Casseroles go in an oven, so that’s almost baking… right!? JK. In my move to spend more time in the kitchen and enjoying foods, I came up with a pretty delicious vegan recipe for Manicotti. I used my mom’s pasta sauce and doctored it with a little smoked paprika. Join me on bakespace to share this and other recipes!
http://www.bakespace.com/recipes/detail/Vegan%20Manicotti/50632/#recipe-story
It’s decided: Hayley Curilla and Mike Smith are the sweetest couple to ever be my first wedding order!
In July, Hayley contacted me through my ordering system and we set to work to put together a tasting for their big day. A week or so later, they biked here to have bunch and sample five of the 6 flavors they picked out. After a big plate full of hash browns and scrambled tofu, we set to work tasting some of GDC’s finest: Banaramadingdong, Pistachio Rosewater, Don’t be too Blueberry, Lemon, Dreamsicle, and Jamaicanmecrazy. Eyes rolled, mouths curled into smiles, no crumbs were left… We parted ways happy and full!
After the tasting we tweaked her order to include Chocomint instead of Dreamsicle and then put together plans to meet for a dinner and to assemble a cake stand using foam core, ribbon, a little paint, soda cans, ribbon, and some beautiful Marimekko printed fabrics. It’s amazing what you can do with a hot glue gun! 
I’m so grateful we had the time to share meals and work together on the cake planning. Hayley and Mike are an amazing couple and spending time getting to know each other really set the tone for the relaxed and creative relationship we share. They have been so gracious and appreciative, inviting us to stay for reception and meet their family. I have been so happily surprised by how included and appreciated they make me feel.
The night before the wedding, I got home from work and made my way through 16 batches of cupcakes as well as her miniature centerpiece cake. I took my time, wanting each little cake to be full of love and blessings for the happy couple.
The next day, I dropped off another customer’s order and then Lars and I made our way to Sauca where the reception was held. We quickly set-up and chatted with the owner about the benefits of working with such amazing customers, “Real Huggers” as we call them. Hayley and Mike made their adorable entrance as we saw them biking toward the restaurant and then walking in hand in hand.
All evening, we mingled and enjoyed and laughed and ate.
Hayley found me on Etsy two years ago and said she knew I’d be her baker, and now the dream is realized and I think we’ve become good friends. Thank you both so much, Hayley and Mike. Also, big ups for my man, Lars, for his constant moral support, help schlepping, and his constant endorsement for the cakes!
Hi friends!
Running around full tilt in the DMV has been rough on Bruce, my little Subaru Legacy. He’ll be out of commission for the next week, so please note Gimme Dem Cupcakes will be unable to do deliveries. No worries, though! We have a plan B to get our gear to the Grey DC Market! FYI.
Thank you all!
COME EAT CUPCAKES
& MAKE FRIENDS!
As a thank you to all my GDC supporters,
I’ll be hosting an afternoon vegan nosh-fest! Bring a friend!
I’ll do a short empanada braiding demo, we’ll eat, play games, and see where the afternoon takes us!
When? Saturday, April 16th at 12 NOON
Where? GDC HQ: 7316 Lee Hwy #202, Falls Church, VA 22046
Email me to RSVP! beckmaka@gmail.com
Do you ever have a really bad day where all you want is to be with the ones you love for a big group hug and then crawl into bed? Luckily I had the opportunity for just such an evening. On those days, I find myself, hoping to leap from task to task and busy my mind, while in actuality, it crawls, slowed down by the weight of emotional processing time.
Boo that!
If I knew how to do it, here is where I would insert an animated gif of Cristina dancing with her bike. A sad and happy occasion for gathering–after her last one was stolen, our friend Sara organized us to raise money and celebrate a group bike gift. It was really perfect. Good music, brew, and so many hugs. I needed that little celebration and to insert myself in the scene of an event more present and relevant than my own wallowing. But I also needed to go home afterwards and rest.
Tonight, home is Lars. One of his bloodier metal band t-shirts on my back, I enjoy this time to myself, letting the day seep out. I look forward to tomorrow morning as I plan the logistics of a quad batch of Gimme Dem Cupakes (baby shower and two birthdays), and my anxiety about my mixed up understanding of motherhood and my own memories ease into the present. Not a present I can control any more, but a present I can work to be more aware of. It’s good to be here and now. Hope you enjoy tomorrow’s cupcakes!
For the past few days I’ve been weighing a meaning-of-life argument in my head about beliefs. We all have them, they all drive us; sometimes to maddening extremes. Some believe in cupcakes, or candidates, or green movements, or truth, or nothing at all.
