Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Short Street Cakes Wins Cupcake Contest!

I feel like I just won the lottery! Or an Oscar! I'm so excited! I'd like to thank my Mom for teaching me how to bake.
I won the cupcake challenge on local blog Chasing the Bread Truck!
And I just figured out how to do that linky-anchor thing.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Build A Birdhouse

From BCP:

"Hello All,

This is a Call Out to Build a Birdhouse for Bountiful Cities Project annual birdhouse auction on May 3, 2008....Save the date..

The requirements for the birdhouse are you can build it from any media that you would like.  We are asking that you build it yourself.
You could also make bird feeders, bat houses, bird bath etc.....

You can drop off your finished beautiful birdhouse at the French Broad Food Co-op.

Please attach a note that has your name, address, telephone number, email so that we may contact you if your birdhouse places in the top three.
 
The deadline for dropping off birdhouses is Friday May 2nd.

If you have any questions please contact either darcel.eddins@gmail.com or turtle343@gmail.com.

Thank you for supporting urban agriculture in Asheville!"



First Big Wedding Cake of the Season!

Just wait til we get the flowers on this baby!
Although I lament not yet having a commercial space for
Short Street Cakes, here's what I love about working from
home, and being my own boss: I can stay up til 1am, drinking
gin and listening to classic rock (why do they play Rod
Stewart's "Maggie Mae" every hour on the hour?
Not that I'm complaining, I'm just sayin...) on the radio,
and make a wedding cake that looks like that. Downsides
of being a wedding cake baker: at the rate I'm going, the
next Friday night I'll have off will be sometime around
2018. I missed the punk rock circus tonight, but my
family says it was fun.
More pics tomorrow when its all decorated and set up.

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Cupcakes



These little darlings are:
Triple Chocolate Ganache
Classic Coconut
Vegan Chocolate w/ Cream Cheese Icing

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Decorate your cake with Fresh, Organic, Edible Flowers!

Edible Flowers Chart

OK Friends- here is a list, in teeny font, of lots of flowers you can eat. And decorate a cake with. Many thanks to the NC Cooperative Extension Service and NC State University for the info.


Table 1. Edible Flowers

Common name

Scientific name

Flavor

Color

Comments

Anise hyssop

Agastache foeniculum

Anise

Lilac

Self seeding perennial

Apple

Malus spp.

Floral

White to pink

Eat in moderation since flowers contain cyanide precursors

Arugula

Eruca vesicaria sativa

Spicy

White

Annual; once flowers form the leaves become bitter

Basil

Ocimum basilicum

Herbal

White, lavender

Annual

Bachelor's button

Centaurea cyanus

Vegetal

White, pink, blue

Annual; petals are edible; the calyx is bitter

Bee balm

Monarda didyma

Minty, sweet, hot

Wide range

Perennial

Borage

Borago officinalis

Herbal

Blue

Annual; use with nasturtium; use sparingly -- diuretic effects

Broccoli

Brassica officinalis

Spicy

Green

Annual

Calendula

Calendula officinalis

Slightly bitter

Yellow, orange

Annual; most often used for color rather than flavor

Chamomile

Chamaemelum noblis

Sweet apple

White

Perennial; drink tea in moderation -- contains thuaone; ragweed sufferers may be allergic to chamomile

Chervil

Anthriscus cerefolium

Herbal

White

Annual

Chicory

Cichorium intybus

Herbal

Blue

Perennial

Chives

Allium schoeonoprasum

Onion

Lavender-pink

Perennial; avoid eating whole flower; taste can be overwhelming

Chrysanthemum

Chrysanthemum spp.

Strong

Perennial

Use the florets; strong flavor

Dandelion

Taraxacum officinale

Sweet, honey-like

Yellow

Perennial; use young flowers, mature flowers become bitter; flowers close after picking

Daylily

Hemerocallis spp.

Vegetal, sweet

Wide range

Perennial; may act as a diuretic or laxative; eat in moderation

Dianthus

Dianthus spp.

