Friday, October 16, 2009

Website, Fundraisers and Raw Food, OH MY!

With a bit more googling I managed to find a great host that not only offers affordable domain names, but also a very use friendly site building interface. My HTML skills are not what they used to be, so I jump at the opportunity for the idea of a 'drag and drop' system. Thank you, Weebly!

It is quite sparse right now (read: I have yet to publish the bare bones), but here she be! Tastes Like More

My fundraiser, which I have named Cakes For A Cause is well under way. I'm really grateful for those who have really dug into their pockets to help support this endeavour of mine.

October seems to be going by so swiftly that I think I will extend the fundraiser into November, which means more time for you to purchase Cakes For A Cause (because outlining the name once wasn't enough!).

Business talk aside, I've just received Ani's Raw Food Desserts. It has 85 amazing recipes, which range from sorbets and ice "kream", to cakes, to puddings and cobblers. I'm quite fascinated by raw food and the interesting substitutes it has. On another site I read about raw pasta, which consisted of thinly sliced parsnip and carrot which were coated in salt until it created an 'al-dente' texture to the veggies. I have yet to try it but it sounds delicious, not to mention much kinder on the hips!

I've already a couple of raw desserts. Working in a bakery means there is a lot of temptation, and I do have quite the sweet tooth, so in order to keep myself from inhaling the whole cake freezer I bring my raw chocolate mousse and raw cupcakes with me. You wouldn't believe the ingredients! Avocados, dates, carob powder, nuts, coconut oil... all wonderful things that are full in nutrients for your body but also taste amazing together.

My next raw dessert adventure will be making the raw tiramisu. Mmmm.

My only complaint with raw desserts is that a lot of the time nuts are used in order to give structure. I love nuts, but since I live at home at the moment I feel like my dad is really missing out on some wonderful treats since he is allergic.

I've been quite exhausted coming home from work these days (dealing with customers all day is quite tiresome and a test of one's patience, especially if you suffer fools lightly!) but I really need to get back into my old habit of practicing decorating techniques. I was asked to flat ice a bunch of 8" round cakes and I felt like an epic fail! Granted they use different tools than I do, but I just couldn't get a nice and smooth top! Which is ridiculous because I have done that multiple times on other cakes. Oh well, like Barbar says - practice, practice, practice!

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Exciting news!

I am happy to announce that after almost a year of being cheap, ahem, and using a blog as my business' website, I am now upgrading to the world of proper websites. Ideally I'd like to have Tastes Like More as a domain name, but we will have to see how the finances are.

This means that this blog will actually be used as a blog! What a concept! It will be updated more frequently with crazy pastry-related ramblings and photos. My cakes are my canvas and I fill my spare time by conceiving of new design ideas.

Lastly, and most importantly, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. To bring forth more than just awareness, I am hosting a month-long fundraiser. I will be donating 50% of all pastry payments towards research. Although my donation may end up being meagre, I like to think that each dollar will bring us closer to a cure. This is especially important, and personal for me, as my mother is a breast cancer survivor.

This is a win-win situation all around - you get a great product and the knowledge that your money is going to a great cause!

Forget silly fad diets and let us all eat cake!