If you remember last week’s post, you’ll know that Tony, Teno and I spent the week end in Madison, WI so I could sit on the judging panel for the Baking Magic for Kids Bake Off benefitting Capital Candlelighters. I was pretty excited to meet my fellow judge and Cupcake Wars alumn Stefanie Gaxiola, the firecracker behind Red Velvet Stefanie.

First of all, it was my first trip to Madison and to my Madison readers I have to say I loved it. I have rural fear, so I was thankful that it had all the comforts of the city with just enough charm to remind me that I was no longer in Chicago. (Seriously, once I’m out of city limits I start to feel like some Texas Chainsaw Massacre shit is about to go down.) We partied at Ella’s Deli not once but twice, shopped around Pop Deluxe and squealed with delight as we actually got a seat at Ian’s Pizza (nearly impossible to do at their Chicago location.) After breakfast at Marigold Kitchen on Sunday morning we headed on over to Verona Hometown days.

I spotted Stefanie from a mile away – a blonde, tanned ray of sunshine among us doughy Midwesterners. We didn’t waste any time getting down to business – tasting about 20 pies and 5 or so cakes and gossiping about our experiences on Cupcake Wars. After we voted we took our seats on the Capital Candlelighters float and took a tour of Verona in their annual parade. I was so impressed with Stefanie not only because her red velvet cheesecake is a best-seller on The Cheesecake Factory’s menu, but also because her cake mix business is booming right now and she seems to have everything in place for world domination. Obviously meeting Stef and eating pie made for a pretty awesome Sunday, but I was truly touched getting to know the people behind Baking Magic for Kids and CapCan.

We raised $420 at Arluck Time!

Sadly, I think most of us have been affected by cancer in one way or another. I lost my friend Mat just over six months ago – many people I spoke with had lost children or nearly lost children. I honestly couldn’t wait to get back to Teno – even if he was acting like a total turd I just wanted to hug him and thank my lucky stars that the worst he’s ever had it was food poisoning from ancient soy milk. Hearing their stories, and then finding out that the economy has made it really tough for them to help families in need this year absolutely broke my heart. I can’t imagine what it would be like if Teno was sick and I couldn’t afford the food for his tube feeding. And I can’t imagine how hard it must be for CapCan to turn families away due to a lack of funding.

Something I’ve found so inspiring and awesome about the baking community is people’s willingness to give of themselves to help others. I’ve been involved in a handful of charity bake sale and it’s just flooring to see not only how many people will turn up with some kind of homemade awesomeness in tow, but also how generous shoppers are when they know their money is going to a good cause. Handing over a wad of cash to Grind for Life at Mat’s memorial was the best feeling on Earth.

So anyway, I wanted to let you in on this week end because it reminded me that there is so much that we as bakers can do besides feed people. The next time your friend’s band is playing, have them ask the venue if you can set up a bake sale table to benefit your local women’s shelter, theater group, or gay and lesbian teen alliance – whatever you’re passionate about. Having a garage sale? Add a cupcake table and a sign stating where the money from the bake sale is going. People will donate, and your cupcakes might entice them to come check out your vintage Wacky Packages collection while they’re at it. And shoot, Chicago – if you’re working on a bake sale make sure to call me!

If you’d like to get started, but aren’t sure who to benefit, these are a few great causes I believe in:

• Grind for Life – providing assistance with families suffering from the effects of cancer
• Capital Candlelighters – supporting families of children with cancer in the Madison area
• Built on Respect – fighting cultural genocide, ageism and discrimination while raising social and political awareness
• Women for Women – providing financial aid, job training, rights awareness and leadership education to female survivors or war, civil strife and other conflicts world-wide
• Imerman Angels – just found out about this one through work – they were in need of reusable bags to use to distribute lemon candies to people receiving chemotherapy, apparently they help to cover up the bad taste the treatment leaves in people’s mouths. This org pairs cancer survivors with cancer patients for 1-on-1 support.
• Girls Rock! Chicago – rock n’ roll camp for girls 8-16. Teaching a love of music and building confidence in young women when they need it most.

That might seem random, but those are all organizations that have touched me personally for one reason or another. Do you have a great non-profit to share? Do it! That’s what comments are for! And remember – use your cookies for good, and save your cupcakes for evil.

