Hmph!

So lately things have been terribly hectic and tight financially. I have been picking up five and ten dollar Christmas gifts for a few weeks now because I know that this will not change come December and the gift-giving season. Everything is balanced so precariously on “maybe next payday” that I could scream, and what do I happen to see while trying to watch the latest Castle episode on HULU, but a commercial from the post office talking about how someone’s aunt went “off list”.

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!?!?!?!?! OFF-LIST?!?!?!?! Like the type of present or amount of presents is actually a serious problem these days? Shouldn’t we all just be grateful and happy that someone even thought of us. Someone cared enough to get you a present, even though most of the country is living pay check to pay check. UGH! This is seriously one of my BIGGEST pet peeves. I mean I like a great gift just as much as the next person, though I do like giving more than receiving, but sure, I’d love to get a new Chef’s Knife or a kiln, hell a new pot and pan set sounds amazing, but I’m not expecting them and I’m certainly not going to get upset if I don’t get anything like that. I know that money is tight, I’ve gone years without presents before, some hurt more than others depending on the reason, but I didn’t die because I didn’t get that beautiful bracelet I had seen at the jewelry store that I sometimes stop at to admire the shiny pretties, or the ravioli cutter than I would in all honesty use maybe twice before it started collecting dust and I just cut them by hand again. I guess I just don’t understand all of the hype about getting the “perfect gift” or the “right gift”.

A few years ago, I bought my Mother-In-Law a pretty angel candle holder thing. I found it sweet and nice and it was something that I thought she would like. Turns out she hated it and left it at my house. I still don’t understand. It seems she was hurt that I didn’t know her tastes very well, and felt that I had not put the correct amount of thought into a gift for her. I agonized over what to get her for days before I finally picked up that stupid angel. When I saw it, it had actually reminded me of a memory that I had held special between the two of us, which to be perfect honest there were not many of. Turns out she didn’t even remember.

Is there a rule book somewhere about what to give who? I mean seriously! The holiday season has gotten to be more about the gifts than the actual reason for them. People have become so jaded why don’t we just send the money back and forth. To be perfectly frank I’m sure the money would come in more handy than a new toy or gadget that will be useless in four months. At least that I could use to pay rent or buy groceries.

Now I understand that there are still some folks out there that believe in the Christian Christmas traditions, I however am not one of them. Though I do wish you the very best. I have nothing against your religion or how you perceive the holiday season. My rant has nothing to do with religion what so ever, but then again, even if I did bring religion in to it, wouldn’t it just help make my point?

I guess all I am trying to say, is that the holidays are not about what you get or how much you get. Its about who you spend it with, who you’re thinking about, and who is thinking about you. So gather your loved ones together, both family and friends alike and sit down at the table and enjoy a meal. Talk, laugh, and love one another. Bring the holidays back to where they should be.

 

 

Every lesson I learned as a kid was at the dinner table. Being Greek, Sicilian and Ruthenian – we are an emotional bunch. It is where we laughed, cried and yelled – but most importantly, where we bonded and connected.

Michael Symon

Two Years, Fears, and lots of Tears

Wow, I don’t even know what happened. I don’t know why I thought about this blog tonight, there is certainly a lot on my mind, and this just kind of snuck in there.  I ca’t believe its been over two years since my last entry. I guess Life just got in my way. So much has happened I’m not sure where to start… I guess I’ll start with later in 2013… just to catch you up to speed.

Gramma passed away just a few days after my last post. She is sorely missed and I think about her often. I was watching re-runs of the Addams Family on HULU just the other day and I commented on how much Morticia Addams looks like a young version of Gramma. I still read her recipes and hear her voice telling a story about how she came up with that particular version. I miss you Gramma, its been two years and I still sometimes grab my phone thinking I can call you for advice about food, or raising children, or just to ask how you are doing. I love you.

The Husband came home from deployment I believe in October (maybe November… this is unclear in my mind) and things were rocky between us, but we thought we would try to get through it. In December I graduated with my Associates degree in Culinary Arts. I’m very proud of this. We also bought a house together. After the new year I started looking for a job, but was worried about Daughter staying home alone so much after school. This caused even more fights with Husband and on March 12th, 2013, he told me he wanted a divorce. We were in the marriage counselors office and he told me that he didn’t want to try anymore. He didn’t want to be less selfish, he didn’t find me attractive anymore and that he was no longer in love with me. I felt shattered and lost. I had given him so much. Looking back on it now I feel that it was time. I was holding him back from the life he wanted and he resented me. People around me even resented me. I had recently lost most of my friends in rather well timed coup and I was kind of a miserable person.

