Yes, I live. I write. I eat. I have just not been doing any of that here. Sorry for the long hiatus.
I started a dog treat company in May, called TrickDog Treats. This has been all-consuming for me: creating the product, marketing, selling, producing, and building the brand. It's a really different way of using my baking skills, and I love it. Please love it too, and visit my Facebook page! And if you really love it, please "Like" it, and I'll make all sorts of happy noises.
I still bake cupcakes too, though not as often. Cupcakes are still going strong, but there are so many people out there doing it, and in order to keep costs competitive, you end up doing a lot of work for not a lot of money. However, I'll still take on the occasional custom order. This weekend I had a request from a woman in my neighborhood who orders from time to time. She needed a dozen chocolate cupcakes for a last-minute school event, using Royal Blue and White (the school colors). I took the opportunity to try a swirled icing technique and it came out well, I think! She really liked them. I added raspberry filling and raspberry flavoring to the frosting for a little "Black Forest"-like flavor, which would still be appealing to kids.
And of course, I still love to eat out. Although when I am on the run or at an event, I tend to go the food truck route rather than the fine dining route. Yesterday I chowed down on some delicious lumpia from HAPA SF. Food trucks continue to surprise and delight me with the quality and creativity of their food, and I don't think this trend is going away anytime soon. If you don't have food trucks in your town, check out Eat Street on the Cooking Channel and get ready to be amazed. Schnitzel truck? Big Gay Ice Cream Truck? Oh, yeah. There's even a
dog food truck called Phydough, which unfortunately for my pups, is in L.A.
Oh, and also we got another dog. Yes, another. Now we are a 3-dog, 2-cat pack. INSANE. And also hilarious. That's Penny, above. To say that she is food-motivated would be a gross understatement. Food-obsessed is much closer. That's my girl!
So, there you go. A little bit of update, a little bit of food porn. As I learn to balance my work and animal care duties, I will come back here with regularity again. I miss it here and there are daily specials that need to be broadcast!
