Secret Santa

pic by imakeinterwebs @flickr.com

Join us in a little Secret Santa project.

Our goal is to provide a little holiday cheer for a family in the neighborhood that can’t afford Christmas.

How you can help: Donatations of  $$, gifts, decorations, and food stuffs all welcome.

• GIFTS: The boys are age 5 and 8. They literally have no toys in their apartment. Mom is worried about the reading level of the 5 year old (he is behind at school) so cool books would be amazing. Also, art supplies like paper, paint, crayons, etc. Things like Legos or Science Experiment type things that are “educational and fun” are also key. For mom, cute things like picture frames or cute writing notebooks would make her day!
• $$: We are collecting cash for a tree, wreath, lights, wrapping paper, and decorations.
• Decorations: We are collecting decorations for the tree and apartment.
• Food Stuffs: We will be gathering food and treats too!

Please let me know if you can help us bring Christmas to this corner of Greenpoint. We can pick stuff up or you can drop stuff off. Our thought is to deliver everything next Wed, Dec 23rd. (Probably sneak in and set up the tree and presents while the family is dining at the soup kitchen although that plan depends on neighbors, etc so it is a little in flux…..)

Any donations can be dropped off at 140 Metropolitan Ave. First Floor. Typically, any time will work. If no one is home (or answering the doorbell) stuff can be dropped off at our neighbors, Bar Berry (on the corner of Berry and Metropolitan). Cash can be dropped in the mail, Craigs Kitchen 140 Metropolitan Ave. First Floor, Brooklyn NY 11211. (Checks to Craigs Kitchen w/ Secret Santa in memo).

Feel free to email craigskitchen [at] gmail [dot] com with any questions or to arrange pickups or drop offs…

November & December Baking Schedule

Join the Dessert Corps and become a volunteer baker, supporting the sweet spot in the meal of our neighborhood soup kitchen. Each week 10 locals bake up a storm around a collective theme, delivering them* for the weekly Wednesday night meal at the Greenpoint Soup Kitchen.  Weekly themes are likely to include seasonal fruit-based desserts.

Send an email to craigskitchen@gmail.com in order to plug into the baking calendar.

Weekly Themes

• November 18. Apple Crisp, Crumble, or Buckle. [Ya'all Rock! Need 0 volunteers]
• November 25. Homemade Whipped Topping and/or Homemade Cranberry Sauce [Need volunteers!]
• December 2.  Bread Pudding. [Need 4 Volunteers]
• December 9. Honey Cake. [Need 4 Volunteers]
• December 16. Holiday Cookies. [Need 2 Volunteers]
• December 23. Chocolate Pie. [Need 7 Volunteers]
• December 30. New Years Cake. [Need 6 Volunteers]
• January 6. Apple Cake. [Need 7 Volunteers]

**Exact delivery logistics are sent in a reminder email the weekend before. In general, bakers can drop off at the soup kitchen before 6pm or we offer a drop off on tuesday & wednesday at a Williamsburg and a Greenpoint location.

Fall Baking Schedule

pic by volunteer baker missginsu @ flickr.com

email craigskitchen@gmail.com to sign up to bake a sweet treat for the Greenpoint Soup Kitchen.  [list last updated sat oct 10]

• October 7. Pear Cake. 0 bakers needed
• October 14. Pear or Apple Upside Down Cake. 4 bakers needed.
• October 21. Pear or Apple Bars. 7 bakers needed.
• October 28. Halloween-y Chocolate & Pumpkin Pie. 5 bakers needed
• November 4. Apple Pie. 6 bakers needed
• November 11. Apple Crumb Cake. 6 bakers needed.
• November 18. Apple Crisp, Crumble or Buckle. 5 bakers needed.
• November 25. Thanksgiving PIE. 13 bakers needed.

Volunteer bakers bake yummy dishes riffed off a central theme and deliver them to drop off points in Greenpoint or Williamsburg on Tues or Wed or at the soup kitchen on Wednesday afternoons. Meal is served at 6 on Wed. Logistics and some sampler recipes are mailed the preceding weekend to participating volunteers.

Upcoming Volunteer Baker Dessert Schedule

Our weekly desserts will be riffed of our weekly donations from neighborhood CSAs

Our Spring/Summer schedule over here at the kitchen is gonna go a little something like this…

From here on out, we (hopefully) provide the fruit for you to bake into something  (*fruit donations are from a local csa and a local farm;amount and availability depends on the harvest.)

• June 17. Rhubarb (Upside Down) Cake. (No more bakers needed) Rhubarb donated by GW-CSA

Local Donations = Divine Desserts!