I left the marriage counselors office and could barely drive home for the tears falling like a waterfall from my eyes. I called two people, my best friend whom we will call “Fantastic!” (she knows why and that’s all that matters) and Granpa who told me to come home. Fantastic came over to the house that night and helped me pack, I was useless. Sobbing over a man who didn’t want me, resented me, and wished he hadn’t married me. That night I slept on the couch, not wanting to smell his particular scent on the sheets and pillows.

The next day I loaded up Daughter, and Dog into the car and by the afternoon we were in a different state. The next evening we were “home” and I was sleeping alone in a bed I had never thought to sleep alone in. I missed him terribly those first few months. We were supposed to just be taking a break, but the break turned in to “I have a new girlfriend and she is pregnant with my son, I love her.” My world again went up in smoke.

Then he took Daughter for the summer and decided he didn’t need to bring her back and kept her for six months. Had his family serve me with divorce papers, which they did at my work in front of guests… I lost my job.

This was a huge turning point for me, I had lost my marriage, my daughter, and the first job that made me feel something in a long time. That was it. I was done trying to pick myself back up, Karma wanted to hit me again and again when I’m down and out? FINE! WHO CARES!? I’m not getting back up EVER AGAIN! I went into a huge depression. I cried a lot of the time, it didn’t help that the man I was dating at the time went upstate to help out his parents. He was a good man, and I’m not saying any of this was his fault. His family is darling and they hold a special albeit small portion of my heart the way that they welcomed me into their home for a weekend visit November of 2014. But in all honestly, he never had my full attention. I was too absorbed in my misery to really give him what was his due. I was selfish and wanted too much from him who was also just getting out of a long term relationship. We lasted about six months, he even took a trip with me to pick up Daughter from her Father’s, though I feel we would have been a much shorter relationship if he had been closer. My Granpa would have made sure, and if he didn’t my depression would have.

I tried dating for a couple months here and there, turns out Granpa wasn’t all that I thought he was and things got bad there too. He ran off at least two boyfriends and tried to go after a third before I finally left, after finding a few things no one should ever have to see. I had again put my trust in the wrong person, but it gave me the kick that I needed to jump out of the frying pan and almost literally into the fire. Daughter and I Moved in with Handsome in April of 2015. Still couldn’t find a job in the town we were in and it turns out he was having the same problem.

A little background for Handsome and I. We went to High School together too. I was friends with him before I ever met (now EX) Husband. I used to study the math for the next day of class so that I could help Handsome with it. Turns out a few years later we wound up going to the same Culinary School, just different branches. I was in Denver and he was in L.A. Now here we were both graduates (though he got the bachelors and never lets me forget it) with no place to put our skills to good use.

He had a friend from college call him one day with a Sous Chef position in NorCal. We talked about it and less than three weeks after the phone call Daughter was with Grandmother and Handsome and I were on the 5 to NorCal. I managed to find three jobs in two days and Handsome landed a cook position instead of the Sous, “This guy has more experience” they told him.

June 11th, 2015 we officially moved to Norcal and were once again employed. I started on the 19th of June at a brand new 2nd edition (They have another branch in another town) BBQ Joint, I’m still there, going on my sixth month of slinging burgers and sandwiches and loving almost every second of it. Handsome is tired yet employed at a high end steakhouse, currently doing their daily prep. Daughter is back with me and goes to an amazing school. Dog had to find a new home. I miss him terribly and still love him so much. I was having friends watch him, but they decided it was too much for them to handle and me having no other options they found him a good home. I still have trouble talking to those “friends” but I am sure I will eventually get over it. Dog seems to be happy and very well loved and honestly that is all that I can ask for, though I cry every time I see a picture of him. Maybe one day I can get another, but for now I can barely make ends meet as it is. While I may love and adore my job I do NOT love and adore my pay.

