First event of the Season...

    Cranky Boots will be starting its season at Doof-a-Palooza (www.foodbackwards.com), on  Sunday May 22nd.  "What is Doof-a-palooza," you ask.  Well, it's a family oriented festival for kids of all ages, and the admission is free.  Doof-a-palooza was created as an aid in helping families to facilitate a  "source-to-table" way of thinking and life within their family.

Remember when it was embarrassing to open up your lunch box and see a wheat bread sandwich in your pail just staring at you, waiting to be eaten? At least I do, and I remember feeling kind of " stuck," as I knew no kid was going to trade me a healthy sandwich for their bag of chips---at least no sane kid. I remember never being allowed to have soda or sweet cereal and thinking my parents were the devil because of it. To be honest, I remember healthy eating being kind of a bore---but the tides are changing. Kids these days happily drink their Kombucha tea and tote their wheat bread sandwiches in their eco- friendly lunch boxes.  It's only right for us to be at Doof-a-palooza, selling our delicious pops, where this sort of thing is not only admonished but fostered; it's only right for you to be there too!

We will be helping 100 lucky kids make Whattup pops (read: Push-up Pops) in either their choice of Frutti Tutti Pop Xplosion, which is our hibiscus pineapple limeade with Cranky's own version of  Pop Rocks or Chocolate Puddin'. Both pops are vegan and made with organic fruit and minimal sugar. Don't worry, in addition to the 100 pops we'll be giving away, we'll  also accord you the pleasure of trying Strawberry-Basil, Banana with burnt Caramel and Sea-Salt, and Chocolate Puddin' Cabernet ( The grown-up version of " Chocolate Puddin"), for an affordable price. 

Check out what Doof Kids are up to and we'll see you on May 22nd! 

We're hiring...

Cranky Boots Cold Confections is looking for a skilled, on-call part-time prep cook to help us in the busy month of June.

We are looking for someone who/is:

-Understands and adheres to food safety requirements.

-Classically trained at a recognized Culinary School or has a three year minimum background in the food industry at a respectable place.

-Passionate about Food Justice, Community, Slow Foods and Food in general.

-Knows or wants to know more about the food truck/ cart business that is happening in The Bay Area.

-Committed to organic, local, and sustainable living and eating.

-Professional and responsible with both grand and small tasks (shows up on time, reliable, doesn't cut corners, passionate about your work, etc).

-Has a good sense of humor/ personable.

If interested please reply with a cover letter, professional resume and references. ( References should be from the following: 1 personal non-family related, 1 community oriented, and 1 employer reference).

Women and People of Color are encouraged to apply!

15 an hour+ possible bonus.

Stop. Collaborate and Listen...

Contrary to this post's title, we haven't sold any pops to Robert Van Winkle; mainly because we don't want any trouble with Suge Knight--- other reasons being that good Ole Vanilla has never approached our cart, but that minor detail is besides the point.  We have, however,  decided to work with  a co-op  infinitely cooler, though they have never appeared in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Secret of the Ooze: Mandela Market (http://www.mandelamarketplace.org/).

Cranky Boots will work with Mandela Market by purchasing the majority of our ingredients and organic produce from them directly.  We have always financially supported local farmers and purchased our produce directly from farmers. However, Aland and I wanted to hone in our our efforts to support community in a more holistic way, and support not only farmers but local 510/ East Bay Area residents. In order to make our goal a reality, we decided to meet with the beautiful people of Mandela and see what could be done.

Though there were several great ways for us to get involved, Cranky Boots felt the best and most effective way to get involved was putting our money where our mouth is. Basically, we purchase our goods from Mandela Market, which is a local not for profit organization that works with local residents, family farmers, community-based businesses and co-ops to improve health, create wealth, and build the assets of low-income communities. The wealth creation lies in the fact that all the owners of Mandela Foods are low-income people from West Oakland that now have an ownership opportunity instead of just a job. Mandela purchases their fresh produce from a network of about 16 local and  small-mid size sustainable farmers who are adamant about cultivating both organic and pesticide free produce. By purchasing from them, we not only help to secure the Owner's stock in their co-op, but we support local farmers and their families and help to encourage healthy eating where options can be rather lacking. 

