Who Loves Cake?

Who loves cake? Well I can tell you She Loves Cake! Cheri from Glutenada and She Loves Cake joined us on the show this past week to talk about some amazing items, and what makes them so special! Imagine if you will, waking up one day and discovering that you could no longer eat any items with gluten in them. That means no wheat in their food at all. Leaving you stranded with out your favorite foods. No bread, no cookies and no cake! Well there’s a new superhero in town, Glutenada is here to the rescue!

Glutenada specializes in gluten free mixes for all your favorite baked goods. When Cheri discovered that she suffered from Celiac Disease she also discovered how difficult it is to cut gluten out of your diet. With so many of her favorite foods now off limits, she was trying to enjoy a new diet. As Cheri attempted to enjoy some of the gluten free alternatives that were out there, she discovered that the flavors left much to be desired. So off to the kitchen for Cheri!

After testing many different mixes, Cheri discovered some great blends of gluten free flours that allowed her to make up some of her favorite items. With slight alterations to the recipe to go after the texture that she missed, instead of the hard cardboard that she had been picking finding, allowing her to not only enjoy the flavor but the texture too: Glutenada was born!

Wanting to name the company in a manner that allowed people to know what she sold, she brainstormed for a name. Originally she thought about calling is Cheri’s Baked Goods, but she thought that the name of that company needed to speak to the fact that there was no gluten in the items that she sold. So after some brainstorming sessions Glutenada was the name. Including gluten in the name and nada meaning none, allowing anyone to recognize what her products are all about!

Not wanting to just sell mixes and wanting to share the love of baked goods, Cheri started She Loves Cake, her gluten free bakeshop, allowing those who do not bake access to her wonderful baked goods. Yummy cookies, cupcakes, and soon to come other baked goods, you will never be disappointed in the taste, texture and quality of Cheri’s items. In fact most people who are not gluten free would have no idea that these items were made any differently. Place them on a platter and serve alongside any of your other foods, and you would be hard pressed to find someone that could tell the difference.

Cheri was also great enough to talk about what Celiac Disease is, and how it affects the body. Celiac is a disease that affects the digestive tract, ingesting gluten for a Celiac causes the little hairs in the intestines to lay flat. This causes a mal-absorption of nutrition in the small intestine which is the primary location that nutrients are taken into the body. This causes what is in effect a slow starvation of the body; not allowing the body to get the nutrition it needs out of any of the food ingested. This can cause two distinct reactions in the body. The first is the appearance of starvation of anorexia even though they are eating a normal diet. The second is uncontrollable weight increase, as the gluten reacts almost like an allergic reaction in the body, causing the body to plump up. The second is the most amazing, because even though someone appears to be eating too much and putting on weight uncontrollably, they are in essence starving themselves. They do not gain any of the nutrients that are needed out of their food.

We are so thankful that Amy from Louisiana Celica brought Cheri and her companies to our attention. With so many great items for anyone living the gluten free life or who just want a great treat, Glutenada and She Loves Cake are great to fulfill that need in their lives. If you want to keep up with Cheri you can follow her on Twitter, or check out what’s new in the kitchen on her blogs Glutenada and Beyond the Wheat. Don’t forget to tune in next week for Chocolate Covered Bacon-The Best in Independent Food Finds, Thursday’s at 6 PM EST on Blockhead Radio. Next week we will have some great popcorn to enjoy that summer movie with.

--James~The ClosetCreature, your host

Looking for independence? Start with your food!

Looking for independent food? Well look no further than the selling venue dedicated to connecting you to what ever can satisfy your cravings. Emily from Foodzie.com joined us on the show this past week, and talked to us about what the company is and what makes it unique.

Foodzie.com is a great site that brings together independent food producers from all over, into one location. This unique site allows you to shop several boutique shops all at once with one checkout process. That’s right, one checkout, one payment, one receipt! Even though you are buying direct from each shop, Foodzie’s streamlined check out process allows you to complete all your purchases at once.

Each shop carries its own varieties of products, allowing you to see just how special and focused they are. We have been blessed to have several sellers from Foodzie on the show already, with more coming up! The sellers each have their own niche, giving you products that only they create with such style. Some producers are small, and will only sell online or through their local farmers market. Yet others are looking to get into your local grocer. This is a big reason that Emily and the Foodzie Team created their company.

