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!
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!
So, I’m expanding my skill set. At the restaurant I have started training to be a bartender. Can you see me slinging beers and shaking up martinis?! Banter and booze. Yup, I can see it, too. So far, it’s really fun. I finished the first stage of training, and now I’m in the behind the scenes bar doing drinks for the main dining room every Sunday night until we coordinate a training schedule for the main bar. I haven’t mastered shooters or all the less frequently ordered mixers, but I understand the standard pours and I have all the basics for Artie’s favorites fairly mastered like martinis, cosmos, mojitos, and margaritas. I think I’m at the same stage with Gimme Dem where I’ve established my foundation of strong recipes and my method of service, and now, it’s time to expand!! I want more! I can do large scale production, I can deal with allergies, and I can make you smile. Now it’s time to take it to the next level! And maybe add a shot or two to brighten up our spirits.
About a month and a half ago, I registered for the National Capital Area Cake Show‘s Cupcake Cocktail hour tasting and competition. I’m working on a new Vegan Fuzzy Navel Cupcake (thank you barnivore!) just for the event and I can’t wait to see what else is out there! Orange you glad!?!?! Bwah! I hope you’ll consider coming out to support your favorite vegan cupcakes!!!!
Tonight, or rather this morning, I can’t promise a coherent stream of thoughts. I’m trying, as my brain keeps clicking away in the pre-dawn darkness. This post is about taking stock of where I am now, my goals, and my resources.
It starts with the promises I’ve made myself. This year, for New Years, I told myself I’d be working on saying “No.” So far, so, so… It’s like the federal budget; things need to change or even be cut out of my life, but it’s impossible to make a good decision without considering the affects of change, the hidden costs. I wasn’t really sure I’d participate in lent this year having fallen to lapsed Catholic habits, but it seemed like the perfect opportunity to refocus. To aide my search, I decided my sacrifice and prayers would be honed through the guidance of a book I found while I was at the Ten Thousand Villages in Richmond a few weeks ago, Living More with Less by Doris Janzen Longacre. The book is a collection of anecdotes,opinions and facts that challenge what it means to truly live up to one’s beliefs and intentions with a deeper awareness of those who suffer. As I leaf through the pages, it isn’t easy to put ones actions in context of the world community and not feel room for improvement. I’m sure I’ll have a favorite quote every page for every day, but yesterday I was struck by this, “To make ‘do justice’ a standard is to live by both reason and compassion.” These words do so much to close the gap between belief and action.
So thinking about what Living More and my life, where am I? Some days I feel like a super hero because I cover so much ground and do so much work, and others I wonder if I’m just completely delusional and all me efforts might be more circular than forward moving. It’s hard to say which is true because I don’t give myself much time to think about it. I’m spread too thin. Two jobs, a cupcake dream and a family with more responsibilities than I know what to do with… They’ve all settled into the norm rather than the exceptional circumstance. I’m complacent and almost happy in my routine until it’s challenged by more than a day or two off work and I’m overjoyed to the point of tears. I’m happiest when I can provide something to someone, even better when it’s from the kitchen. And I’m stubborn as a mule. How does a blind person see themselves?
So, where would I like to go, or what would I change? When I find myself truly questioning my progress as a human being, I open myself up to possibility and if I think something is truly right, I make a wish. Here is today’s: I wish that I could balance my time, my feelings, my responsibilities, and my aspirations so that I could reach another level of ability. I know ability sounds vague, but I think I do many things half as well as I could if I could only have a little more time to focus. How could this happen? I’d like my family to have a close bond, but for each person to celebrate a healthy sense of individuality and autonomy. I’d like my professional confidence to be matched by financial security with enough time to enjoy what I work for. I need more time with my family and friends.
Sunday night, I got out of Artie’s earlier than usual and I talked to my mom for over 2 hours. I know a lot of women who talk to their parents every day. If you know me, you know how unusual that is. Dad lives with me and I don’t see him every day. Mom and I had a really really nice conversation. We hadn’t talked in a while, and it’ s not because we’re incompatible people, but because of our strange family dynamic has strained our connection. I didn’t realize how much I missed her and it was so wonderful. I hadn’t reach out to her in such a long time and it was just a really open conversation about the things we care about. Different things but the same in spirit. Mostly talking about the kinds of life we’d like to build with the support and love of the ones we care about. I told her about my vacation to Nashville and the difficulty of getting back into my normal manic life.
This is what I need more of. A couple hours of unplanned time to think about life and how I’ll get where I need to be. I’ve gotten really good at crisis management, now I’d like to be good at living well.
Not that everyday should be vacation, but everyday should give you some opportunity to enjoy yourself. While I was in Nashville I celebrated a wonderful combination of old friends, new places, and lots of one of one with my man. You know how much I love my man.
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Check out that Tiramisu (remember how hard I was working to perfect it!)! That’s what I’m talking about people! Not excess, but celebrating the moments of togetherness and satisfaction of things coming together. I hope you’ll send out happy thoughts and good intentions When I get caught up in routine, call me on my BS. Please! Especially challenge my baking repetoire.
I hope you all know how much I appreciate you. Customers and friends, be on the lookout for a Spring Vegan Empanada Party (End of March or sometime in April?!)!
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!!!
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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.
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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!!!
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!
Gimme Dem Cupcakes is still toddling along in its early stages, but its been such an empowering outlet for me to share my energy. Thank you to all my supporters. Just for fun, I’d thought I’d share this super sweet email I got just into the new year:
The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:
The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is on fire!.
Crunchy numbers
A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 4,900 times in 2010. That’s about 12 full 747s.
In 2010, there were 34 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 66 posts. There were 92 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 39mb. That’s about 2 pictures per week.
The busiest day of the year was October 22nd with 89 views. The most popular post that day was Don’t Be Too Blueberry.
Where did they come from?
The top referring sites in 2010 were vegdc.com, facebook.com, twitter.com, flickr.com, and WordPress Dashboard.
Some visitors came searching, mostly for gimme dem cupcakes, i miss you cupcake, food trucks, food truck, and i love you cupcake.
Attractions in 2010
These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.
