Mixed Up Jake Home

In the Mixed Up Jake workshop, vintage Hobart mixers get custom painted and tricked out into works of art. And a lot of artists out there are doing the same work with some objects you’d never expect.

If there is one object in a kitchen that’s always the same color, it’s definitely a fire extinguisher. But France’s Fire Design is changing that. They decided to shake things up with colors and customizable prints.

Pretty cool, isn’t it ?! Instead of sitting in a corner, these are works of art for display.

About a month back, I posted about Lofty Pursuits, a candy company that was raising money for antique equipment on Kickstarter, a site where you can fund creative projects. If you’ve never checked it out, here’s the deal: Anyone can collect funds for creative projects on the site. To contribute, you pledge a certain amount, and if the goal is met, the cash gets collected. There are some awesome start-ups and projects––the stories and ideas are great. A few really stuck out for me, but to look for yourself, browse the food projects.

Here are a few new favorites that caught my eye:

Pure Sodaworks: A soda company in Chattanooga, Tennessee creates unusual flavors like Strawberry Jalapeño or Hibiscus Lemon.

Homesweet Homegrown: A couple girls from Kutztown, Pennsylvania want to travel the US by AmTrak to show Americans how easy it is to garden, can, and cook.

8 Bit Bar: Some guys in St. Louis that want to start a bar just for nerds-–complete with classic arcade games, Battlestar Galactica, and tons of microbrews.

Got a favorite Kickstarter project? Share it in the comments!

-Mixed Up Jake

Michelle and Vinny at Bleeding Heart Bakery in Chicago are my first feature for the new In the Mix interview series. This is all about the people behind the food we love, and the unique process they use to make their creations.

Bleeding Heart Bakery is a Chicago success story. They started out making cakes and pastries their own way and they caught on so well that now they have several locations, serving up all kinds of eats. Also, they have an awesome pink Hobart mixer.

Where did you pick up your love of baking?
I actually went to school for troubled youth as a kid and fell in love with the kitchen there. It wasn’t until about age 21 that I gave into baking. I was always told “girl bake”, so I wanted to prove I was just as tough as one of the guys and cook instead.

You make some really creative cake sculptures. Where do you get inspiration for them?
I draw inspiration from gardens, movies, architecture and fashion.

What’s your most creative pastry or cake?
I believe that our cake that was presented hanging upside down like a chandelier was the most creative.

How do you develop your recipes?
I have a core set of basic recipes that I tweak to become all of our different flavors.

You use a lot of organic, local ingredients. How do those affect your pastries?
I believe using organic ingredients actually enhance my product by bringing out the true flavor of things. Strawberries don’t taste like “strawberry filling” they taste like actual strawberries!

What unique ingredients do you add to the mix?
I like to use a lot of savory ingredients like curry, bacon, smoked teas and salts, panda, lots of herbs and candied flowers.

You’ve grown from a small shop to having several locations. What are the ingredients for your success?
We never set out to make money…and because of that we never felt bad when we didn’t. We made our goal to be happy and money doesn’t always equal happiness.

What’s next for Bleeding Heart Bakery?
There are so many things on the horizon! Our new Chicago location opens in a few weeks and we have a few more international locations we are looking at as well!

Congrats to Bleeding Heart on their success and keep up all the good baking!

Visit the Bleeding Heart Bakery Facebook page for updates and more photos.

Wow. These are some of the coolest food photos I’ve ever seen. An amazing mix of fancy and rustic. And they make you just want to just reach through your screen for a bite. Major props to photographer Iain Bagwell – every restaurant should have menu photos that look this good.

Check out the photos at iainbagwell.com.

I think now I need to do a post on food photography. Got a favorite photographer I should check out? Send ‘em my way.

Charles and Ray Eames were amazing designers, architects, and visionaries. They’re most famous for the Eames chair, but they had an impact on all kinds of design during their careers. They might not have brought their creativity to food, but I know it influences what I do with my mixers and what I create in the kitchen.

A documentary about their life and work is out now to feed your inspiration, no matter what you create.

Core 77 turned it around and collected a few videos that the Eames shot themselves. Here’s my favorite: Powers of Ten, created for IBM.