My crazy kid & me.

Earlier this month I was honored to be invited to judge the inaugural Baking Magic for Kids Bake Off! It takes place on June 13^th at Verona Wisconsin’s Hometown Days. First of all, it has been a life-long dream of mine to judge a cake contest at a country fair-type joint. I mean, that is some Aunt Bea action right there – I am stoked!

But the cause behind the contest is what’s really exciting, because it’s benefiting the Capital Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Alliance of Madison. The Candlelighters support families of children with cancer. They also advocate for and raise awareness of the needs of survivors of childhood cancer, who can face a lifetime of medical and educational challenges following aggressive treatment. And if there’s one thing you should know about me it’s this: I hate cancer.

This is going to be so fun for me, I seriously can’t wait to get my hands on these cakes. Definitely check out the Baking Magic for Kids site if you’re interested in competing – or if you just want to spend a day in Madison with me and my fellow judge Stefanie Gaxiola, the powerhouse behind Red Velvet Stephanie.

Speaking of Stefanie, she’s generously offered to send one of her killer Red Velvet Cupcake Mixes to one of my readers! This is a quickie giveaway, so I’ll be choosing a winner this Wednesday, March 31st. To enter, please follow Baking Magic for Kids on Twitter and/or become a fan on Facebook. Then leave a comment here letting me know that you did so. Not social networking savvy? No worries, just go check out the Baking Magic website and leave a comment here saying that you did. I’ll choose a random winner in just a few days – and please tell all the Midwesterners you know to come out, compete, eat cake and do some good!

Oh, and one last note about cake judging – it was just announced this past Thursday that I’m on the judging panel for Threadcakes 2010. So keep your eyes peeled for me on an upcoming Threadless video and even sooner than that, modeling what might be the coolest shirt they’ve ever made on their homepage in a few days.

After a tough battle with cancer, Mat passed away at his parents house on Thanksgiving day, sending shock waves of grief throughout Chicago and the vast music and skateboarding communities he was so deeply involved in.

Out of our sorrow, however, there came something positive -- an outpouring of support by Mat’s friends for Grind for Life, an organization started by pro-skateboarder Mike Rogers, to provide financial assistance to cancer patients and their families when traveling. I asked friends and family to donate in place of a gift for my birthday and was absolutely overwhelmed to raise over $800 in less than two weeks.

I recently read a letter from Grind for Life stating that thanks to Mat’s friends (and to those of you who donated for my birthday!) they were able to send $1000 to a three year old’s parents to help take him from California to New York for treatment. Turns out, it was one of Mat’s friends who referred the child’s family to Grind for Life -- and Mat’s friends who helped that same child. Yep, Mat had some remarkable people in his life -- just a testament to the kind of guy he was.

On February 4th Mat’s friends and family will come together at the Beat Kitchen in Chicago to celebrate Mat’s 40th birthday with a concert and auction benefiting Grind for Life.  Some proceeds will also be put into a college fund for Mat’s nephews, Luke and Reece, whom he loved dearly.

If you knew Mat (or even if you didn’t), I hope you can make it, and I encourage you to buy your tickets early as he had lots of friends and we’re all excited to get together and remember him. You can see the band line up and buy your tickets on the Beat Kitchen site.

I’ll be there selling Mat’s favorite cupcakes -- peanut butter and chocolate, although I’ve heard he cheated on me with some other cupcakes that will be for sale as well -- along with some of my greatest hits (vegan Elvis comeback specials, French toast cupcakes, etc -- baked in cute papers from Bake It Pretty) and treats donated from Letizia’s Natural Bakery and Angel Food Bakery. Shannon from Slash & Dine will be there helping me get the goods into your hands so some out and say hello! (Special thanks to Sweet Cuppin Cakes for all their help with this, too!) All the money, of course, will be going to the causes of the night.

I miss Mat every day, and I can’t wait to meet his family and to remember him with all the people who loved him. Thanks again to everyone who donated and who has helped me to get the word out. Stay tender.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yT9LqFWJpQ

Arluck joke. If you get it, you should go to the benefit!

Buy this rad shirt!

