Technical Difficulties

Guys, what happened to August? Is September really next week? I feel like I feel into a black whole of baking and lost an entire month. Sheesh! 

Oh well. I've been looking forward to sweaters and pumpkins and apples since those heat waves in July, so perhaps it's for the best. Chilly air means more pies are in my future, and that means your future's looking good too. 

I haven't given you guys a recipe for ahwile. I have a recipe for vegan rice pudding that I want to share with you. But I'm having some technical difficulties uploading photos. This is probably a good time to show you some of the things I've been doing to keep me so busy this month. Let's start with the filming I did with It's a Cupcake for Unique Eats. 

Mona from It's a Cupcake does savory cupcakes. With things like chicken and salmon. I know, it sounds weird. But people love them. She's got some vegetarian ones with hummus and the like. Hopefully I'll work with her to develop a vegan savory base so that vegans won't be left out of the world of savory cupcakes. If that's the kind of thing you think you'd be into. 

Unique Eats came to showcase her savory cupcakes. I made some vegan sweet cupcakes that got a minute or two in the spotlight. I think my hands might have made a cameo while sprinkling the mango cupcakes! Hollywood, look out...

On the vegan menu: Mango Madness Cupcake- Mango cupcake with homemade mango jam filling and a lime buttercream. 

Also vegan: Chocolate Cherry Cupcake- Chocolate cupcake infused with Monk's Blend tea, filled with cherry syrup and topped with vanilla buttercream and a cherry. 

My dear friend and former roommate Abbie dropped off some paintings for the walls. Stellar stuff. Especially if you're into robots and ninjas. (And honestly, if you're not into those things, I'm not sure we can be friends anymore.)

Thankfully the production crew were really nice. The space is small, and their stuff was big, so we were in close quarters. It was really fun watching how shows like Unique Eats are made. Also, with their ridiculously expensive cameras, everything looks beautiful. Even the saddest looking cupcake looks like a starlet on their monitors. 

They said the show should be airing in November or December. You know I'll be sure to keep you updated on the air date. And till then, stop by Unitea in the University City area of Philadelphia (on S 44th St near Spruce), to try some of It's a Cupcake's offerings. You may also find some of my delicious vegan treats on the menu!

Quick! Get Your 15 Minutes of Fame!

Do live or work in Philadelphia? Are you free around Noon this Thursday, August 19th? Then I know exactly what you should be doing. You should come to Unitea in University City. Why? Because Unique Eats, a show on the new Cooking Channel, will be filming a segment on Mona from It's A Cupcake and her savory cupcakes that day. Mona asked me to help out, so I'll be there, baking, getting filmed, and hopefully becoming famous. And you should TOTALLY jump on this train now. Just sayin'. 

It's A Cupcake just started working with Unitea, and will soon have cupcakes available everyday. On Thursday, we will be giving away free cupcakes to the first 100 people that stop by. Unitea also has one of the most amazing tea selections I've ever seen, and the owner Kashif really knows how to brew it up! Come on your lunch break, get a cupcake, and tell the Cooking Channel how amazing you think it is. Make your Grandma and Aunt Betty proud when they see your shining, frosting covered face on their TV sets. 

Ok, ok, you want more details. As far as I know, the store will be open at Noon, and the crew will be filming for a couple of hours. If you want free cupcakes, get there early. If you can't make it early, we'll still have cupcakes for sale all day! There's going to be a variety of cupcakes available: sweet, savory, vegan and non-vegan. My famous vegan mango-lime cupcakes will be available, and ask anyone who attended the GREATEST WEDDING EVER, and they'll tell you that they are scandalously delicious. 

Don't miss out on this, people. It's going to be awesome. Tell a friend, or two, or three. We want to pack the place with a line around the corner full of hungry people excited for mind-meltingly good cupcakes. Let's make it happen!

Thursday, August 19 2010, Noon

Unique Eats filming at

Unitea

265 S 44th St (near 44th and Spruce)

Philadelphia, PA 19104

Mental Health Day... I can has?

I'd love to say that I'm not posting a real post this weekend because I'm at the shore. I'd love to say that I'm just too busy having an awesome time enjoying this gorgeous weekend with my sweetie and friends. I'd love to say that I'm having a long, relaxing holiday weekend to help pull myself together, and get out of the funk that I've been in all week. But it's not true. I'm stuck working my retail job all weekend. RETAIL! ALL HOLIDAY WEEKEND!! I really hope you guys are having a much better weekend than me, so that I can live vicariously through you. 

So while I'm desperately waiting for my day off on Wednesday, a new channel is launching this weekend: The Cooking Channel. I've seen the ads on Food Network, and I've gotta say, I'm pretty excited about it. (Listen, I know I'm a foodie dork, so you can stop judging me now.)  They've got the line up for the launch on their site.

Things that excite me about this: 

1. It appears they have a baking show. 

2. From the little research I've done, it looks like they're vegetarian and vegan friendly, and are working on getting a vegan show.

3. There's whole shows dedicated to ethnic foods, and booze. 

4. There's a picture of Julia Child in that promo. Reruns of the French Chef? YES PLEASE!

Now, I watch a lot of food network, but I've been saying for awhile that there's some things that seem to be missing from their line-up, and it appears the Cooking Channel will be filling all those gaps and then some (see numbers 1-3). 

Also, Cooking Channel, if you're looking for someone to host a vegan baking show, I'm ready, willing, and available. I'm also adorable, well-spoken, and have a background in theater. Just sayin...