It always seems like someone is tugging on this sugar mama’s apron strings, but now… Ahh, summer is my season. And considering Virginia lurches almost directly from winter to summer, it is KT time. No more trainings to staff, more daylight, less clothing, more time to listen to records and enjoy a nice porch! Even better, time to plan summer trips and time with friends. Read below for a list of things I’m really looking forward to this summer:
One of my favorite parts of these warmer months is the Farmer’s Markets! Between Lars and I we live next to two of the area’s finest Falls Church Farmers Market and Mt. Pleasant Farmers Market! This summer at Mt. Pleasant, check out my friend Jill’s new vegan food venture V Picnic Club (maybe she’ll team up with me for the next DC Grey Market?)! Last Saturday, Lars and I picked up some of her yums for brunch and I have never been so in love with KALE! Made our brunch! We also got a loaf of Rosemary Italian from Atwaters! With a some fresh asparagus and summer squash, we had a killer scramble going! I love, love, love lazy Saturdays.
Potlucks and picnics! Saturday we also met with friends for a picnic at Merridian Hill Park. Stretched out on blankets, it was a patchwork of paradise with fresh loafs of bread and delicious fruit mingling with the soft smell of an afternoon sprinkle of rain. Perfectly refreshing. Between the TAFT record club and birthdays, my mouth will be watering all summer.
Taking trips! Be advised, GDC will be taking some time off this summer and will not be taking orders on the following dates: July 3-7 I’ll be moving my bff to Laramie, WY (#allamericanmidwestbday) and July 19-24 I’ll be in Asheville, NC with the Gotrich family. Wish me well!
I hope we can make time to spend together with some sweet tea and something fresh from the garden! Who knows what the the summer heat will inspire in the GDC kitchen!
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!
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!
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!!!
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]
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!
I’ve been a bad blogger but a much better baker. I’ve had orders alost every week, but it’s been full tilt boogy with my work schedule. I pack something in every day and it’s turning out to be a very full summer.
So the other evening, I was slouched in a seat on the metro when I was overtaken by a whiff of nostalgia. A smell of food service, the kind of smell that comes from no-slip shoes that have tread the kitchen many times, day in and day out. The feet that walk across the floor when it’s pristine in the morning, half-covered with crumbs during the rush, and sudsy mid-mop at the end of the day. They are decidedly stinky shoes with a layer of grime that is embed in the sole. I still love that smell, though. My parents worked at restaurants when I was little, one a kitchen manager, one a server, both rigorously emptied of energy each day.
I remember visiting them at work, meeting their coworkers, playing flashlight tag during power outages, helping myself to their cheese cakes, crab legs, and whatever else the smörgåsbord of the moment provided. The restaurant regulars and workers were our community of friends and neighbors. When my parents weren’t working, I’d want them to relax, playing server to them at home. I’d scoot a little cart to carry their food or beverages. Maybe it’s that romanticism mingling with manifest destiny that I now find myself a server to support my dreams of full time baking.
I work almost as many hours at Artie’s as I do at the office and I realize that you can’t spend that kind of time in a place for three years and not fall in love with the people. It’s hard not to make them cupcakes… Wednesday afternoon, my last guests were the sweetest middle aged couple I’ve ever met. About 3:30, a smallish man around 60 and his wife sat down at a window near the door and we fell in love. Over the few moments it takes to serve water, a bowl of soup, the crab cakes and a crème brûlée, we fell in love. I was overjoyed and refreshed as they graciously thanked me for every little thing. That’s the sort of people who come, nice people, people who care about how they treat others nd care about how others treat them. The same goes for my coworkers. Since I got back from vacation, the company has been in a huge staff transition since a good number of our servers are going back to school or moving on to other jobs, some firings, and the stress of spreading our talent to the new restaurant opening in September. So this month has been full of hellos and good-byes and it’s made me reflective. I realize, I’m really very proud of the work I do and what it helps me do for myself and my family, and I’m really glad I’ve gotten to work with so many wonderful people.
I always thought what mom and dad and all their coworkers do was beautiful. Every kitchen is a magical place wherethe human touch can create not only fuel for the body, but something that pleases the senses and cravings–something that pleases the mind, too. I’ve always found cooking and cleaning to be a mentally calming activity especially when its full of tension. So, learned behavior, genetics or choice, my love of giving places me close to a kitchen.
Hopefully things will come together and it’ll be a kt kitchen all the time. I’m on the lookout for kitchen shares or rentals and/or getting experience working for a bakery I believe. Next month, I have a counseling session at George Mason and I’m going to DC VegFest on the 11th. In the meantime, check out the new and improved online order form and pick out something special or just write me and say hi!
The past couple days, I was really bumming, but I went into the restaurant last night and decided to stop feeling so sad for myself; just get back to running shit and loving my everyday. It worked. I had great guests and even when things weren’t perfect, I was able to course correct and really connect with people in a good way. I even got into a really nice conversation with a couple about their 6 kids, blogging, and baking. Inspired and feeling full of love, though I went home tired, I decided to get into the kitchen.
So, you may or may not know, the meaning of life is locked in the braided dough of a delicious salteña. A childhood favorite, I learned how to make it vegetarian recently in the past couple years. Today, I have reached true baking nirvana: VEGAN salteñas. Last night, I prepped my vegan mod of the traditional filling and I chilled a batch of Terry Romero’s empanada dough over night. It was perfect. Less buttery and heavy than the original, these salteñas were just as satisfying and flavorful as I ever remembered. Check it out:
Original Recipe for traditional Bolivian salteñas is here. Vegetarian mod. Ultimate Vegan mod.
Results:
Thank you to everyone who continues to send good vibes to Gimme Dem Cupcakes!
