Food, Fun, Education and Friends - WCR

Posted At : November 6, 2011 6:52 AM
Related Categories: ingredients
I'm back to work! Have been having a great vacation and will try to do some vacation posts, but now it's time to work. For now that means attending the WCR (Women Chefs and Restaurateurs) conference in Cambridge MA. It's tough but I have to keep learning new things!

Yesterday morning was tour day. A group of 15 of us taxied to Boston's North End to take a guided tour of the Italian section. We started at a pastry shop where we learned about the different pastries, different regions of Italy and what ingredients are used in the various areas. Have I mentioned recently that I love my job?









After all of the wonderful things we learned, we had to snack to keep up our energy. The people at Maria's put together a tray of almost one of everything in the shop and we sampled. 

Next on to other stops. We stopped at a greengrocer. We did not go inside because it was too tiny for a group of 15. Our tour guide brought out some vegetables, talked about them and then of course we snacked on prickley pear, persimmon and fennel. Need to keep up our energy.





We moved on to a seafood shop were we tasted a fresh, seasonal, raw Nantucket scallop. Delicious! We went to a coffee shop, again very tiny, filled to the brim and bursting with coffees, dried beans, roasted chickpeas, herbs, coffee pots. Yes we did taste - chickpeas, pine nuts, licorice roots, almond candy.






We moved on to a cheese shop that also had proscuitto, bread, sandwiches and prepared foods. The 15 of us barely fit inside. It was cozy. We sampled some proscuitto and cheese. 









We visited a shop where we learned a lot about olive oil, balsamic vinegar and tasted them too. We moved on to a wine and spirit shop where we learned a lot about before dinner drinks, during dinner drinks and after dinner drinks. Very interesting. We had a taste of limoncello which was delicious and pretty powerful. The tour ended and we went to a restaurant for lunch. 

In our defense, we had been walking for 3 hours and the the samples were tiny. I had gnocchi with Italian sausage sauce with some sauteed spinach. Greens are good for you. Once refreshed we headed back to all the stores to do some shopping. I'm not sure if it's good or bad that I have a car and can fit many purchases. 

Once back at the hotel I took a tiny nap, maybe 15 minutes and headed to the opening reception. I'm here to work after all and had to get some networking in and catch up with friends I see only once a year. 

There was food. And wine. I was pretty full so had just a morsel of appetizers to be polite and one glass of wine. And lots of Pellegrino, I was pretty thirsty after this full day of working.







All at the top of the hotel looking over the Charles River.



This may be a surprise, but I did not go out to dinner last night. I had a great lunch and picked up some proscuitto, cheese, roasted red peppers and Italian rolls for dinner. A picnic at the hotel. Perfect ending to the day.

Now it's on the the second day of conference. I need to get to breakfast, general session and then some classes. Should be a great day!

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What are we feeding our children?

Posted At : September 8, 2011 11:56 AM
Related Categories: Kid's cooking, ingredients, cooking

Yesterday when I tried to get out of bed, my back protested and refused to really move.  I wasn't expecting that, I haven't done anything to cause back issues.  With much protest, I did not go to Jazzercise and I did not wash wall paper glue off the bathroom walls.


I did some desk work and then decided to do some knitting.  When I knit I like to have something on the tv.  It doesn't have to be anything that I need to concentrate on since I have to follow a knitting pattern, but I like some talking. 

I have no idea what I was watching, but the commercials really bothered me.  They've actually been bothering me for a while now, I just had overload yesterday. 

I do not have children.  I do have pets. I love my pets, I take care of them, I feed them, they go to the vet.  I work with children a lot. I teach cooking classes for ages 3 and up and have for about 12 years. 

This is what advertisers want your pet to eat, it's a refrigerated pet food and here are the ingredients:

Fresh Chicken, Eggs, Chicken Liver, Chicken Broth, Carrots, Brown Rice, Peas, Rice Bran, Dried Kelp, Carrageenan, Natural Flavors, Salt, Inulin, Flaxseed Oil, Green Tea Extract.