Yeah, see... how it works see, is like so, see: you don't have to be a small business buying fruit on a large scale to help out. Shop at Mandela Foods Cooperative for your grocery needs, instead of spending your Whole paycheck at other places of equal quality. They have a full service store that has meat, dairy, produce, snacks, prepared foods, and bulk grains and beans and you're helping out Oakland and her residents. Everyone wins and that's how it should be!

And while we're on the subject of throw backs,remember,kids:

Surprise, Surprise!

I am the worst person at keeping surprises. Aland and my sister Yuri both beg me NOT to tell them what I got them for either their birthdays or Christmas. I just get so excited and I have to share.  This year, Aland will be 30 in May, which is a monumental age, and I told him what I got him. Sigh. I just can't keep surprises. With all that said, it is with honor that I tell you this surprise ("honor," because it took some coercing and bribing from Aland, but  I kept my mouth shut until the release date). 

Remember back when we were talking about our " Community Line?" Well, we left out a lovely piece of the story. The new flavors have new packaging!  (Someone blow a kazoo!) What?  That's not so exciting?  Fine. I'll elaborate. The new pops come in the bonafide form of a push-up pop and will be introduced in May at Doof-a-Palooza (Foodbackwards.com).

You heard it right here, folks: Cranky Boots will be serving push-up pops in places of community, like bars, cafes, and local stores. We will also be helping 100 kids make their choice of either Chocolate Puddin' ( No Cabernet in this one) or Frutti Tutti Pop Xplosion ( AKA Hibiscus Pineapple Limeade with our own variation of Pop Rocks)  push-up pops at Doof-a-Palooza, for free. Make sure you come!

The push-up mold is not recycable, unfortunately BUT it is re-usable, which is one of the reasons why we are only selling/giving them in places where people would be more apt to take them home and make their own.

Here's the flavors they come in:

-Strawberry Basil

-Banana w/ burnt Caramel and Sea-Salt

-Hibiscus Pineapple Limeade ( AKA Frutti Tutti)

-Grapefruit and Cream

-Chocolate Puddin' Cabernet

-Blackberrry with Black Sesames and Yuzu ( Oops, I told another surprise! Stay tuned).

-Figs with Goat Yogurt and a Balsamic Gastrique

-Pumpkin Float ( Imagine if homemade Root beer  married A la mode Pumpkin Pie)

FREE to the second power...

 Sorry guys, this promotion has been canceled.

Advice for doing your own thang, tha-thang, thang, thang:

Step 1: Make Aland's face, shown here, often. 

     We are excited to announce that East Bay Edible picked up an article about us! However, this blog isn't really about that, Aland ( pronounced: eh-lahnd) wants to write about that anyway, because Rob is one of his BFF's. (I think they have matching brass knuckles. Aland has the " BF," portion and Rob has the " Forever," portion to officiate this sacred bond.  They also have a clubhouse in which, I'm never allowed).  Anyway, I'm only mentioning it because we had to answer a list of questions and from there, Rob wrote an article about us. My favorite question didn't make it into the printed version of the article ( someone please play me the world's smallest violin), and so I thought I'd write about it here. 
     The question was, " What advice would you give to young food entrepreneurs who want to follow your path or create their own?" And there are a lot of obvious answers to that question; anyone who has been doing the whole creating for capital for an nth of a second longer than us,could answer waay better than us. Obviously, the creator needs to be passionate about their product. Obviously, the creator should fill a need. Obviously, the   creator should research their product, their market, etc. etc. etc, but there are a couple of things I see people in my generation shying away from, and I think they're crucial to a successful business, (I'd love to hear your feedback on what you other young entrepreneurs deem mandatory for start-up) here's what works for us: 

-Contrary to popular belief,business is not  always about the bottom dollar, but is ALWAYS about the people. We  think it's important to keep in mind that the customer may not always be right, but the customer is always someone's mother, father, sister, brother, etc and should be treated with such respect, even if we don't agree with them or can't do exactly what they want us to do.


