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!!!
Happy Earth Day! This week, even though I have killer allergies and atrocious spider bites, I’m super stoked that Mother Earth has all the stuff to to create everything we see around us! I’m especially thankful for all my Gimme Dem Cupcakes compadres – thank you to everyone who made it out for our Cupcake & Empanada Fiesta last Saturday!
As with every year, Earth Day coincides with the World Wide Vegan Bake Sale raising awareness about the vegan culture and help raisie money for local charities. If you missed last week’s party, you can catch us at Falls Church Community Center with all sort of vegan yums (some of the participants are listed here). I’ll be at the local fundraiser benefiting the efforts of Compassion for Animals with Dirt Cupcakes! You can also visit the the area’s best farmers market! Eating local food that’s vegan=mondo savings on your carbon footprint! I hope to see you Saturday!
Holy, moly. What an event. And I was only there for Saturday! The National Capital Area Cake Show was AMAZING! I’m so glad my friend Yuli encouraged me to go! After an evening baking with my family Friday, I started my day with an 8 AM class with Norm Davis on how he runs his shop and manages clients for his award winning cake business The Sweet Life. Afterwards, I met up with my friend Morgan and we let the sweet smell of baked goods guide us. There was a lot going on: more classes; vendor expo; entries for the wedding cake, themed, and divisional cake decorating contests; cookies; cupcakes; a live cake challenge with celebrity pastry chefs; free demonstrations and so much philantrhopy! Right up my alley! I was really impressed with the sense of community as well as the professionalism of the bakers, especially amateurs! Next year, I’m definitely taking more classes and loading up on the swag as much as possible. (full photo album of what we saw here.)
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But my very favorite part was the Cupcake Cocktail Hour and Cupcake Challenge which Gimme Dem proudly participated in with what my sister like to call the “Plump and Juicy Fuzzy Navel Cupcake.” It was long week with the addition of bar training and spending time tweaking my recipe… but Friday night, with the help of my family, we nailed it. It took a lot of Schnapps and peach puree to get the recipe right, but we finally got a standout peach flavor to pop against the intensity of the orange zest.
I had a great time meeting spectators and sharing with the other bakers. On top of all that, I was shocked and surprised to get an email telling me we won second place in the amateur division! I am not ashamed to quote the email here:
We are writing to congratulate you on receiving a 2nd Place Award in the 2011 NCACS Cupcake Challenge! The results are posted on the website at www.cupcakechallenge.org . Please send your mailing address and I will mail you the ribbon!
Thank you so much for competing and I hope that you will be returning next year to defend your title. The judges noted that not only was your cupcake delicious, but you did it with all vegan ingredients, which shows an added level of skill. They were very impressed! (For your personal bragging rights I will also note that your numerical score tied the winner in the professional category.)
Congrats,
Melissa Westervelt & Megan Ferrey
Cupcake Event Coordinators
along with the 2011 NCACS Committee
There were probably over a hundred entries and 40 or so bakers professional and amateurs. I got a lot of really great feedback and really feel like I got the opinions of my peers. I can’t tell you how good it feels to have won and I definitely wasn’t even expecting it. Gimme Dem wouldn’t be here without all you and it really shows. That said, I think a Gimme Dem Cupcakes and Empanada party is in order!!! Shooting for April 16th, I’ll confirm and send invitations this week!
Hi friends. I hope you’re warm and toasty, cuddling with love ones on this slushy day. I am! Yesterday around 3 o’clock, big wet snowflakes quickly blanketed and overwhelmed Northern Virginia. We closed the office early and I hit the grocery store for dinner ingredients and a loaf of Italian bread. It was dangerous even in two miles of driving. Cars had slowed to a crawl and some were starting to get stuck.
Luckily, I was home by 4:30 and I settled in for a little cat nap. I’ve been keeping weird hours so I can get enough done to enjoy my family during waking hours, sharing meals and watching TV or listening to music together. That said, I had enough time to lounge and by 7:30, I whipped up a nice steaming dinner.
Boom and I drained away the hours eating junk food while I worked on laptop and our favorite channels ran together. She took periodic gallops in the snow with Cocoa Bean, but mostly we were glued to our seats. Exhausting work.
By 3 am I was about done with a PowerPoint I’d been working on and then I took a hot bath while I read. By the time I crawled in bed, I secretly hoped we’d be snowed in for the morning and drifted off to dreams of my nana. When I woke up, I set up a record and went straight to the kitchen, eager to try something new. I sliced the Italian Bread from the night before, some bananas and prepared for a sumptuous vegan breakfast-Banana Stuffed French Toast with mixxed berry compote. Dredge batter= soy milk, cinnamon and ginger; crust= graham and almond meal. Seared on med-hi heat for about 3 minutes per side! Delicious. Now I feel totally ready for the trek to work!
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…
When I need to recover from my infinite work-week, I look forward to the bliss of Saturdays. They seem brighter, freer, and fresher. Usually I go to the market with my sister, but this Saturday was extra special. I woke up and made three batches of mini-cupcakes (tiramisu, chocomint, and dreamsicle) for DC’s first Cupcake Camp! I was satisfied with the presentation, but I wish I had gone with an original recipe and more ambitious decorating for competition.