Sweet clove flavor

Wide range

Perennial; remove the narrow base of the petals (bitter)

Dill

Anethum graveolens

Herbal

Yellowish-green

Annual

Elderberry

Sambucus canadensis

Sweet

White

Perennial; do not wash flowers since it removes much of the flavor

English daisy

Bellis perennis

Mildly bitter

Pink

Perennial; ray flowers have a mildly bitter taste

Fennel

Foeniculum vulgare

Mildly anise

Yellow-green

Normally grown as an annual

Hibiscus

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis

Mildly citrus

Rose, red

Showy edible garnish

Hollyhock

Althea rosea

Vegetal

White, pink, red

Showy edible garnish

Honeysuckle

Lonicera japonica

Sweet

White to pale yellow

Perennial; do not use other honeysuckle flowers

Johnny-jump-up

Viola tricolor

Wintergreen

Purple and yellow

Annual; the petals have little flavor unless the green sepals are included; contain saponins and may be toxic in large amounts

Lavender

Lavendula spp.

Sweet, perfumed flavor

Lavender

Perennial; use sparingly due to intense flavor; lavender oil may be poisonous

Lilac

Syringa vulgaris

Varies

Lavender

Wide variation in flavor -- from no flavor to green and herbaceous to lilac

Linden

Tilia spp.

Honey-like

White

Frequent consumption of linden flower tea can cause heart damage

Lovage

Levisticum officinale

Celery

White

Perennial

Marigold

Tagetes patula

Bitter

Yellow, orange

Annual; Lemon Gem and Tangerine Gem have the best flavor

Mint

Mentha spp.

Minty

Purple

Perennial; each type of mint has its own unique flavor

Nasturtium

Tropaeolum majus

Spicy, peppery

Wide range

Annual

Okra

Abelmoschus esculentus

Vegetal

Yellow

Annual

Pansy

Viola x wittrockiana

Vegetal

Wide range

Annual; has a slightly sweet green or grassy flavor; petals have a mild flavor; whole flower has a wintergreen flavor

Passion flower

Passiflora spp.

Vegetal

Purple

Vine; showy flowers best used as a garnish

Pineapple sage

Salvia elegans

Sweet, fruity

Red

Perennial; flavor has a hint of mint and spice

Red clover

Trifolium pratense

Sweet

Red

Annual; raw clover flowers are not easily digestible

Rose

Rosa spp.

Perfumed

Wide range

Perennial: remove the white, bitter base of the petal

Rosemary

Rosmarinus officinalis

Herbal

Blue

Perennial

Sage

Salvia officinalis

Herbal

Purple-blue

Perennial

Scarlet runner bean

Phaseolus vulgaris

Vegetal

Purple

Annual; flower only last one to two days

Scented geraniums

Pelargonium spp.

Varies

Wide range

Perennial; the flavor is usually similar to the scent of the leaves

Signet marigold

Tagetes signata

Spicy, herbal

Yellow

Annual; may be harmful if eaten in large amounts; other marigolds are edible but have a tangy to bitter flavor

Snapdragon

Anthirrhinum majus

Bitter

Wide range

Annual; use as a garnish

Squash

Curcubita pepo

Vegetal

Yellow

Annual

Sunflower

Helianthus annu



us

Varies

Yellow

Annual; flower is best eaten in bud stage when it has an artichoke flavor; petals of open flowers have a bitter- sweet flavor; pollen can cause a reaction for some people

Sweet woodruff

Galium odoratum

Sweet, nutty, vanilla

White

Can have a blood thinning effect if eaten in large amounts

Thyme

Thymus spp.

Herbal

White

Perennial herb

Tulip

Tulipa spp.

Vegetal

Wide range

Bulb; good stuffed

Violet

Viola odorata

Sweet, perfumed

Purple, white

Perennial; use candied or fresh

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Greenlife Prices

So I went up one dollar on the price I sell my 6" cakes to Greenlife Grocery. And then they went up five dollars on their markup to $15.99! After a week of worrying and fretting about the new price of my cakes, I had this brilliant and novel idea to ASK SOMEONE about it. So I did, and the helpful man with whom I spoke whipped out a calculator and said, "um, no, that's not right. They should be $13.89." And so they are. So if any of yall have been by greenlife lately, and went to buy your vegan chocolate cake, and found it to be highly expensive, I am pleased to announce that it is now only moderately expensive.
xo
jodi