whirly girl coffee

u.swap

noreply@blogger.com (whirly girl coffee) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 20:12:00 +0000

after a brief hiatus whirly girl is back up and going. we will be at the u turn art space in brighton tomorrow night for u.swap. $5 gets you in the door where you can swap gently used clothing for new to you pieces. as if that weren't exciting enough, the brush factory will be on hand to take alteration orders so your new items fit just right. what could be better than spending your saturday evening shopping to some good tunes while eating kitchenette macaron and sipping an iced coffee or lavender lemonade?

otr summer celebration

noreply@blogger.com (whirly girl coffee) — Tue, 18 May 2010 18:57:00 +0000

this saturday is the second annual otr summer celebration and whirly girl will be there selling espresso drinks and kitchenette macarons. come down to see great work from local artists and craftspeople, live music, and delicious food and drink.

in addition to the regular menu whirly girl's boissons du jour will be...
-scarlet iced tea: herbal raspberry tea brewed with rosehips, hibiscus, and orange peel
-fraise pétillante: strawberry consommé and homemade ginger ale poured over ice
our macaron du jour will be...
-lavender and lemon peel with lemon curd filling
-pistachio

don't miss it:
we'll be at the corner of 12th and vine from 10am-7pm
see you there!

where to find us this week

noreply@blogger.com (whirly girl coffee) — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 21:17:00 +0000

you can find whirly girl twice in one week!
friday, april 30th i will be in front of outside in over the rhine for the final friday gallery walk, which will sadly be the last final friday for outside. so come down to grab a latte and to say goodbye to such a great store!
saturday, may 1st you can find me at the civic garden center from 9am until 3pm for their annual plant sale.
and if you are a boy and want to lend some muscle i could use help either day with setup and tear down as i will be trying to rest up for the marathon sunday.

and in case you missed whirly girl's interview on wvxu you can check it out here!

around cincinnati

noreply@blogger.com (whirly girl coffee) — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 15:40:00 +0000

so remember a month ago when i said i had received an exciting phone call? well, it was lee hay from wvxu's around cincinnati calling for an interview with whirly girl. nervous and excited i agreed and had the pleasure of sitting down and spending a few minutes with chelsea vandedrink to discuss who whirly girl is and what we're up to. (a little secret about me: i used to host a radio show on wvxu with my friend rachel and only got through every show by consuming copious amounts of beer and jameson) i've come a long way since then and thankfully did not use the same coping mechanism for my interview with chelsea... afterall, it was only 11am!

tune in to 91.7 wvxu this sunday at 7pm.

crafty supermarket

noreply@blogger.com (whirly girl coffee) — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 12:37:00 +0000

whirly girl will be at the crafty supermarket this saturday at the clifton cultural arts center serving up coffee drinks and kitchenette macarons. what could be better than enjoying the handiwork of some crafty folks while sipping a latte and eating a lavender lemon macaron with lemon curd?

ccac is at 3711 clifton avenue
crafty supermarket runs from 11am to 6pm

underlying & overlapping

noreply@blogger.com (whirly girl coffee) — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 16:29:00 +0000

my dear friend sarah quinn is the magic behind my logo and pretty much all design work done for whirly girl and modern megpie. sarah is a designer/artist who is receiving her bfa in visual communication design from the art academy after already obtaining her bfa in sculpture and art history. sarah thinks outside the box of the computer when designing. she uses a variety of media, including paper, fabric, paint, and string. it is this handmade quality in her work that draws me to her as a designer and has made her such a perfect match for whirly girl.

i had the pleasure of getting a sneak peek at her thesis show entitled underlying and overlapping. she describes her thesis work as spatial handmade installations within a design context, evolved from thinking about various personal life experiences and circumstances, that while outside her control affected her deeply. she says the work is also about the internal struggle to keep her head up and make decisions that will get her closer to her goals. the work combines colorful graphic shapes as well as handmade elements and typography.

personally sarah is one of the most incredible people i know. she is a strong, beautiful woman with an incredibly compelling story to tell. her humor is irreverent, wry, and wonderfully goofy and her laughter is infectious. you will see all of that in her work!

to see sarah's thesis exhibition head to the art academy friday, april 2nd from 5-8pm. and for more photos check out my flickr.

lush

noreply@blogger.com (whirly girl coffee) — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 19:17:00 +0000

five local women come together to bring art, food, coffee and music to park + vine, 1109 vine street, for over-the-rhine's final friday gallery walk 6 to 9 p.m. friday, march 26. rebecca nebert's exhibition LUSH finds inspiration for her experimental paintings from microbiology, organisms, topography and ocean life. enjoy vegan fare from five star foodies, vegan baked goods from sweet peace bakery, fresh coffee from whirly girl coffee and the folk pop sounds of local musician allee thompson. "LUSH" runs through april 25.