Overall, it was a great event though. On possibly the most gorgeous day in September, a slew of cupcake bakers and consumers shared mutual love of food and experience. Dedicated volunteers managed a blog to build buzz and organized volunteers to manage the event. Cupcakes were divided into rounds to be distributed to judges and then spectators every 15 minutes. I wish it was a bigger venue and that they had anounced the rounds, but I did meet some nice bakers and I totally chowed on so many cupcakes. Next year, bringing containers so I don’t go into sugar coma. Lars helped me recover with a catnap and a pretty serious session of bbq consuming. Check out the Flickr pool to see more pictures from the areas cupcake camp! Can’t wait ’til next year!
this morning’s post requires subtlety, so it’ll be sans caps in true kt b style. it’s after 4 this am and i still haven’t gone to sleep. i’m listening to yankee hotel foxtrot and the slide guitar has me swaying as i type the last few notes up for my training meeting. i needed this music tonight. these past few weeks have been really difficult for me; not the hurtles i have to face or the action i use to pass them, but just my mental place. i still think i might be half super hero, but i know i’m susceptible to the kryptonite effects of self-doubt and its ability to distort the perception of reality.
i’ve been going and going strong, two years helping my family, urging each of us to seek our own strength and independence. i’ve grown a lot and met many wonderful people along the way. while we each have tasks or jobs in life we wish were easier, different or just not there, i realized, i too have limits. i need to be careful of the doors i leave open, inviting people to take advantage of me. and i also need to know there will be relief. my faith has been shaken by the fact that my parents divorce still isn’t resolved after two years of separation. i’m an ambitious young 26 year old woman and i have no savings and school loans to pay off. and what about what they want. they don’t want to be in this permanent purgatory between poor marriage and independence. i know each of us is capable of success, we just haven’t succeeded yet. i’m realizing my parents might not feel strong enough to. i’m realizing i can’t make up for that kind of vulnerability with money or favors. they need self worth and trust in self after too many years of sinking into a turpentine clouded by the layers of beautiful youth and strength that eased into cold forgetful compromise of independence. they didn’t have a partnership, they shared a sense of the other as a stranger, both creating horrible reflections in their mind of the other.
so as the busy fall season approaches, as painful as this self reflection and revelation has been, i hope i don’t forget it. i hope i hold my family accountable for their responsibilities in hopes that we can have more healthy relationships. i’d like to say i’m baking a family of gingerbread people to commemorate this all, but really, i’m giving my self til 5 in the office and then i’ll be busy with two other gimme dem orders. i’m glad for it. i’m glad to see the things i don’t like because i know they don’t have to stay that way. i’m glad i know my self and my free will enough to choose a better life. and i’m glad i have you, my friends. a baker like me is always looking for a place to put her sweetness. screw the fantasy of a terrible present or a impossible dream of the good life. as jake/oasis would say: build a better place and call it home.
I have to say, this like many recent posts, is going the long way ’round before we ever get to the cake… Today was Katie Beckman day, aka my 26th birthday. Where am I? Who did I enjoy my birthday with? While I usually spend most Independnce days and birthdays with my immediate family or closest friends; today I was in Georgia with my boyfriend and his family. I got to meet his mom, dad, brother, sister in law, and her two little sisters (flickr album). This is my first time in GA, first time meeting his family, first time meeting a family that lives so far from me.
I’ve spent a little over a year getting to know Lars, and as much as I love him, I knew he was part of a family of good people. Our first night and day of vacation was in Athens, and while I was immeditely drawn to the open and inclusive culture of one of the country’s best college/music towns, I found myself at the edge of my seat with excitement as we drove to his family’s home in suburban Atlanta. As I entered the door, they immediately hugged me hard and made me feel so welcome and so loved. I can’ fully describe how good and how complete each moment has been, but I feel incredibly blessed. I hope for more, but I’m so satisfied for what is now.
We’ve had a wonderful few days, and today, they celebrated my birthday with me. Lars’s mom has been very accommodating to my dietary decisions, and today was no exception. She prepared a gorgeous cake, the oh so decadent Death by Vegan Chocolate cake from The Grit cookbook. Accented with blackberries and served with one of the delicious teas, I was surprised to open a great collection of records to accompany the new record player from Lars.
The evening was punctuated with family stories, music, and delicious food. I can’t believe we leave Wednesday, but I feel like this has been the most relaxing vacation I can remember. Every year feels like I’m more and more me, and I’m lucky to have the company of such wonderful, wonderful people. I hope I remember how much I love them, however long they’re in my life.
I hope as you read this post, maybe you can have some idea of how special it is to love, and then fall in love a little deeper. Please remember, I love you all and know I send you lots of happy thoughts! As soon as Lars posts bday pictures, you’ll have a better idea of the cake and Jude’s wonderful culinary skills.
Hello loved ones! I missed you. Please pardon my absence. I’d been feeling a little as if Gimme Dem Cupcake’s possibilities had collapsed when I realized it’s ineligibility for farmers market and other temporary venues. I still want to take Gimme to the big time, I just have to re-navigate the path. Meanwhile, I decided to recommit to a modified vegan diet. Everything I make in my kitchen for my consumption is vegan. I also try to include as many ingredients as possible from my garden. That means I’m challenging myself to take my favorite dairy laden meals like pesto, bahn mi, pizza, and saltenas into vegan delights. So far, so excellent.
And while I’ve never been all about the summer slim down trend, this year I have recommitted to taking care of my body. I do naturally tend to be more active and a lighter eater during the season, but I also signed up for a Bikram Yoga class close to my house. I retired my car, Can Can and I really wanted to find something new to boost my self esteem, especially since I can’t meet my Artie’s homies for Tuesday morning runs. So, it’s been two weeks and I feel like I have a new body. I didn’t know about the calorie count til after I started, but overall, I feel fantastic. I’ve been really good about pushing my body for work, but now I’m pushing it for health, both mental and physical. I feel capable and strong as I do the posture and afterwards I’m beautifully sore. I’ve only been to three classes but I wake up with a flat stomach and everything is starting to tone up. While maybe Bikram isn’t everyone’s favorite way to line the body up with the mind, I love the self-propelled intensity. It fits in with my way of being and sort of balances me out. I feel charged for a great day afterward, every time. Let me know if you’d like to come to a class with me!