Foodzie was originally contemplated while she was working at a small grocer. Many great companies would bring in their products to sell to the grocer, but for one reason or another would not get to the shelves. Emily saw a market for their products but had no way to get them in front of consumers. So she and the other founders of Foodzie decided to create a venue just for these producers. Let them showcase their items, and help them get to possibly get a leg in the door of grocers.

Foodzie is unique in that it focuses solely on small food producers and that the main proprietors of the company must be an intergral part of producing the products. They also go out of their way to get to know their producers and have met many of them. Foodzie also goes on trips searching and researching farmers markets through out the country, trying to find the next companies to join the Foodzie craze.

So if you’re looking for a little something special to satisfy your cravings. Be sure to stop by Foodzie and check out what they have to offer. You’re sure to find something that will peak your interest. You can also follow them on twitter to keep up with what they are doing or on their blog.

Be sure to Join us each week for Chocolate Covered Bacon-The Best in independent Food Finds, Thursdays at 6PM EST on Blockhead Radio. Be sure to tune in each week to hear about what we’ve found to satisfy your cravings. It could be another great company from Foodzie!

--James~The ClosetCreature, your host

Who Loves Cake?

The founder and owner of She Loves Cake and Glutenada is on Chocolate Covered Bacon-The Best in Independent Food Finds, this Thursday at 6 PM EST on Blockhead Radio.  Cherie has been in business for several years now catering to the needs of those with a Gluten Free diet.  Cherie may take the gluten out, but she never sacrifices on the flavor. So whether you want to bake your own baked goods with Glutenada's mixes, or get some already baked for you, you will love what she has to offer.

Chocolate Covered Bacon-The Best independent Food Finds comes on Thursdays at 6 PM EST on Blockhead Radio.  We focus on a new independent food producer each week.  So be sure to stop in and see what we have to satisfy your cravings.  Go to Blockhead Radio, pop a player, and join us in chat for a load of fun each week.

James~The ClosetCreature -- your host

Success!

So you know that pizza we were making? Well it was pretty darn good! Especially for a first try. We took the dough and made it into two pizzas as a thin crust. I believe I over worked the dough some, so the edges were a bit hard, but most of us don't eat the pizza bones, right?

Well I found a fix for the pizza bones being a bit tough, I just melted some butter and added some garlic and used the pizza bones to sop up the delicious mixture. Though I still did not eat all the bones, it was still great. Sorry I don't have pictures, I will have to think about that next time!

Don't forget we have a show tonight! Thursday we have Emily from Foodzie on the show! She will be telling us about the site, the company and what they can offer you. Don't miss it 6PM EST, on Blockhead Radio. Pop a player (see sidebar) and join us in chat.

--James~The ClosetCreature

Chocolate Covered Bacon in the News!

One of our recent guests, Aimee from Shake Your Bon Bons, is also a writter for the Cincinnati Examiner. Aimee was kind enough to write a great article on the show. Letting all her readers know about our great show. Please head on over to the Examiner and let her know how much we appreciate it.

While your there check out some of her other articles. She shares with us some great recipes. They will make your mouth water just looking at them. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading each of her articles.

Thank you Aimee, we enjoyed having you on the show!

--James~The Closet Creature

Home Experiment!

That's right I'm trying something new at home! Not to sound conceded or anything, but I am a great cook/chef. I may not be great enough to win Top Chef or another competition, but I can sure cook. Baking on the other hand, that's not one of my strong points.

Tonight we are making homemade pizza. We bought all the ingredients to make the dough from scratch and everything. So here we go! Let's try this puppy out! I will be sure to let you all know how it turns out! The recipe is from the site below. Check them out for you foodie needs!

--James~The Closet Creature

This Week's Guest: Foodzie.com

Looking for great independent food finds? Well we aim to bring them to you each week and the site that helps us more than any is Foodzie.com. They have been the venue for many of our past guest and many of our future guests. So we decided, why not bring them on the show and tell our listeners about what they do? Coming up this Thursday, June 11th, we will have Emily from Foodzie. She will share with you what Foodzie is about and why it's unique.

