate would have it, Bright Monday coincided with a bright idea The Curbside Chronicle’s Nathan Poppe had for an oatmeal-raisin cookie contest.

A couple of months ago, Poppe tasked me with coming up with four bakers to compete in an Oatmeal-Raisin Cookie contest. The judges? Poppe’s fleet of CC vendors, who report on the first of the month to pick up the new issue.

Finding bakers was a snap. Probably could’ve expanded the field to 12, but the four that stepped up first were:

Nicole Bonavolonta, winner of the $2k Cookie Contest in October, baked an Oatmeal-Raisin and Walnut cookie from her Six-Thirty Sweets kitchen.

Anicia Vasquez of Delish.E.Sweets Bakery made a classic oatmeal-raisin cookie that was practically spilling with fruit and a nice bit of hunky sugar.

Phillip Clickner of Nothing Fancy Bakery made Malted Barley Brittle Oatmeal-Raisin cookies.

Mitchell Dunzy of Heritage Grains Bread Company added a little chocolate to his hulking cookies.

For logistical reasons, our four bakers would have to disrupt their Easters to compete for the hearts and palates of Curbside’s. None of them may have realized this was Easter Sunday when we scheduled it – I know I didn’t – but none of them complained about having to show up at a Love’s Country Store in the middle of their Easter Sunday to deliver.

While I did sample all of the cookies, it didn’t happen until Monday morning. Stored them in the trunk of my car overnight to remove all temptation. Great move, and not just because it kept me out of them. It had the happy side-effect of making my car smell like the Cookie Monster’s last meal.

Let’s just say there were no stops made on the way to the Homeless Alliance on Monday morning. Once there, I served the cookies to a steady stream of Curbside Chronicle vendors. Curtis was first in line, and he was blown away by all of them, but his vote was for those from Delish.e.Sweets, commenting, “That sucker was good!”

I spent a good 10 minutes with a lovely woman named Ouida, who left nary a crumb in sampling each cookie. A gentleman named Danny came in a few minutes after her and was able to try each cookie and fill out his ballot before Ouida had made it to the fourth cookie. In the end, Ouida opted for Six-Thirty Sweet’s Oatmeal-Raisin-Walnut cookie. The hustling Danny preferred Nothing Fancy’s crunchy approach.

As much as I would love to share the winner of the contest, I’m contractually bound to leave the reveal to next month’s issue of The Curbside Chronicle. However, I can tell you the margins were razor-thin and each of the four cookies finished on top of the individual ballots.

Good as all four were, spending time with the colorful, opinionated and highly motivated vendors was the most delicious part of the day. I wish I could say we’re finding solutions to ensure everyone in Oklahoma is housed, but the sight of tents crowding the median on Virginia between Main Street and Linwood was demoralizing. Especially on a day with severe storm warning thick as gravy. It was a clear and present reminder of the chaos COVID-19 triggered. So many were living paycheck-to-paycheck before the pandemic created global economic crisis. In the aftermath, we’re still dealing with mental-health ramifications. And that includes an upsurge in the kind of ignorant, insular propaganda and arguing points that contribute to housing insecurity.

Help is needed more now than ever for volunteers and donations. Go to the Homeless Alliance website to find a way to support the cause. Folks living in the street isn’t their problem, it’s ours. And it’s only a problem if we see folks in our community as anything other than neighbors.

Monday morning was a reminder of how beautiful it is to meet someone at the table to share the simple pleasure of eating something delicious. One tasty cookie will earn you a stranger’s name, but four of them bought me about 30 new friends. Drove home Monday afternoon under gray skies but edified by warm smiles and well-wishes from Curtis, Ouida, Mary, Danny and so many more.

Monday’s biggest take-away was how important it is to feed each other. Hunger motivates action but feeding each other is the foundation for family and community. Feeding each other, whether with cookies or kindness, can also be a jolt of life to everyday living.