You guys may remember that a few posts ago I mentioned that my beloved Melisser and her crew of baking bandits were well on their way to opening San Francisco’s first vegan bakery, Sugar Beat Sweets .

Well D-Day is coming, and the “d” stands for “delicious.” Meanwhile, Sugar Beat Sweets has teamed up with Herbivore clothing to bring you this awesome fundraising t-shirt. Proceeds go to help get the bakery off the ground – which is a really important project because not only is SF in desperate need of an all-vegan bakery, but the girls behind the bakery actually spend a lot of time volunteering for various animal rights groups in the area and abroad. They give their time, their money and they even donate their sweets to raise funds and awareness about the tragic plight of animals used for food.

I just pre-ordered my shirt and I cannot wait to rock it to show my support for what is sure to be an amazing bakery.

Mushy disclaimer: Melisser, girl, you know I love you. I’m so stoked about your company and so proud of you for your dedication to animal rights and to the environment. I can’t wait to see you on my birthday and I can’t wait to come visit you and explore your bakery!

Kinda makes you want to buy a shirt, right?

This post isn’t baking- or destroying-related, but I think it’s still a fit because without my job at ReusableBags.com I would NOT be able to bake or destroy at my leisure.

I need your help. I need you to help ReusableBags.com win Green Business of the year.

Our efforts have made a tremendous impact: as of 2009, we have empowered customers to reduce consumption of use-and-toss items by more than 750 million units. We’re also a member of 1% For the Planet and have donated more than $140,000 to environmental organizations. Plus, we conduct business so that it benefits people and the planet.

Please vote for us here and help us spread the word! Voting ends Oct. 10th and we would LOVE to win again this year!

We also need help spreading the word to those who haven’t heard yet – and to get you fired up about campaigning for us I’ve got a present. Check out our blog (also written by me) for more ways you can spread the word about the vote. Then, do everything you can to get the word out! Leave a comment on this post letting me know what you’re going to do/have done to get people to vote for us (it can be as simple as “I posted this on my Facebook account”) and I’ll choose a random commentor to receive a super special goody package FULL of our most awesome reusables! Voting ends 10/10 and so does this giveaway!

And, because we’re from Chicago, we are not above buying your vote. From now until voting ends – 10/10 – you can get 20% off your whole order at ReusableBags.com when you enter GRNAMERICA at check out!

Thank you!

Hey y’all! The contest is closed and Tasha was our winner! Thanks to everyone who spread the word – I’ll let you know as soon as I find out who won Green Business of the Year!

One less car, even though my bike is bigger than your car.

I know it may come as a shock to some of you that a jerk like me actually cares about the environment, but I do. Think of it this way – caring about the planet is just another way to be disgusted with other people, which is one of my favorite things to do.

I am generally pretty lazy, and easily grossed out, so you’re not going to come to my house and find a compost pail. And, I am a city slicker so you will also not find a garden in my non-existent back yard (although you will find dog-sized rats and a gaggle of filthy-faced, totally unsupervised children playing with rocks.)

What you will find, however, are some super simple ways I’ve found to cut back on the amount of stuff I throw away, the chemicals I was dump down my drain and the junk I  put into my body. So I thought I’d share what I found, and encourage you guys to share your simple eco-kitchen tips. Mine are baking-centric, but feel free to take your comments all over the kitchen.

SmartCycle recycled produce bags

Ok first things first, you need to buy stuff to bake stuff. Most of my vegan friends will tell you that a meat-free, dairy-free diet (and baking grocery arsenal) is about as eco-friendly as it gets. Raising animals for food has a significant carbon footprint, there’s no denying it – so if you’re up for it, opting to not use animal products in your baking is a step in the right direction. Regardless of what you’re baking with it’s always a good idea to buy local and organic when ever you can. It is pricier in a lot of cases, so no one’s judging you if you can’t always do it, but organic foods are grown without chemicals, which is good for your guts and good for the planet. Oh, and while you’re shopping for those chemical-free odds and ends, don’t forget your reusable produce bags. Why bother trying to save the Earth if you’re stuffing your organic apples into a bunch of disposable produce bags?

Skoy- like paper towels, only not.