Don't forget to tune in each and every Thursday on Blockhead Radio at 6 PM EST, to find what our latest independent food find will be! If you have a company or producer you want to know more about, just let us know! You can email us at ccb@fromagier.com and let us know who you want to hear from!

--James~The ClosetCreature, your Host

Don't You Feel Like Shakin Your Bon Bons

Almost everyone loves chocolate right? Well I have gone out of my way to find a great new sweet place for you to discover with me today! Shake Your Bon Bons has some of the most amazing bon bons you have ever seen. Aimee from Shake Your Bon Bons was kind enough to join us on the show, where we were able to discuss what inspired her to start creating these wonderful delights.

Aimee was raised in a family that enjoyed baking together. For each holiday they would bake and distribute their great foods, and she discovered her true joy in baking. Once she had kids, she really wanted to find away to stay at home with them, but still generate an income. Shake Your Bon Bons was thus created, bringing together her need to stay home and her love of making wonderful treats.

Starting from a simple recipe that Aimee had found calling for bon bons made from little cake balls coated in frosting and then dipped in chocolate, she found she was able to craft new and unique flavors to satisfy a variety of taste buds. Aimee spread from just the plain chocolate cake, chocolate frosting and dipped in plain chocolate, to making red velvet and carrot cake flavors. Then with inspiration from her first job, she expanded into new flavors that mocked ice cream flavors. This line of unique flavors she calls SnowBall Bon Bons uses great and unique old time ice cream flavors. The Black Raspberry Chip was the first one that started it all, inspired from a local ice cream shop near where she lives. These lighter and more intricate flavors remind most of the ice cream they got as a kid from the local homemade ice cream shop down the street, bringing back fond memories of their childhood.

Among her favorites to make are her Dark Mocha Bon Bons, which combines two of her favorite flavors, dark chocolate and coffee. Aimee selects the best coffee that is hand roasted by a local roaster, who makes each batch in small quantities, to ensure the best quality. Aimee describes the scent of these as “rich and decadent”. Her current favorite treat to snack on is her Cookies And Cream Fudge, which is available in very limited supplies and will be back up on her site soon. This is a white chocolate fudge with cookie pieces blended into it. I myself am more fond of white chocolate and the really dark chocolates, more so than the milk chocolate. It has only been recently that I my tastes have changed to this, so I find the idea of the cookies and cream fudge absolutely divine.

Shake Your Bon Bons is not just about the bon bons though, Aimee has some wonderful glass candies, and even some great chocolate boxes. She describes these as a take on traditional gift boxes, but with a twist. They are solid chocolate and can be filled with either more of her sweet treats, or with what ever you may want to give. There are several styles to choose from, but my favorite is the blooming rose, how wonderful would it be to give someone a gift surrounded by that wonderful treat!


Aimee also helps organize a local bake sale each year as a part of the Great American Bake Sale. It is organized nationally by a group called Share Our Strength’s. Aimee told us about how the increase in attendance and participation each year has really made her feel proud of all the work that has gone in. She also described to us how the first year was not as she had planned. As we all know heat, sun, and chocolate are not good friends. Aimee got involved in this event in part due to her own misfortunes growing up. When her father lost her job when she was young there was a time that she and her family had to rely on the food bank to get by. When the opportunity came up for her to be able to return the aid, she jumped on it. If you would like more information on the Great American Bake sale you can visit Aimee’s page about it on her website. What a great way to give back to the community that has helped to support you.

It was such great fun talking to Aimee, and I continue to look at all her items on an almost daily basis. Please stop by and check her out on her website, her Artfire Shop and her blog. You can also keep up with her on several other sites such as Myspace, Plurk and twitter. She also contributes to the Belly Garnish Blog and she is the Cincinnati Baking Examiner. Be sure to tell her how much you enjoyed the show!

Chocolate Covered Bacon-The best in independent food finds, airs Thursday’s at 6 PM EST on Blockhead Radio. If you missed one of our past shows you can listen to them in the Podcast On Demand section of the website. Tune in each week as we bring you the best that we can find in independent food.

--James~The Closet Creature, your Host