• June 24. Angel Food Cake. 7 bakers needed. (We are still working logistics on this. Most likely the soup kitchen cooks will prep a fruit compote to top the donated cakes with. Will keep volunteers posted)
• July 1. Lemon Sponge Cake with a fruit topping or Pink Lemonade Bars. 4 bakers needed. (Fruit pickup on June 27th)
• July 8. 5 bakers needed. Seasonal Fruit Crisps or Cobblers, Pies or Cakes (Even Custards or Cupcakes. Or cookies–Local based baking at its funest.)
• July 15. 5 bakers needed. Seasonal Fruit Crisps or Cobblers, Pies or Cakes (Even Custards or Cupcakes. Or cookies–Local based baking at its funest)
• July 22. 6 bakers needed. Seasonal Fruit Crisps or Cobblers, Pies or Cakes (Even Custards or Cupcakes. Or cookies–Local based baking at its funest)
• July 29. 10 bakers needed. Seasonal Fruit Crisps or Cobblers, Pies or Cakes (Even Custards or Cupcakes. Or cookies–Local based baking at its funest)

If you would like to get involved with the volunteer baking project, shoot us an email so we can plug  you into our email list. craigskitchen[at]gmail[dot]com.

Local volunteers + Local fruit = Dessert Corps Magic!!

Chocolate Cake Night

Imagine a chocolate layer cake with an oreo cookie layer. Picture a layered, ganached chocolatey blissed out cake with a berry frosting? Can you see a deep chocolate tart or the espresso pound cake? (I hope so because I didnt get any pics tonight. Didnt realize but i left the house with 2 cakes but no memory card. Still cant seem to find it, i was down loading pictures and now, well, its not in the camera.) No pictures of the ten gorgeous chocolate cake donations; It’s ok though, because the dinners feasted on the cakes and are speechless themselves with finger licking satisfaction. Thanks to everyone who baked for Chocolate Cake night!

Delighted Diners Dine on Delicious Delectible Desserts

The last month was a bevy of amazing treats; volunteers baked up a sweet storm.

Plating brownies

One week we served apple cider cupcakes with caramel frosting. Another weekly theme was brownies. Volunteers treated us to their yummilicious interpretation of tropical cupcakes and introduced us to their favorite type of cookie. Thanks to everyone who baked and supported this project.

Good eats, tasty sweets.

Dessert Corps, serving up the sweet spot of the weekly Greenpoint Soup Kichen meal.

Plating brownies

Good eats, tasty sweets.

WHOOP-EEEEEE for Whoopie Pies

WHOOP-EEE for Whoopie Pies!

For the April 29th meal, volunteer bakers rocked the New England/Amish baking phenomena…Whoopie Pies! Traditional Black & Whites co-mingled with the yummy Pumpkin versions. Pleased palates all around…

Yeah for Dessert!

Kitchen prep

Ready to be served...

Plump Pumpkin Pie

Plated Perfection of Whoopie Pie-dom

...a million ways to rock out a Whoopie Pie!

...a million ways to rock out a Whoopie Pie!

...a million ways to rock out a Whoopie Pie!

...a million ways to rock out a Whoopie Pie!

A big thanks as always goes out to our dedicated volunteers who bake up a storm for their neighbors in support of this community project!

Whoopie Pies never looked so Yummilicious!

Dessert Calendar

Volunteer bakers rock the house.

The dessert themes for the next few weeks are as follows:

• May 20. Brownies. Traditional or untraditional versions.
• NEED 2 MORE VOLUNTEER BAKERS. May 27. Pineapple (or other tropical) Cupcakes
• June 3. Your favorite dozen of cookies.
• NEED 5 MORE VOLUNTEER BAKERS. June 10. Chocolate Cake
• NEED 4 MORE VOLUNTEER BAKERS. June 17. Rhubarb Upside Down Cake

If you can plug into one of the weeks that still needs volunteers, please drop us a line at craigskitchen(at)gmail(dot)com and we will get you signed up. Typically, there are drop off sites in Greenpoint and Williamsburg on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. You will recieve a logistics email the weekend before your volunteer date with that type of information and recipe hints.

Rice Krispies

The theme for the April 15th meal was rice krispies. The idea was to keep it simple just in case people were swamped with taxes and whatnot. These simple desserts never tasted so good! Our volunteer bakers brought us traditional and not-so-traditional versions, satisfying all the dinners in attendance with some sweet treats.

the Spread

Volunteer bakers rock the house.

Carrot, Apple or Zucchini Cakes

For the April 9th meal, we let our volunteer bakers attack some classic cakes, having them rock either Apple, Carrot, or Zucchini cakes, and encouraging them to combine those flavors in any way that suited their fancy.

Carrot Cake

As always, our volunteer bakers hit home runs with the dinners…

Check out their amazing culinary creations.

Apple Cake

Layered, kinda like a torte, this apple cake had a sugary toffee-like crust.

Apple Cake

Another version of the seasonal-minded apple cake, this dessert shows their are a million good recipes out there.

Apple Cake

A traditional german apple bundt cake.

Carrot Cake

A sea of buttercream frosting covers this carrot cake.

Apple Cake

Beautiful bundt.

Carrot Cake

Zucchini makes a subtle appearance in this carrot cake

Apple Cake

slice

As usual, the diners were full of compliments for the bakers.

slices of cake

slices

Apple and Carrot slices ready for the dining room…

slices

Another sweet week for desserts at the soup kitchen.