Keeping a clean kitchen while you bake is kind of obvious, but doing it without going through a bunch of paper towels can be tricky. I’ve cut back on my paper towel usage a lot recently by keeping some Skoy cloths on hand. The 4-color pack is ideal for the kitchen because you can designate different colors for different jobs to prevent cross-contamination. I always had paper towels all over the place for cleaning up egg goo, wiping sugar off the counter, cleaning off my stand mixer… and now I just have a few Skoy cloths. They’re machine washable, dishwasher safe, and they dry really quickly so they don’t get germy or stinky. If you want to zap bacteria just microwave it for a few seconds and once you’ve worn one out, it’s completely biodegradable. Obviously you can’t use these in the same way in a commercial kitchen due to health code regulations, but recycled paper towels are a good second choice.

Lovely papers from BakeItPretty.com

I’ve posted in the past about the basic stuff all bakers should have so I’m not going to re-cover all of that, but I will update that info with some reusable and eco-friendly options you might want to look into. Cupcake papers are a must, and if you’ve been reading my blog at all you know that I am horribly addicted to expensive, colorful ones. Listen, I don’t drink, I don’t smoke and I don’t eat meat – if the one shitty thing I ever do is buy beautiful cupcake papers I think I’m still on the right track. In my defense, paper cupcake wrappers are technically recyclable and in many cases, they are biodegradable. However, you can buy unbleached baking cups that are a bit better than the bleached and dyed versions I love so much. I’ve used these papers, however, and ended up with weird, misshapen cupcakes. If you’re just baking at home and not really giving your cupcakes away, you could go with reusable silicone baking cups . I know they’re a good idea, but they always come in horrible colors and I tend to gift my cupcakes so they don’t quite work for me.

The coolest, most boring thing ever.

Enough about cups – let’s talk about batter and frosting. I admit to being a former disposable pastry bag user. They just seemed easier to deal with – but actually, I was being lazy. Get yourself a few piping bags (you can get cheap ones from Wilton – possibly one of the only Wilton products I would ever recommend.) Now the worst part about using reusable piping bags is trying to dry them. Oh! But wait, here’s an ingenious idea that I’ve shared with more than one of you in the past – a bag and bottle dryer. You can use this handy guy to dry your reusable bottles, reusable snack & sandwich bags and also to dry your pastry bags!

A sustainable path for plastic containers.

Wooden spoons and mixing bowls, luckily, have not yet become disposable. But there are a few options out there for those of you who are looking to make your baking more sustainable. On the mixing bowl tip, there are these brightly-colored Preserve nested mixing bowls. Preserve products are made with 100% recycled (and recyclable) #5 plastic – which is non-leaching and BPA-free. Here’s the thing about recycling – it only works when you actually BUY things made from recycled materials.  So things like this are a really smart way to help contribute to that sustainable cycle. I recently replaced my splintered old wooden spoons (and other utensils) with bamboo. Bamboo is an organic, fast-growing grass that actually generates more oxygen than trees. Plus, it naturally contains an anti-bacterial agent so you don’t have to use harsh chemicals when you’re cleaning it.

Cookies never tasted so green!

Probably one of the biggest waste-savers I’ve added to my kitchen is the Silpat nonstick silicone baking mat. It’s neither fun nor sexy, but it’s pretty much eliminated the need for parchment paper in my baking. Plus, I can just wipe off the mat instead of washing my whole cookie sheet so I use less water and soap.

This stuff is just the tip of the iceberg, you guys, but I’ve made a noticeable dent in how much crap I throw away and saved enough money on disposables to make buying this stuff well-worth it. To help you get started, the green-minded peeps at ReusableBags.com have created a coupon just for my readers – use it between today and 9/18/2009 to save 10% on your order. Just enter cupcake10 at check out – you can’t combine this with other coupons, it’s case-sensitive, doesn’t apply to volume orders, blah blah.

And now it’s your turn! Tell me (and everyone else) how you save the Earth a little bit every time you’re in your kitchen – be it a product, an action, what have you. I’ll choose a random commenter on 9/11/2009 to receive a $25 gift certificate to ReusableBags.com! The drawing is over – thanks, Jenny!