So there it is, the last two messy, bloody, tearful years. Right now I am sitting on the couch in the living room studiously typing while Handsome snores on the air mattress that we sleep on Sunday through Thursday so that Daughter can get good uninterrupted sleep for school. I know he hates it, but he loves us both so much that he handles it fairly well. He loves when we get the real bed in the room upstairs on Friday and Saturday nights. Most of the time he is asleep before his head even settles on the pillow. We live in a three bedroom house, but we have roommates. so when Daughter came home from the summer vacation, we had to get creative. We have hopes of getting our own place early next year, when we get our tax refunds. Maybe sooner if I get to go back to school.

OH!! There’s another thing!! I am planning on getting an associates degree in Alternative Medicine with a Specialization in Herbalism! If all goes well I will start classes in January! I’m very excited about this venture. Its one of those things I have been researching for a very long time and I think, paired with my culinary arts degree I can come up with a very interesting restaurant. I already have some plans, but as time progresses I am sure that more plans will come.

This entry has been rather therapeutic this morning. I think I might try to make more of an effort to continue with entries again. Even if there’s no one out there reading this, it helps to get it all out.

 

You have to balance, but you can be aggressive as a chef. It benefits the food. You have to be passionate. You can’t be angry cooking.
Marcus Samuelsson

New Things, Midterms, and Emotions!

I tried a new dish the other day, I took fresh cherries tomatoes, fresh basil, parmesan, some onion and garlic and seasonings. I put all of this in a pot with some chicken and stock and let it simmer. When it was almost done I added some pasta, but not the long noodles. It came out so beautifully. The flavors reminded me of spaghetti, but it had chicken instead of meatballs. It was amazing, and I made everything in one pot! I will most definitely be making more of these types of dishes in the future, not only are the flavors allowed to marry, but they make it so amazingly easy to make a quick dinner with a little amount of fuss!

Speaking of fuss, midterms are coming up this week and honestly there is only one class that I have a real midterm in, but it is certainly a killer. My introduction to baking and pastry class has a new instructor and I believe that she is trying to prove herself to the other instructors and the administration. The only problem is she gives the class a LOT of busy work that frankly, most of us don’t have time to finish. There are vocabulary words, journals, recipe cards, and something she calls NTR cards. The NTR cards are a great idea and I totally support the idea and will be following through with this idea later in my career, and I can understand the need to start them now, but honestly those on top of everything else is very stressful. I just can’t find the time with all of the other classes that require homework as well as the other things that require my attention with Husband being deployed and Daughter needing my time. Some of the stress will be alleviated soon though as Daughter goes back to school, but will start right back up again next quarter as I will have to be in class five days a week. This is going to be so tiring but it is the last leg of my culinary school journey, so I am extremely excited. I may go back to finish my bachelors, but not for a little while. I want to work in a kitchen for a while first.

Now for emotions… There is something that I have been keeping close to my heart and I suddenly feel the need to get it off my chest. My counselor told me that I should write about it so here I am. I’m sorry that I’m doing it in such a public way, but this is where I can write without fear of backlash, mostly because no one knows who I am, and I could care less what strangers think of me, so here it goes…
The strongest woman I have ever known, the one who showed me what it was to be strong for one’s family, my Gramma, is dying. As I write this I know that it could possibly be only hours until she has flown from this world to be with her Daddy. I have started to think of time lost and stories I’ve never heard. Foods that I have never made for her, or recipes we’ve never discussed. I’m happy to remember the times that we sat and talked about her adventures across the country with her Daddy and the adventures that she had with cooking and family. I go through her recipes and wonder when or why she would have made this or that and I cry, realizing that she won’t be around when I make them, telling me what I could have done right or wrong to make them better, or giving me her cooking secrets, ways she cut corners just a little to stretch her ingredients so that there would be enough for everyone. She will soon be on her way to her next adventure, but she will be sorely missed by those of us still learning in this one. I love you Gramma, you are already missed. May your adventures continue in another time and place. Thank you for being a part of my life, and reminding me that life is more short than long, and that I should take every chance I get to spend time with my Daughter and teach her all I can.

NO ONE WHO COOKS, COOKS ALONE. EVEN AT HER MOST SOLITARY, A COOK IN THE KITCHEN IS SURROUNDED BY GENERATIONS OF COOKS PAST, AND ADVICE AND MENUS OF COOKS PRESENT

—Laurie Colwin

Ghosts, Bacon, and Breakfast.