This is what advertisers want your children to eat for breakfast:

Enriched Flour Bleached (Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Palm Oil, Sugar, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and Cottonseed Oil, Maltodextrin, Corn Starch, Modified Corn Starch, Dry Yeast, Salt, Dextrose, Whey, Blueberry Puree, Egg Yolk, Baking Powder (Baking Soda, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate), Corn Syrup Solids, Citric Acid, Mono and Diglycerides, Propylene Glycol Monoesters of Fatty Acids, Preservatives (Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, TBHQ), Xanthan Gum, Guar Gum, Polysorbate 60, Colored with (Red 40, Blue 1, Yellow 5, Artificial Color), Locust Bean Gum, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Soy Lecithin, Glycerin, Sucralose.

No, I don't know what most of the ingredients are in the toaster pastries. 


This is what advertisers would like you to feed your family for dinner.  I chose the chicken and rice flavor for the ingredients so you can refer back to the pet food list. There are 40, yes 40, flavors available. 

Enriched white rice ( rice, iron, niacin, thiamin, mononitrate, folic acid), hydrolyzed soy protein, natural and artificial flavor, peas, carrots, salt, red bell peppers, monosodium glutamate, sugar, color (caramel color, yellow 5&6, yellow lakes 5&6), partially hydrogenated soybean oil, spice, sesame oil, yeast extract, silicon dioxide (anticaking agent) and yes the vegetables are dried.  


Just add meat to the above and you have your family meal.  This is insane!  

And then there are the ads that mention if your child is not getting all of their nutritional needs met, they can drink this:

Water, Sugar (Sucrose), Corn Maltodextrin, Milk Protein Concentrate, High Oleic Safflower Oil, Soy Oil, Whey Protein Concentrate, Medium-Chain Triglycerides. Less than 0.5% of the Following: Soy Protein Isolate, Short-Chain Fructooligosaccharides, Natural & Artificial Flavors, Cellulose Gel, Magnesium Phosphate, Potassium Citrate, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Phosphate, Salt (Sodium Chloride), Cellulose Gum, Choline Chloride, Ascorbic Acid, Soy Lecithin, Monoglycerides, C. Cohnii Oil, m-Inositol, Potassium Hydroxide, Carrageenan, Taurine, Ferrous Sulfate, dl-Alpha-Tocopheryl Acetate, L-Carnitine, Zinc Sulfate, Calcium Pantothenate, Niacinamide, Manganese Sulfate, Thiamine Chloride Hydrochloride, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Cupric Sulfate, Vitamin A Palmitate, Folic Acid, Chromium Chloride, Biotin, Potassium Iodide, Sodium Selenate, Sodium Molybdate, Phylloquinone, Cyanocobalamin, and Vitamin D3.

That's the vanilla flavor.  

Can we just cook?  Not difficult meals but meals with real meat and vegetables and seasonings.  

I have to go now because this is a new school year and cooking club starts this afternoon with my middle school kids.  

We'll be cooking a quick, rollup dinner meal.  We're using pork tenderloin, onions, green peppers, cider vinegar, a touch of brown sugar and chili powder.   
 


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Holiday Cooking - Labor Day 2011

Posted At : September 6, 2011 11:16 AM
Related Categories: personal chef, ingredients, cooking, equipment
I happened to hear the weather forecast when menu planning last week, so decided to forget about the grill for Labor Day.  I planned so if it wasn't raining I could use the grill, but if rain, I could still have a good meal. 

It was raining when we got up and showed no signs of stopping.  It slowed or got heavy, luckily no tornadoes or wind, but the rain never stopped.  

No problem.  I pulled out my heavy, cast iron, Lodge skillet and grilled indoors.  A simple meal of tuna and zucchini with Penzey's Greek seasoning and smashed, tiny, Yukon Gold potatoes.  

I did the zucchini first, it's good at room temperature.  I brushed the grill with oil, let it get hot and on went the zucchini.  I do have a down draft and had that on high in case of smoke. 

The zucchini looks great and tasted great also. 





Once the zucchini slices were cooked, I put the tuna on.  I like my tuna pretty rare, my husband likes medium, so his went on first. 




