Well, your favorite Katie B. has been going through a bit of a metamorphosis. Nothing gross, I promise. I’ve just changed jobs, zip codes, and I’m generally trying to take better care of myself. I’m living with the happiest bunch of nerds, spending more time with my loved ones, and trying to live a full life. I’m searching for a way to combine my love of people, service, food, and being a helper bee. Pretty much exactly where we left off, but without the perpetual 70-hour work weeks!
If you know me at all, you know I spend my “me-time” best in the kitchen. So I’ll be playing with my groceries and the oven, but meanwhile, it’s time to wake the sleeping beast, “Rise Gimme Dem Cupcakes!” So order up, buttercups! go visit the Gimme Dem menu or request something I’ve never tried before!
Cream of Celery pot pie with tofu, potato, carrots, peas, and carrots
And if you’re in the District or local area, let’s play! I’m very excited about recurring events like the DC Foodswap and Upstart Foods.
Booty from DC’s first Food Swap!
If there’s something else you’d like to invite me to join or create for, let’s talk! Maybe we can be uber cool and network?
Guess who got (another) job!? That’s right, the haphazard kt machine is gonna try a new combination of crazy starting this weekend as I start baking PT for Sticky Fingers in DC. It’s an opportunity I couldn’t pass up! Learning from pros who totally took em down on Cupcake Wars?! No brainer.
What does that mean for Gimme Dem Cupcakes? GDC will be making it’s last for profit appearance this weekend at the Mt. Pleasant Farmers market in collaboration with V Picnic Club. To prevent a conflict of interest with my Sticky Fingers friends, I will only continue baking cupcakes for current friends and loved ones who already have my contact information. In the future, I still plan to take part in local events like the Capital Area Cake Show as well as collaborate with friends on other ideas, so you’ll still be able to catch some sweets or an empanada here and there. I’ll keep you apprised as the blog is re-purposed into a solely personal outlet.
Hi Friends. Sorry, I’ve been busy relishing in summer.
After the farmers market in May, I decided to refocus on relaxing in a bigger way! While I haven’t been baking or writing much, I have been having SO. MUCH. FUN. Making new friends and celebrating the ones we already have; travelling; running with my puppy; sweating it out on roadtrips; laughing; crying; and eating delicious, delicious food. Thank goodness for all the wonderful people in my life making all this possible! Click on the likn below and you’ll see my Mom’s business (Harmony Gardening and Sustainable Solutions), Joy’s new puppy (Sookie), my trip to Laramie to move Becky, Family Style Cantonese dinner for my birthday, #malletsarefortourists Barn Party and Crab Feast:
and some pics just from our trip to Asheville:
Some of you may be wondering where you’ll see Gimme Dem Cupcakes next, and the truth is… YOU NEVER KNOW! I’ll definitely be making an appearance at the either DC Veg Fest or DC Cupcake Camp and a Grey Market in the fall; and there have been a few other events and opportunities I just couldn’t make work yet. But as the GDC kitchen prepares to move to the district spring 2012, I’m hoping to set roots and partner with a storefront or kitchen in the area. Let me know if you have any ideas! Maybe August will actually help me get back to work… In the meantime, keep checking back here for updates and I’ll still be doing made to order!!
Quick update!!! As I blogged last week, the DC Grey Market is on for May 21st 12-4PM hosted by Local 16! They have registered 25 vendors and are putting them all up on the Grey DC website product page and they are expecting 1000-2000 people to come through the market all day! That said, if any customers want to turn in containers, I love recycling, and I do offer a dollar toward any subsequent GDC order for recycled tins/containers!
As I look at the monster preparation time required, I’m asking if my favorite helpers would like to volunteer and help me prep in the GDC kitchen! If it looks like the weather will hold out, I’m shooting to make as many as 800 minis (Dreamsicle, Chuck Raspberry, AmeriCAN Dream, Bananaramadingdong, and Chocomint) and at least 100 empanadas (both corn and saltenas). Dad will be standing by with me the day of to sell and answer questions! I can’t wait to meet the other vendors and see you all there! It’s going to be amazing!!!
Hi Gimme Dem Cupcakes supporters!!!
Customers and friends may have already receieved this via email, but for the wider Gimme Dem viewing audience:
I hope you’re all reveling in the good weather and even better company as everything warms up this season! Warm weather means it’s time for markets to reopen! That said, Gimme Dem Cupcakes is about a month away from participating as a vendor for the first time at Grey Market DC on May 21st!