-Creativity is not always about more, being esoteric or being obscure. Despite what everyone around us may be doing, we're not pressured  to over gild the lily. Something extremely well made and simple is more. Bakesale Betty's has a line out the door, and though some people are there for their scrumptious cookies, most people are there for that sinful, oooh-mommmaaa Chicken Sandwich. One of my best friends drove all the way from San Diego on limited time, with 3 of her five kids and spent a good 30 minutes in line for one of them bad boys.  Our Hibiscus Pineapple Limeade has four ingredients: Organic Pineapple, Organic Lime, Organic Cane Sugar, and Hibiscus; it sells out quickly. Creativity can be creative without "more," being esoteric, or it being obscure. 
     
-Rely on help and critiques from others.There are people who have been doing things way longer then we've been alive and are amazing at what they do. We are not  ashamed to ask for their advice or help. Aland hates for me to throw a pop away,but if it's crap, it's crap. Not only do we set high standards for ourselves as a business, but we rely on the honest critiques of others.  Not everyone is going to like our product, because they have their own set of individual taste buds. However, no one can refute that our pops are well-made, fresh, and gourmet. As much as we'd like to give ourselves credit for being perfect, honestly it's been our friends, family and guinea pigs who have helped us to present our followers with an excellent product.


- Hang around people who are passionate about what they do, and amazing at it. They don't have to be fellow foodies, maybe they're Dancers or Finance Officers. Hang around people who are the best at what they do, it honestly rubs off on you and redefines standards and makes networking and brainstorming adventurous, fun, and exciting. 


- REST. When we're off, we're off, so that when we need to be on, we're on and crackin'.  Aland and I refuse to mix business and pleasure. Meaning, if we're on a date, I don't talk to him about the labels that need to be made, but I focus on enjoying our time together---this rule has really kept us sane. 


What about you guys? What advice would you give young start-ups? 

CASA! CASA! CASA!

I made the mistake of watching TLC's  "Toddlers and Tiaras," a couple of weeks ago while exercising, and outside of my nerd alert  Sally Jesse Raphael glasses that are taped in the middle, that  show was the best form of birth control I have ever come across. I am by no means an advocate of violence, but I seriously wanted to shake the parents in this show. Somehow, they had all managed to create the most narcissistic human beings I have ever laid eyes on in my life:

       Wait for it, she's going to spit-up pea soup any second now...  

And since we can't shake parents and we don't want to be hypocrites by writing about how great we are, we have decided  to do our part in ridding the world of narcissism by debuting another small business: CASA MURRIGUEZ! (We utterly adore this woman!)

We first met Sharon (the owner), at Bizarre Bazaar in the city, over Christmas. We loved her stuff immediately (of course, it didn't hurt that she was one of the few Oakland businesses representin', and we were literally neighbors.) We bought a handful of things---mainly postcards and gift tags and fought over them all the way home. In fact, we loved her stuff so much that after Aland and I wrapped our Christmas presents, we fought over which gift tags would grace what gifts.(I even made Aland give me back the gift tag pictured, after he opened his gift).

Fast Forward, a few weeks later: tired of people asking us if we had a card, we met with Sharon. We asked her to customize our business cards, she did, and this picture does not do her work justice. I don't know all of the technical names and details, but I do know that they are made in the same manner as her gift cards. Honestly, we could not be happier with how they turned out---they are amazingly fresh-to-def and have really helped to take our business to the next level. Several of our clients and accounts have commented on how lovely our business cards are,and we couldn't agree more. Outside of paper products, Casa M does really creative housewares, which are not only environmentally sustainable, but beyond stylish and affordable. All of her " retro-whimsy" designs are drawn by hand, and then she does her viola-magic to put them on fabric, material, etc. etc. 

All that to say, you guys should really check her out, she's worth it: www.casamurriguez.com.(Mention us, and maybe she'll give you a high five or something).

Who knows, folks? She might even be able to customize some Lil' Bebe kid's "Ni-Ni," if that's what you need...