The potatoes were smashed and dinner was excellent. 

I've been at my desk now for several hours and it's time to move.  I am ready for two potential client meetings this evening.  One for a cooking class, one for a family service.  Life is great! 

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Braised Summer Vegetables

Posted At : August 25, 2011 10:38 AM
Related Categories: cookbook, ingredients, cooking
This week and last week I did my menu planning using the cookbook One Big Table by Molly O'Neill.  It's a great book to read and so far the recipes have been good too.  Last week I was on a retro casserole kick - lasagna, chicken casserole.  This week I am craving vegetables and this book is perfect!

On Monday I made Late Summer Garden Braise.  I was going to have this only, it has lots of vegetables and is a perfect main dish, but I added some salmon so I would have leftover vegetables for my dinner on Tuesday.  So glad I did. 

There are a lot of vegetables but if you just relax and enjoy the prep the cooking is pretty quick.  I get everything washed, chopped, peeled, torn, before I start. The original recipe did not have a yellow bell pepper but there was one in the fridge that didn't go with any other meal planned. 











Things go into the skillet depending on time needed to get tender.  Potatoes in first. 





I just seared the salmon with some salt and pepper.  The vegetables had lots of flavor especially with the sprinkling of feta at the end. 





And yes, I had plenty of leftovers for my dinner Tuesday! 

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Sunday Summer Supper

Posted At : August 15, 2011 4:11 PM
Related Categories: ingredients, cooking
ow, I knew July flew by but I can't believe it is the middle of August.  Even though school has started in Georgia, the temperatures are still well in the summer range. 

My standard schedule is to menu plan on Friday and then shop on Sunday after church.  I keep it vague, just saying fish to grill and vegetable usually for Sunday in the summer.  Yesterday I had fish to grill and was going to try a zucchini cheddar mash recipe.  Change of plans at the farmer's market, no zucchini but gorgeous yellow summer squash.  

I thought I'd just make the recipe with the yellow squash.  When it came time to start dinner though that recipe seemed too heavy for the day.  There was beautiful fresh tuna at the store so I thought I'd just put all the food on the grill. 

My husband is not a big fan of squash, the cheese would have been no problem, but I asked if he thought he could eat and enjoy the squash on the grill.  He was fine with that idea since the squash would not be mush. 

I sliced the squash, tossed it in olive oil, salt and pepper and onto the grill it went.  Then the tuna went on (olive oil and some spicy seasoning) and things cooked for a short time.  The squash longer than the tuna.  We had a very delicious dinner with very little effort.  I love the grill! 



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Foodie Saturday

Posted At : June 12, 2011 10:57 AM
Related Categories: ingredients, restaurant
So glad I started the day with a 7:15 Jazzercise class because the rest of the day was filled with food.  After class it was home for breakfast and since I hadn't shopped for about 3 weeks, it was lucky we had eggs, bread, and juice.  We relaxed a little and then headed out. 

First stop was Le Cordon Bleu in Tucker to attend a class given by Ana Raquel Ruiz on plantains.  Ana grew up in Puerto Rico, loves plantains and was eager to share her love with us.  She talked about how the plantain got to Puerto Rico and then began the class by explaining how to peel the plantain.  



She explained the differences between ripe plantains and green plantains and then started cooking. 





We enjoyed a little plantain snack and continued our Saturday. Next stop was a quick one at The Cook's Warehouse in Ansley Mall to drop off my printed materials for kid's cooking camps.  The first one starts June 20th and binders need to be made.  I also picked up some Green Egg charcoal to be ready for grilling. 

Next stop was Murray's Cheese Shop almost next door to Ansley Mall.  It's in the Kroger store and Jill graciously toured us through the cheeses with samples galore.  We purchased more than enough cheese!

Next stop was a late lunch at Six Feet Under.  I was hungry for seafood and this also was close, only about 3 miles.  I carried the cheese in my purse so it wouldn't get too hot in the car.  I should just as a habit throw a cooler in the car on weekends. 