upside down might actually be right side up

noreply@blogger.com (whirly girl coffee) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 14:08:00 +0000

in the last few weeks my life was turned on it's end, albeit of my own doing. the short of it; the end of a relationship and subsequently an abrupt move. however what followed was a new job, lots of gigs being booked for whirly girl, the unveiling of a new business, new friends, and catching up with old ones. phew... as the dust settles and my life seems to fall in place i am realizing that sometimes what seems like upside turns out to be right side up. i am happy to say that i feel more myself today than i ever have and that this is the happiest i can remember being since running up and down the ramps in astro stadium!

here's whats happening at whirly girl this week:
monday and tuesday we will be catering at seek in norwood serving up the finest coffee beverages to some lucky workshop participants.
friday we will be at park + vine for their LUSH event selling a menu of espresso drinks and macaron. and stay tuned for more details on where you can find our french inspired confections!

catering you say? yes we do cater! contact me for details regarding bringing whirly girl to your next event.

macaron you say? without further adieu let me introduce you to kitchenette: a collaboration between julia of northside kitchen and i.

enjoy this friday's gallery walk with a cappuccino and a chocolate macaron with ganache or raspberry mascarpone in hand.
park + vine is at 1109 vine street in over the rhine and the event is from 6-9pm. hope to see you there!

"if you want a subject, look to pork!"-charles dickens

noreply@blogger.com (whirly girl coffee) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:45:00 +0000

i have somewhat mixed feeling regarding slow cookers. as a kind of kitchen purist i have snubbed my nose at this little appliance and it has been on my list of things to never own along with the microwave. then i moved in with a man who had one tucked in the back of a cabinet and came to learn that it is a badass when it comes to cooking pork.

chipotle orange barbecue pork shoulder
adapted from simply organic

-1/2 c. orange juice (freshly squeezed)
-1/4 c. honey
-2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
-2 tbsp. ground mustard
-1 chipotle chile pepper, canned in adobo (minced)
-1 tsp. adobo sauce (b/c it's delicious)
-1 tbsp. olive oil
-2 garlic cloves, minced
-1 tbsp. salt
-1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
-1/2 tsp. cinnamon
-5lb. pork shoulder

in small bowl, whisk together the orange juice, honey, vinegar, mustard, chile pepper, oil, garlic, salt, cumin, and cinnamon. place pork in slow cooker and pour mixture on top. cook for 24 hours on low and enjoy with some cornbread or as we did on flour tortillas with pickled onions and cilantro!

if this recipe isn't reason enough to be a slow cooker convert i guess i can get behind it as a feminist and an environmentalist. According to "The Everything Slow Cooker" book it was introduced in the 60's as a response to more women working outside the home, and was made popular during the 70's energy crisis as an energy saving device.

inspired by casa nueva

noreply@blogger.com (whirly girl coffee) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:48:00 +0000

i was channeling casa nueva tonight while deciding what to make for dinner. casa is a great employee owned restaurant/bar in athens that boasts, in my opinion, the best huevos rancheros outside california. seriously i've weighed the pros and cons of making the 3 hour drive just to be able to delight in their deliciousness. instead, i opted for trying my hand at what is really an incredibly easy dish. another example of how it doesn't take much more than good, fresh ingredients to make something outstanding. so i grabbed some tomatoes, an onion, garlic, and a jalapeno to make a quick salsa fresca. fried up some corn tortillas, added some eggs, cheese (of course), a dollop of sour cream, the salsa, and some fresh cilantro (still growing in our cold frames) and we had ourselves some casa-esque huevos for dinner. accompanied by an ice cold beer of course!

inspired by askinosie chocolate

noreply@blogger.com (whirly girl coffee) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 15:48:00 +0000

when day dreaming about chocolate my mind often wanders to the streets of paris or brussels. now we'll be adding springfield, missouri to that list, home of askinosie chocolate. askinosie is a small batch chocolatier who source their beans from ecuador and mexico dealing directly with the farmers. through "stake in the outcome" askinosie links quality, price, and profit share, paying the farmers 10% of the net profits from their chocolate (well above fair trade prices).
they are the first small batch chocolate maker in the U.S. to press their own cocoa butter and the only makers of natural cocoa powder. the cocoa butter is pressed using the same custom press as the natural cocoa powder meaning the"cocoa butter" on the ingredient list of the bars is coming from the same beans used to make the chocolate.
and then there's the packaging. the interior of the wax paper bag is made with "natural flex" an environmentally sound, wood based cellophane. inside each wrap is a small map showing where the chocolates came from and the string used to tie the wrapper shut comes from the bags of beans that are shipped from central and south america.

it's always great to discover companies doing their part to ensure that fair trade does not become a marketing gimmick or reduced to a bumpersticker.
now lets go eat some chocolate! i love the "c-ration," month's supply of dark chocolate.

trees and treats

noreply@blogger.com (whirly girl coffee) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:17:00 +0000