What is the Grey Market?
“The DC Grey Farmers Market is a private membership club that serves as an incubator for small food vendors who can’t yet afford to be licensed.” How can you support Gimme Dem and other vendors?
Show up and buy stuff May 21st at our host venue, Local 16 (1602 U Street)! For now, the venue and day are set, but time is TBA. Sign-up on the Grey DC website to get the skinny on confirmed vendors, estimated numbers of participants etc. and other reminders!
Why should you support?
(I know spring is a super busy time of year for everyone but, this is a very big deal for me and the other vendors!!!) Gimme Dem has been trucking along with short seminar classes, fundraising events like RAFA and the World-Wide Vegan Bake Sale as well as made to order sales, BUT I think events like the Grey Market will help me explore its viability as a full-time business. This is a great opportunity to move toward the next step. I encourage you to please forward this email to locals in the DMV area that might be interested Gimme Dem goods or the market!
Want more vegan !?!?
I’m trying to gather people intersted in promoting vegan culture. Several of my clients are interested in starting a business like a storefront, restaurant or a cooperative. I have contacts at several businesses (Harrisonburg’s The Little Grill Collective or The Friendly City Food Coop, or other city’s gem’s like Nashville’s The Turnip Truck). I think would be good models for us. I’d like to bring in diverse talents and interests to the conversation, so please, If you’re interested in learning more email me and we’ll arrange a meet-up asap!
Thank you all for your love and support! I hope to see you at a Gimme Dem event soon!
Belated Valentine’s post! I know it isn’t everyone’s favorite holiday, but I’m glad for any moment taken to appreciate one’s relation to the world around them. Love is in the air. People are taking great pride in their nation, their community, their families, their significant others and themselves.
I’ve been very excited about two projects near and dear to my heart:
#1. Vegan Tiramisu wedding cake for one of the nicest couples on the planet
#2. I finally did it! I got the tattoo of my dreams.
About the cake:
I know it’s not the center-piece or anything, but I want it to be perfect, and most importantly, I want it to be them: charming, playful, warm and intelligent. I don’t know how a cake can be intelligent, but I think I can do the other stuff! Karen sent out a call t her friends to bring together a collection of about 8 homemade cakes instead of a giant one. So smart. The wedding is in the far far away land of Nashville and my kitchen skills travel better than a cake…. Thanks to the wonderful networking abilities afforded by the intertubes, I will be baking with one of the other cakers the day of the wedding! I’m so excited to meet her friends and work on cake together! I don’t want to make too much of a horrendous mess in their kitchen/nail the design so I have been practicing different steps about once a week. I have chronicled the learning process on flickr. Lars and I are stoked for a week long of Nashville adventures and friend celebrating starting next Monday! There is a lot to do yet, but I think I’ll be ready when the time comes!!!
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
About the tattoo:
Many of you may be wondering why your favoritre kt b got a tattoo. If I have to explain it all to a grandparent or child, I guess we’ll just have to meet on the values of self-expression and do the best we can. Beyond that, some of you may have known I was stewing on it for years, but for those who do not, here is a little meandering description of the whole deal. As I tell it, there is no fantastic narrative to tie everything together. And to be honest, I’m not obssessed with the inked body,and I don’t envision panels of images stretching the span of my back. And it’s definitely not an act of rebellion. It’s on a pretty personal space, not like I’m trying to be cool (though I am very proud of Rob’s work). So why did I get a tattoo?
I know people get tattoos for all sorts of reasons. But here was my basic criteria:
1. Whatever idea I get has to stick after at least a year of ruminating in my head.
2. The phrase or image should be in a place I can see it so it’s for me and not just other people to look at.
3. Most importantly, the phrase or image should represent me.
4. And lastly, it’d be nice to have original artwork.
I had the idea about 3 years ago and found an artist last year for the drawing. This year, I found an artist for the actual sitting Rob L. Smith, II at Caspian Tattoos in Lynchburg, VA.