“If you fancy yourself a baker,” teases the blog post over at Blue Sky Inn, daring you to enter their fundraiser/pie contest. The closest I ever came to making a pie was the 30 bazillion crostata I used to blast out like some kind of crostata-making machine at Letizia’s Natural Bakery. But the truth is, I had nothing to do with the actual making of those little pies, I was just pressing 140 pie crusts an hour, scooping in the fillings and trying not to burn myself pulling them out of the ovens. That, combined with the fact that Saturday is my wedding anniversary (6/6/06 – Wedding of the Beast) means that I am not entering any pie contests any time soon (unless it’s pie eating, I will own you at a pie eating contest.)

But seeing as Tony and I have the day Teno-free thanks to my mother-in-law, I think we might have to stop by to see David Tamarkin, who remains to this day the only stranger I have ever spoken to. And possibly – hopefully – eat some pie.

For those who don’t know, Blue Sky Inn is an amazing organization in Chicago that “empowers Chicago’s homeless youth through job training and opportunities for creative expression.” They also make a mean savory scone, if I do say so myself.

So hey, Chicago pie-bakers, show your stuff this Saturday. Email sarah@blueskyinn.org and let her know if you’d like to enter to win Best Crust, Best Crumble or Most Creative. Keep an eye out for me, I’ll be the one with my mouth full.

Don’t be a poser- vote right now!

There’s something my grandpa told me more recently, however, and I want to share it here, despite it having little to do with cake or frosting. (Which is why I’m featuring photos of Obama cakes from The Bleeding Heart Bakery, more on that in a moment.)

I was getting upset and the number of people I knew- people my own age- who said they weren’t voting for Obama because he’s a Muslim. But I have a tendency to lash out, it’s been called the “say the worst thing” syndrome by those who know me. So I called my grandpa, Don Rigazio, and here were his soothing words:

The U.S. is not, and never was, intended to have a theocratic form of government. There is a wall- a separation between church and state in this country- and an atheist, Mormon, Jew or nominal or devout Catholic or Protestant should have equal access to the highest elected position in the land. The Muslim inference is an underhanded fear arousal, a card that conservatives [read...Republicans] have successfully used in the past two presidential elections and especially post-9/11. To use a colloquial expression…”That dog don’t hunt anymore!” These Neanderthals always have to have a boogeyman, Natalie. Hitler had the Jews, the Reps used Communism until the Cold War ended, now it’s terror. We have wasted 400 billion in Iraq fighting a “tactic.” Can you picture a “tactic” signing a surrender document? We desperately need CHANGE, Natalie, and Obama is that instrument of change!

So on that note, I wanted to bring two really easy ways to be an instrument of change to your attention. If you’re in Chicago, stop by The Bleeding Heart Bakery for an Obama cupcake or cake between now and the election and two dollars from the sales of each one will go to the Obama/Biden campaign. If you’re not in Chicago, or even if you are, consider logging on to Planned Parenthood and making a donation- big or small- in Sarah Palin’s name. Use the address:

McCain for President

1235 S. Clark Street 1st Floor

Arlington , VA 22202

Make sure you use that link above or choose the pull down of Donate–Honorary or Memorial Donations, not the regular “Donate Online.”

The winds of change are a hurricane!

New polka dot bag from Jo

Originally uploaded by Bake & Destroy!