I had scallop tacos that were wonderful and a Basil Bash cocktail with lemon vodka, fresh basil, lime and soda water.  Very refreshing.  It was then time for home and a bit of a nap followed by some knitting.  A perfect Saturday!

Today I went to church and then finally to the grocery store but since we already had cheese, didn't need much more.  So nice to relax, see friends and enjoy a weekend. 

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Simple Meals

Posted At : April 19, 2011 9:05 AM
Related Categories: ingredients, cooking
Simple meals are sometimes the best kind.  You find fresh, delicious ingredients and enjoy a good old fashioned dinner.  Nothing better. 

I like planning a menu, well more than like, I need to plan a menu so I get everything I need.  Often I plan a day that just states "fresh green vegetable" and "small potatoes".  That helps me remember I need the ingredient, but I can decide what looks good at the store. 

In this case I knew I wanted to make roast chicken, I found a recipe in a new cookbook that was recommended by friends.  It's a simple roast chicken with fresh lemon, butter and capers under the skin.  I made the butter mixture, placed it gently under the skin, tied the legs and into the oven it went. 


With the flavorful roast chicken I needed some simple side dishes so decided on smashed red skin potatoes and fresh Georgia grown green beans.  Nothing fancy, just delicious. 



Smash the potatoes with a little butter and fresh chives from the garden.  Blanch the beans and add a little olive oil, salt and pepper.  That's it.  No recipes needed.  

Cooking doesn't have to be difficult with exotic ingredients.  Mix it up, choose simple, delicious meal.

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Saturday Pizzas

Posted At : March 6, 2011 12:46 PM
Related Categories: ingredients, cooking, menu planning
When I plan my personal menus for the week, I usually plan Sunday through Saturday.  I grocery shop usually Sunday after church so that takes me through the week.  This past week I just didn't do Saturday.  I have no idea why, but it was blank Friday when I glanced at the plan.  

I decided I probably had enough things in the refrigerator and pantry that I could make pizza and that we could try using The Big Green Egg.  Pizza was an excellent plan but I didn't look at the weather forecast and yesterday was a rainy, cold, windy day.  Not a day that I was going to man the Egg. 

I found the pizza dough recipe on the King Arthur flour website.  Since I hadn't planned, I used the "Easiest Pizza You'll Ever Make" recipe.  I made the dough, covered it to rise and found something else to do for 2 hours.  I was thinking about toppings. 

Foraging in the refrigerator I found one sauteed chicken breast, some arugula, Asiago cheese with rosemary, Italian blend cheese, cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, leftover lemon cream white sauce, one parboiled russet potato and fresh rosemary. In the pantry I found salsa verde, salsa, black beans, and canned tomatoes. 

I decided to make 2 different pizzas and hope one was good.  The first one I spread with salsa verde, then shredded some chicken, sprinkled with black beans, a little cheddar, a little mozzarella.  Looked good.  Tossed it in the oven and 15 minutes later had a beautiful pizza. 



While the first pizza was baking I made the second.  I spread on the lemon white sauce, then thinly sliced potatoes, chopped fresh rosemary, shredded chicken (it was a big piece) some Asiago and a little Italian blend cheese.  Once the first was out the second went in.  We tasted the Mexican pizza and it was great! 

The second came out and it looked good.  Of course we saved room for a taste of it.  It was delicious!  We need to have pizza more often!  It's a great way to clean out the refrigerator. 



So now there is leftover pizza in the refrigerator and 2 balls of dough in the freezer.  Not bad for a blank Saturday menu.  

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Great Week of Cooking

Posted At : January 22, 2011 9:01 AM
Related Categories: Kid's cooking, personal chef, ingredients, cooking, cooking class, menu
I finally got back to a more normal week for me.  My weeks are not totally normal ever, but this was close for me.  

I made it to Jazzercise three times this week and I feel great.  Yes, after being gone for about 2 months I am pretty sore but that tells me that I'm working the right muscles.  I have to get some energy out.  

Monday I did the least favorite task of owning my own business.  I had to write out quarterly checks for federal and state taxes.  I know I always paid them but someone took the money out before I saw it.  Now I have to take the money out and see it.  I am happy that I actually have to write checks, it means I am making money.  Or that's what I told myself while writing the checks.  