Recently I decided that going to gym is a good idea. I’ve been going twice a week when I can and starting slowly so that I don’t hurt myself or die. I am starting to feel really good about myself, but I can’t figure out why I’m always so tired. Shouldn’t working out make you feel energized? I am drinking lots of water and eating lots of fruits and vegetables, I even take Flintstones vitamins everyday. (Yes I realize that I am an adult, and I realize that those vitamins are for children, but I can’t take the one a day vitamins and I refuse to take 20 pills a day just to get everything that my body needs to stay healthy, so Flintstones it is! Besides they taste much better than adult vitamins :P) If you have any suggestions about being so tired all of the time please feel free to comment with your suggestions and ideas!!

Well anyway the other day I went to the gym before school, my plan was to shower at the gym and go straight to school. I go to take a shower and realize that I have forgotten a vital part of my undergarments. So I pack everything up and head home. I get home find the missing undergarment, hop in the shower and get dressed. So far so good I’m still on schedule to leave and get to school on time without having to speed like a madwoman to get there. I grab my bag with the rest of my uniform and head out the door. I get just outside the door and reach for my keys… Oh damn I must have left them in side, I try the door and it locked behind me… Oh great! I then have to dig out the back yard gate from the things that we have blocking it and run up the back stairs. I wiggle open the sliding glass door, thanking myself that I forgot to lock it before I left and run through the house (unlocking the front door as I run out) to make sure that the gate again gets reburied. Then I run back into the house in search of my keys. So far I’m still doing ok time wise, but I’m getting close to making myself late. I check the place beside the door where my keys should hang and they’re not there. I run down stairs check my room, check the bathroom, run upstairs check the kitchen, the living room. Nothing!!! I run outside again and check my bag, still nothing! Just for kicks I check the car, even though I KNOW that I couldn’t have gotten inside the house without them. Nothing! I then calmly walk back into the house and turn my head to the right… where my keys should have been hanging… and what do you know? There they are!!! I couldn’t believe it! I had checked there already, at least twice, and I know they hadn’t been there before. My only conclusion is our Ghost Steve is back home and knows how important it is for me to get to school. Thanks Steve!! I get to school on time with no worries and I didn’t even have to speed (all that much lol)

The next day I get home from school to pick up Daughter at the babysitter’s house. Things are going pretty well, but I’m exhausted. Daughter had already had dinner which helps me so much. We get home and I start thinking about what I want for dinner. lord knows we have things in the house to eat. So I decide that a BLT sounds amazing! Daughter is nine and wants to help so much so she pipes up with “I’ll make it!” Which helps me out tons because I can get a head start on all of the homework that I have due. I get started on my vocabulary words and she gets started making me a sammich, about half a hour later I here a sheet pan hit the floor and she starts crying. Oh dear… I go into the kitchen and see that the pan was indeed the bacon from the oven and the crying is because she burnt a finger on that pan when pulling it from the oven. *Sigh* the pan was upside down on the floor thus the bacon was ruined. I cleaned up the bacon and the floor, had her run her finger under warm water to ensure there was no blister and sent her to bed. I wound up having leftover chicken from the fridge. Sent the kiddo to bed and gave up on the homework. Decided I was going to veg out and just relax after the hard week I’ve had. Went to bed at 11 and I was so tired I didn’t get up until late the next day. I was going to go to the gym that day but the sitter’s baby girl was sick. Think I might go anyway, just to keep my routine going.

I did wake up the next day to breakfast being made by Daughter, I got bacon (So happy she didn’t get scared from the last time she tried to make it) and scrambled eggs and even French toast! I have taught my daughter well!! lol So proud of her and the good job she did making breakfast for me. It made me feel so loved 😀

Almost a year and Almost done!

Holy Moo Cow!! I did not realize it had been so long since I had posted anything and I feel terrible! Everything has just been so hectic and out of whack! So we’ll start from the beginning…

October – Started taking lab classes (Those are the ones you actually cook in!) and had a blast! I was the first person to get cut in my first lab class ever, but it broke the ice and we all had a nice laugh about it. I loved that class and the instructor was amazing! I was also taking Concepts and Speech. All of those classes I passed with flying colors and had so much fun! I really enjoyed the instructors and it paved the way for me to continue in my lab classes. I also passed my ServeSafe Exam which means I can hoist my foods on an unsuspecting public lol

November- The hubby came back from training and things went back to normal for a while. We were getting ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas. We were supposed to have a LOT of people come for Thanksgiving, but alas no one showed so we had this huge turkey and stuff, wound up only cookin the turkey to get it out of the frige.

