Snow Weekend 2010

The weather people here were reporting a snow event for Friday and it was supposed to happen in the afternoon which worked for me.  I needed to get to the cake decorating store in the morning.  I made it there, no sign of snow.

I met my chef friend Rosemary at Starbucks for a cup of hot chocolate and headed home to make dinner and chocolate souffles.  I was making the souffles as a test for my class on Sunday.  I needed to hold them before cooking so wanted to make sure all worked as planned.  And of course then got to taste chocolate souffles, I do love my job!

The snow started Friday afternoon and was big and fluffy and beautiful.  It kept coming through the day and into the evening but we were safe and sound.  While we watched the news Friday night it became clear the the snow didn't stay on the roads, but left them wet which was bad since the temperature was in the 20s overnight.

I was concerned about getting to my Special Valentine Dinner class with the 6 to 9 year olds on Saturday and waited to hear if we would cancel.  I emailed the cooking school director at Cook's Warehouse and talked with her at 7:30 Saturday morning.  No class, too much ice on roads and we didn't want anyone to get hurt.  So now I had a snow day. 

Now I could cook breakfast for us. I checked the fridge and had eggs, some cheese, found 2 sausage patties in the freezer, had some mushrooms left over from my cookday during the week, had potatoes. 

I made a sausage, mushroom, fontina, cheddar scramble with a giant potato cake.  Very delicious and perfect for fluffy snow weather.



It was a peaceful restful day and I continued with the use the pantry mode for dinner.  I had a box of Tomato Roasted Red Pepper Soup from Trader Joe's and made some hummus wraps.  Again delicious. The only change I made was that I grilled the onion also.

Hummus and Grilled Vegetable Wrap by Ellie Krieger
serves 4

2 medium zucchini, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/8 teaspoon salt
Pinch freshly ground black pepper
1 cup store-bought hummus
4 pieces whole-wheat wrap bread (about 9 inches in diameter)
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 ounces baby spinach leaves (2 cups lightly packed)
1/2 cup red onion thinly sliced into half moons
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves

Preheat the grill or grill pan over medium heat. Brush both sides of the zucchini slices with the oil and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Grill until tender and slightly browned, about 4 minutes per side.

Spread 1/4 cup of the hummus over each piece of bread. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of pine nuts on top. Top with 3 slices of zucchini, 2 pieces of red pepper, 1/2 cup of the spinach, a few sliced onions, and 1 tablespoon of the mint. Roll each of them up and cut in half on a diagonal.

Yesterday was Valentine's Day and I had an in-home class to do for Casey and some of her friends.  Casey turned 15 yesterday and her mom and dad gave her and her friends a cooking class with me.  So much fun.

The girls did a great job, had fun and made wonderful food - Chicken Spring Rolls, Vegetable Fried Rice, Sweet and Sour Chicken and Chocolate Souffles. 

 

I have office work today like a normal Monday.  I have a library class tomorrow and 2 new customers to cook for.  Such a great week!