I think tattoos can be beautiful, even if certain motifs may have less meaning to the general viewer because of their repeated use. But that’s the thing, regardless of the image, tattoos are personal symbols the individual chooses that aren’t just about what others see on skin, but what the image represents to the body’s owner. I needed that. I needed to do something for just me. I generally channel a good deal of my effort into things intended for others. Testing students, training volunteers, waiting tables, baking at midnight, paying bills… Don’t get me wrong, I still love all those things, especially making you cupcakes and helping people learn English; I just needed to remind myself of me.
Hippos are such a funny dichotomy between the doughy, friendly things humans like to idealize, and the actually massive, territorial, dangerous animals that they are. It doesn’t hurt that they are vegetarians! I came upon the hippo as a gift at the end of high school, just as I was just starting to figure myself out. After all this time it stuck with me, first as a joke then because I really identified with them. Maybe it seems like a dramatic move, maybe part of a big exhale after a lot has changed. I do know that when I look down and see it etched onto my waist, it feels absolutely right. It feels like me.
——
Thank you all for all the constant support in things I love to do!
I hope you’ll celebrate the compassion and understanding you share with others every day! Happy Valentine’s!!!
My friends, I’m sorry my blog has been neglected. Please know Gimme Dem Cupcakes has been working and playing hard!
This MLK, Jr. weekend rounds out my holiday season, and I have truly been a very lucky girl. I think about all the people in my life, and I am so thankful. We exchange so many gifts of love. Sometimes in the form of new cooking tools for GDC, gardening gear for Harmony Gardening, goofy socks for my favorite derby girl, or mostly in the occasions to be together sharing food, laughing and learning.
I worked ahead and actually had a whole week off over the holidays to be with my family. Lars and I had a wonderful pre-Christmas with the Gotrich’s in GA, I came back for Christmas weekend lucky to find my mom was able to join us, and then we celebrated with my Grands the following Monday. Quality time was spent baking on my own, making phone calls to friends, late night gaming with my sister, and eating lots of delicious food. All these moments are so precious to me.
While I wish dearly to have a more normal work schedule, for now, I have been enjoying my work even when the hours and days run together; and I am so happy that after working so hard, there really is time to spend with the ones I love. Thank you all for being so patient with me. We all work hard, and I hope you find yourself refreshed by the new year and that you find all the time you need to be with the ones you love doing things that help you grow. Let me know if Gimme Dem can help!
Google Docs is pretty much saving my life. Groceries, Cupcake orders, work tasks, life goals, recipes to try, everything is pretty much there and oh so easy to access with my Droid. I’ve been working extra hard so I can provide you with all the holiday goodies you deserve. Running here, there and everywhere plus a killer flu/cold put me out for a little while, so I’m sorry, because I’ve been a bad blogger. I hope the warm smell of cinnamon coming from my kitchen has kept you stoked!
That said, I put together a wishlist that any baker would love for you to get ideas for your favorite vegans/bakers:
If you’re interested in what to get this baker, I always have a list going too…
Some of you may be wondering where I spend my time when I’m not baking or who I share my yummies with… Ask no more! Check out the blog for Literacy Council of Northern Virginia to get to know the staff and the daily haps of my daily grind (aka best place to work and volunteer)!
I woke up feeling awful this morning, my whole body aching as I tried to do my morning stretch. My sister just got over the same cold that laid her out for almost a week of coughing, feevers and general uselessness. “Crap, ” I thought. “I have so much to do,” as I thought about the training, paperwork, and other projects I had piling up on my desk. After a cup of mornign tea with my dad and a peak at the apple pie I made for today’s potluck, … Read More
We don’t all have fairy god mothers, magic shoes, or leagues of talking animals to help us along our way. What we do have is our own free will and the wonderful people we meet to help us make the days full of love and laughter. After a very long and hard September, I had a weekend with good friends to refresh me.
Lars, Becky, and Jenny with me, I had a chance to enjoy the fresh air, campfires, and lots of delicious food. These kinds of weekends are more magical than any movie.
Now that I’m back to normal, after my weekend getaway, how do I continue to celebrate the everyday? Well, I realized, a day without good food doesn’t make for a very good day. I’ve been trying to keep Mondays reserved for family dinners. So yesterday, I bought some herbs de provence for a roast for the fam and fennel for some savory lentils. To round out our first autumn meal together I concocted a new cupcake recipe: the Red Rose. It’s a combination of my favorite everyday tea and rosewater. Sweet, warm and simple, the Red Rose is fit for the everyday princess in all of us.
[This batch was gobbled... New batch and picture coming soon]