Monday we had Buffalo Chicken Casserole and Applesauce from the freezer.  It heated up well, I wasn't sure when I saved it but it was good.  My husband had a wood working meeting that was rescheduled from snow week.  

Tuesday was leftovers for me, I had meatloaf and mashed potatoes.  Delicious!  Wednesday I cooked for a personal chef customer and we had a class that night so I needed something easy.  I had chicken soup in the freezer and that was a perfect meal.  With some flaxseed crackers. 

Thursday afternoon I volunteered to teach a cooking class at Cross Keys High School for 25 senior high school girls that attend a program run by Athena's Warehouse.  They are participating in a series of life skills classes, they can get prom dresses and I think even a grant.  

We made 2 quick and inexpensive meals in the French teacher's classroom.  I can cook pretty much anywhere!  The girls asked about my job and loved the food.  So much fun for me.  When I got home we did go out for Mexican food and relaxed a little. It was a nice evening. 

Yesterday afternoon I had a meeting with a new customer.  She has some food requirements - diabetes, weight loss, lactose intolerant and of course the food should be tasty.  We came up with a menu and I'm cooking for her in February. 

Last night I decided I needed to use the package of Curry Simple I had in the pantry.  Check them out at www.currysimple.com.  I used shrimp from the freezer, onion, red bell pepper, broccoli,green onions and rice.  Very good meal.  Very easy!  We also had birthday cake for my husband.  I had to buy it, ran out of time this week for baking. 

Today I am off to the Mall of Georgia to do some work for KitchenAid.  I'm trying a new recipe tonight from Cooking Light - Buffalo Chicken.  

Good week and ready for a good weekend! 

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Blueberry Buckle

Posted At : August 14, 2010 9:16 AM
Related Categories: personal chef, ingredients, cooking, recipe, menu planning
I had a good week.  I cooked for clients, I knit about 2 rows, laundry is in control, I cooked dinner for us a couple times and I sat down and made a menu and grocery list yesterday for us.

I so prefer having a plan for our meals.  We did okay this week, I didn't even go to the grocery store for us this past week let alone have a menu plan.  The freezer comes to the rescue though.  We had spaghetti one night and salmon one night.  We did go out one night and foraged the other two days.

Tonight is pizza since I have some sauce, sausage and cheese to use up from my Thursday client cook day.  I'll just make a crust and we'll be ready to go.  I'm going to the store for our groceries today since my husband is having a friend over to build a table for the friend's Big Green Egg and I'll pick up salad stuff.

Yesterday I was looking in the refrigerator to see if I needed to toss anything and saw the two containers of blueberries that I hadn't eaten on cereal during the week.  I hate to waste, so I looked for a recipe and found Blueberry Buckle from Alton Brown.  Very good and I used my blueberries!

Blueberry Buckle from Alton Brown 2007

For the cake
  • Nonstick cooking spray
  • 9 ounces cake flour, approximately 2 cups
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 2 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 5 1/4 ounces sugar, approximately 3/4 cup
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 15 ounces fresh whole blueberries, approximately 3 cups

For the topping:

  • 3 1/2 ounces sugar, approximately 1/2 cup
  • 1 1/2 ounces cake flour, approximately 1/3 cup
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
  • 2 ounces unsalted butter, chilled and cubed

For the cake:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Spray a 9 by 9-inch glass baking dish with nonstick spray and set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and ground ginger. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, approximately 1 minute. Add the egg and beat until well incorporated, approximately 30 seconds. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and beat on low speed just until incorporated and then add 1/3 of the milk and beat until incorporated. Repeat, alternating flour and milk until everything has combined. Gently stir in the blueberries and pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.

For the topping:

In a small bowl combine the sugar, flour and nutmeg. Add the butter and work into the dry ingredients using a fork to combine. Continue until the mixture has a crumb-like texture. Sprinkle the mixture on top of the cake. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 35 minutes or until golden in color. Cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.






I'm going to get groceries now and then I'll come home and relax.  It is grey here today so I think it is time to knit!

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