And Now, a Word About Our Sponsor - Short Street Cakes

Meet Jodie, an average vegan cake baking woman entrepeneur of sweet tooth fame. Well, I guess when put that way, one has to admit that Jodi is superlative, and her cakes doubly so.

Besides, I think most people in Asheville must have met Jodi at this point. Short Street Cakes just opened their new location at 225 Haywood Road last month, but Jodi has been rockin' the baking scene in Asheville for the last three years from her home base, with the worlds most awesome Fridgedaire oven, The Flair. If Jodi had a sidekick, I think it would be the Flair.

Several magazines have also featured Short Street lately, and it seems like everyone I mention the cake shop to says "Oh, I know Jodi!"

Why, with all of the fuss? Check out her new menu, it might lend a clue. I personally and eagerly await my first bite of classic coconut cake, and just the thought of a mexican chocolate cake makes me think I need more fiestas in my life.

Not only does Jodi have the knack for making delectable treats appear within walking distance of my house in West Asheville, she also has a real passion for community.

Walk into Short Street Cakes, you smell the cake, you see the cake, and you also see local handcrafted goodnes. Art by local painters hangs on the wall, funky napkins, potholders and aprons by local seamstresses are displayed in a vintage hutch next to the counter, and gorgeous hand bound books by Becca Lane are there too.

And the people! I have only ever once been Jodi's sole visitor - and that was long before the shop was even open. Short Street Cakes has turned what was a gray little empty building into a new vibrant facet of Asheville culture and culinary arts. Brava!

So, Howard Street Handmade? Jodi's brainchild. Not like when Artemis jumped out of Zeus skull, because we wouldn't wish anything crazy like that upon the lovely lady baker, but the good kind of brainchild that makes her mama proud. When we first started talking about ideas for the space next to the bakery, Jodi kept coming back to a dream of hers to display local arts and crafts and create a space that the neighborhood needed and would use. I am excited to see who HSH will be when she grows up!