For me, I believe in my family and sharing my love. I strive to be a good person and I do the best I can to provide for them. Maybe this is a reaction to the bumpy road my parents have veered this way and that on, but it’s no less bumpy to stick it out with them. Different people attach themselves to the different people and experiences that give their life meaning and purpose.
I believe humans are social creatures whose survival is hard-wired to pursue relationships that help us share our knowledge, our tools, and our love. To some that may seem like an evolving battle for resources and survival. Maybe it is. Regardless of why, I believe it’s right to live in groups, care for others, and continue to strive to make things better.
It’s true we often lack scope and humility to sense the gravity and effect of our actions on one another, but where would our will to live go if we didn’t connect our existence to other beings? So while you philosophers out there figure out the meaning of life, I dedicate tonight’s loving experiment to you.
Tonight’s experimental cupcake is the Don’t Be Too Blueberry.
It’s a yummy lemon cake brightening the blueberry jam filling and frosting.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Hi Friends-
I miss you. September has kicked my butt soooo hard, I actually couldn’t get out of bed this past Tuesday. Totes lame. And with Crafty Bastards coming up tomorrow, I’ve got to get back in gear. Bed rest means it’s been a good week for internet-ing. I made many friends since DC Cupcake Camp and with all this networking and promoting going on, I decided to do a couple things for Gimme Dem Cupcakes:
Now, tonight I’ll share my kitchen with friends. We’re planning to bake 300 minis to give away tomorrow to attendees at the Battle. I hope I see you all there! Steak and Cake need your support!
This fall, September has been kicking my booty with pretty much non-stop work. I’m mourning summer’s passing as I see warm carefree days transformed into days I hardly ever see the sun.
Sometimes, preserving my sanity seems like a daunting task in a long list of to-dos. My trick is to pick a point on the horizon to work towards and celebrate, then it makes the not-so-fun-stuff pass more easily. Check out all the awesome packed into this fall:
Saturday, September 18th I’ll be participating in DC’s first cupcake camp! (Check out the feature on Gimme Dem Cupcakes!) Organized by cupcake eaters and bakers, volunteers have organized what I think will be a great event. I’ll be sure to post a follow-up blog featuring my favorite bakers and pictures!
Fridays, October 1st, 29th and November 12th I’m starting an after-school cooking club with some of the staff here at James Lee Community Center. Loving and producing food is a vital skill too many children don’t have the opportunity to learn about. I’ll be working with the staff to create fun, easy, nutritious snacks and meals the children can enjoy with their friends and family. I’ll be sure to share pictures and recipes!
Saturday, October 2nd Thomas and I battle at Crafty Bastards! It’s DC’s best (only?) DIY craft fair featuring the area’s most talented creative entrepreneurs! Volunteers will be giving out free Gimme Dem Cupcakes to spectators at the battle!
Columbus Day Weekend-An entire weekend off for the annual pig pick’n! While, “I don’t dig on swine,” I’ll have veggie dogs and kabobs in full effect to celebrate my growing family of friends on our weekend camping/feasting trip. I’m hoping to unveil the much anticipated (by Lars) Breakfast Cupcake that weekend! Debating whether it should include scrambled tofu…
Halloween Weekend-If I play my cards right, I’ll skip town again. I’m thinking about Asheville for Moogfest. Thoughts?
I hope you have many of your own happy thoughts to motivate you through this busy fall! If you’d like something a little simpler, I’d also be happy to bake up a batch of these cuties for you, too.
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!
So, I work at a mid-sized restaurant in Fairfax and I’ve really grown to love the staff… In fact my favorite greeting when I walk into the kitchen is a nice raw shouting match between myself and the Exec Chef, Mike Gallagher: “Where’s my cupcake, bitch?!” It’s so full of love.
The restaurant has been a great place to share and learn about food. In fact the GAR’s test kitchen is in Artie’s, so I officially get the professional opinions of chefs from all over the GAR company/Fairfax sampling my creations. There’s also the opinions of the rest of the staff, too.
Then that got me thinking…
I’ve been dishing out, now it’s your turn. Tell me about your favorite thing to bake, or even a favorite memory of something someone’s baked or shared with you. ‘Cause that’s what it’s all about. The experience: of sharing, the look on a face, new and old friends, a little icing in the corner of your mouth… whatev! Send me your songs of triumph and bitter failure.
BTW, not vegan but delish: Artie’s has some of the best desserts in the company AND we have the White Chocolate Bread Pudding back for Fall…
|