Ok, so I’m about to freak some of you guys out by showing a side of myself I don’t make public very often. It’s the side of me that gives a shit. I decided a long time ago that I was too old and too crabby to wear shirts proclaiming my opinions on eating animals, American beauty standards and whether or not you should kill your local drug dealer (to my Flickr friends, if you look hard enough, you can actually find me in a pretty sweet t-shirt addressing that one in particular) and on the surface it seemed as though I stopped caring about those things. But I didn’t. Just because you don’t wear your heart on your sleeve doesn’t mean you don’t have one, as black and cold as it may be. Deep down, under all the tattoos of medieval weaponry and Satyricon t-shirts there is a closet activist. I’m too lazy to participate in fun runs so I donate cupcake earnings to causes I deem worthy and I’m too anti-social to actually talk to anyone, so instead of handing out PETA fliers I just don’t eat animals and call it a day. But I do bring my own bags to the grocery store, I will say that much for myself. Never mind the fact that my mother-in-law sews them all for me, right now we’re talking about me and how great I am.
Anyway, the reason I’m posting this is that I’ve noticed “nice” grocery stores are all about the BYOB (bring your own bag) kick. At Trader Joe’s they even ask “do you have a bag?” at the check out. No one looks at you like you’re blowing a prime opportunity for a free plastic bag, no one expects you to pack your own food into your “crazy” bag, no one bags your shit in plastic anyway and then shoves the plastic bag into your cloth bag and no one rolls their eyes when you hold up your own bag and wiggle it suggestively in their faces. I don’t get it, because even at the shittiest grocery stores they SELL cloth bags now. Are the employees unclear about what those bags are for? Do you think they’re like, “Why would anyone want to buy an ugly ass Jewel-Osco purse for $2?” Blarg! It’s so frustrating! Don’t you just want to be like, “I’m saving the environment, assface! now quit giving me dirty looks and put my over-packaged Boca burgers in the tote bag!”
Alright, so maybe I’m the broad who made homemade ketchup this week end because I’m freaked out about giving Teno high fructose corn syrup, but I’m really not a crazy person. I own a bike, I do not think I’m cool for owning said bike. (Um hi, everyone in Chicago… did you read that part?) I eat dairy, I shop at Target, I own a car. (It’s a station wagon too, word up.) I only really eat organic when I buy it at The Bleeding Heart Bakery because I’m a glutton. What I’m saying is I’m a normal person, I do a lot of bad things, but the one good thing I try to do all the time- bring my own fucking bag to the fucking grocery store- gets me shit every time!
But I won’t take this injustice lying down folks, oh no. As you read this I am shooting e-mails to customer service rooms all over the country. It occurred to me that a lot of you might be facing similar issues so I decided to post a sort of generic form letter than you can copy, change here and there (or not) and paste into an email of your own to your local grocery store that gives you attitude about bringing your own bag. I’m also going to post some e-mail addresses of stores I’ve been to that treated me like an asshole for not wanting their precious plastic bags and I’m asking that you leave comments with e-mail addresses to your local stores too so we can all e-mail and bitch together!
It’s the laziest revolution ever and I’m at the helm in my Hello Kitty pajamas eating American Idol cookies and cream ice cream.
So here’s my letter, alter it as you please and viva la revolution!

I appreciate your store’s efforts in reducing consumer waste by offering reusable cloth bags for sale at the check out. Undoubtedly this action alone has prevented tens of thousands of plastic bags from ending up in landfills already. I’m writing today to ask that you inform your employees, specifically baggers, about these efforts as in my experience, they seem to be unaware of the existence or purpose of cloth grocery bags. I make an effort to bring as many cloth bags with me as I can when I shop your stores and the baggers are consistently confused by my actions. Sometimes they ignore my bags and bag my items in plastic anyway, other times they roll their eyes and act like I’m making some kind of outlandish request. I’ve noticed that other stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s ask customers if they’ve brought their own bags, or if they notice that you have they simply ask you for the bag and pack up your items. I don’t recall ever leaving one of those stores frustrated because I had to unpack my items and then repack them into my own bags, or because the bagger gave me attitude about my request. I ask that you inform your employees about the growing trend of customers bringing their own bags to your stores and try to make the whole experience less intimidating for those of us who are making an effort. Thank you.

Or… you can send them something far more hilarious like the e-mail my friend Tara just forwarded me:

Dear Jewel Baggers,
Please stop rolling your eyes at me when I come in with my own bags. The place where you work sells these bags as part of their effort to clean up the plastic waste problem this country is facing. They sell them for a dollar each, which is awesome, by the way. Perhaps your managers need to make you watch National Geographic’s “Strange Days on Planet Earth” to get a little perspective on the plastic bag problem. They are already banned in numerous countries. What on earth would you do if they were banned here? No more eye rolling, that’s for sure! In conclusion, when you see me coming in with my bags, please just do your job and BAG.
Sincerely, tree hugger AND frequent customer

Contacts:
Jewel-Osco

Dominick’s

Strack and Van Til (their shit’s broken, I’ll update this when it’s fixed)

Walgreens

Target