Whirly Girl has a temporary home! We will be parked at Big Tree Plantation serving up our delicious coffee beverages every weekend from Nov. 27th through Dec. 20th. Big Tree is located at 2544 South Waynesville Road in Morrow and is open Mon.-Sat. from 9-7 and Sundays from 9-6. Stop by to get your Christmas tree or to see some reindeer or just to see me. In addition to our fair trade organic coffee, we will be serving up local apple cider, homemade chai, hot chocolate, and some sweet treats.

tonight

noreply@blogger.com (whirly girl coffee) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:07:00 +0000

Tonight is Vegan Thanksgiving Love Fest at Park and Vine from 6-8pm. An exciting night of inspirational plant based foods provided by local restaurateurs and food craftspeople with proceeds benefiting Live Green Planet Eco-Garden Project in Over the Rhine.

Here is the menu for tonights festivities:
1. Caramel pecan leafs from Chocolats Latour
2. "Harvest Roast" over a bed of mashed root vegetables topped with "Grandma's Gourmet Gravy" from Five Star Foodies
3. Morrocan spiced butternut squash stew with red quinoa from Lavomatic
4. Pecan pumpkin pie from Loving Café
5. Marinated tofu cutlets with arrowroot marinade gravy from Lucky John Market
6. Cumin roasted root veggies from Melt
7. Corn chowder soup from Myra's Dioynsus
8. Cranberry orange bread from Naturally Yours
9. Tofu walnut stuffed mushrooms and vegan chili from Tucker's
10. Conscious Caramel Apple Crisp Alive from World Peace Jubilee
11. and beverages by your's truly

Music provided by Kate Haralson and Doug Kreitzer.

Registration is closed but you can still come get a latte, a spiced cider, or a chai from Whirly Girl Coffee!

on uc's campus

noreply@blogger.com (whirly girl coffee) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 18:49:00 +0000

whirly girl will be at the local market monday's in october in front of the TUC at the university of cincinnati starting tomorrow. Stop by between 10 and 3.

stay tuned for some exciting news...

noreply@blogger.com (whirly girl coffee) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:05:00 +0000

head to westwood for the first annual westwood art show this saturday for great local art, live music, and of course, your's truly serving up coffee beverages, hot chocolate, and homemade organic baked goods.
check out this article for more information

what's next?

noreply@blogger.com (whirly girl coffee) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 17:45:00 +0000

gratisfest was a great success! whirly girl was a hit and we had a blast. for a closer look pictures are posted here. and if you want to see us whirling in person come down to second sunday on main this sunday from noon to 5. we will be serving up some fine coffee beverages along with locally made, django's gelato. hope to see you all there!

where we've been

noreply@blogger.com (whirly girl coffee) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 20:54:00 +0000

whirly girl is making it's debut this weekend and i thought i should share what we've had up our sleeves. after 8 years in the coffee industry as a barista and manager with brief stints as a roaster and coffee farmer i hung my coffee hat up...at least that's what you all thought. truthfully i have spent this summer building what we lovingly refer to as a "jack in the box coffeeshop". before i set out to have bricks and mortar i wanted to get my feet wet by doing a portable coffee cart. so we've spent the majority of our weekends on my family farm taking every nut and bolt off of an unlikely structure in the hopes of transforming her into a kick ass shop on wheels. after we tore her into many pieces, unveiling farms of ladybugs and wasp nests, we began the daunting task of putting her back together. we replaced bad parts with new upgraded parts and refurbished as many reusable components as possible. after endless trips to home depot, too many sighs to count, and learning that it's best to open a couple of beers before responding we haven't killed each other and the cart is finished...well, almost. in the midst of all this creativity there have been many lessons in adaptability, efficiency, and resourcefulness. things rarely turn out the way you first saw them and quite often they turn out better.

curious? stay tuned for pictures from this weekend's festivities.

noreply@blogger.com (whirly girl coffee) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:12:00 +0000

whirly girl is making it's debut at gratisfest!

gratisfest is back on this year on my grandparents farm with a weekend of music, art, food, beer, and yours truly carting coffee and espresso drinks, as well as, some ridiculous baked goods and buddha burritos.

curious?

starbucks attempt at personality

noreply@blogger.com (whirly girl coffee) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 18:40:00 +0000

as you've probably read or heard by now, starbucks is set to rename and renovate some of their seattle stores in order to communicate a "community personality." taking the corporate giants name off the stores and replacing them with names that reflect either their address or neighborhood, offering beer and wine, and hosting poetry readings are a part of starbucks' latest attempt to battle falling sales and traffic. is it really possible for a multinational corporation operating with a corporate mentality to adopt such a local, community based business model or will it only produce a synthetic version of "community personality?" i think it's fairly obvious. so why the falling sales and traffic? is it really their high prices keeping recession conscious customers away? b/c the true "corner coffeeshops" i frequent and moonlight as a barista in remain busy and profitable. maybe we just know the difference between contrived and sincere community.

extra: paul rudd on corporate coffee shops...