December- This is where I passed those classes I was talking about and then we had Christmas, our Anniversary, New Years. For our anniversary the hubby gave me the most thoughtful gift. He and I are pretty big gamers (or we were until WoW brought in Panderia, then we got sad and rage quit.. still looking for an MMO that we an both enjoy, so far the search is at a standstill cause I’m always busy with no time for play) and he went out and bought me a couple of knives and had them engraved. It was the most beautiful and thoughtful gift he has ever given me. I cried lol Big sopping wet tears rolling down my cheeks as I read the engravings. God I love that man. Christmas was fun and a wonderful time spent with my little family.

January- My birthday… we didn’t do much. Just spent some time together. I started new classes, Latin Cuisine, American Regional Cuisine, and Basic Math (cause I suck at math). Interesting lab classes and math is just math lol but I love the instructor. He was pretty awesome.

February- I hated this month. This is the month that hubby deployed. Have no fear he is safe, but still not home where I can stuff him full of good eats and cuddle. I miss him.

March – Also not a great month, We lost hubby’s Great Grandmother. She decided she was done and wanted to go home so she went. My own Grandmother had a couple of strokes and is still in the hospital. Things are not looking good. AT ALL… I passed the classes I had been taking but the joy wasn’t there.

April – Little one’s birthday, I made sure she had a great day, I surprised her by coming home from school early and she and I made her favorite dinner together. Started new classes this month, Food and Beverage Operations Management, Asian Cuisine, and Garde Manger.

May- This month was horribly hectic I couldn’t even think straight. I got a job at Hilton Garden Inn. Everything was going pretty good, just hectic.

June- Finished those classes, Got the stomach flu for a whole week, it was horrible. Got better and the following week got it a little again. Still passed the classes I was taking and was doing fairly well at the Inn but then they didn’t put me on the schedule for two weeks.

July- and here we are! The hotel still hasn’t put me on the schedule, I have no idea what’s going on, I thought I was doing really well and getting faster in the kitchen. Guess I was wrong since I haven’t been on the schedule for three weeks. My Grandmother is not doing well at all, it does not look like things are going to pick up either. I applied for a job at a café and they never called me back after the demonstration interview. Guess I wasn’t up to par. Makes me sad, but I’m going to have to wait to continue looking until the hubby gets home, childcare is just too expensive. I started new classes this month, Baking and Pastry Techniques, College Algebra, European Cuisine, and World Cuisine. Yes you read that right… four classes this quarter! As long as I pass them all I will only have three classes left and I will graduate with an Associates in the Culinary Arts! I’m pretty excited, but its been a loooong hard road and I know that its just getting harder. The hubby will come home eventually and I will find a job that will show me patience while I learn what I need to learn to succeed. I’m going to have our Grandmothers smiling down on me while I walk that graduation line and accept my degree. Through all of this I have to thank my wonderful family and friends for all of their pushing and support. They know that I can do this and have been pushing me to do this for a very long time. I will not let them or myself down, I have less than 6 months until I walk that graduation Aisle and I am not backing down now. I am going to make this happen or die trying!

Cuts, papers, and paper cuts!

Hello to those in the universe! I know I know it has been WAY too long and you have missed my updates terribly! It’s ok I know it’s been hard, but I am here now to give you that which you most desire… an update about ME! What do you mean you don’t live for these updates? They don’t make your day? Well damn! I was so hopeful! 🙂 Well you’re going to see it anyway! That doesn’t mean you have to read it, but you have at least seen it if you have read to this part. Gotchya! Nanner, Nanner, Nanner!!!

So I have started in the kitchen! I am driving from Colorado Springs to Denver three times a week! The drive is hell and I’m always tired, but the classes are worth it! I love what I am doing! It is seriously taking some getting used to , but I am working through it! I have found a wonderful lady to watch the daughter and the husband has been mostly supportive of everything. He has his moments but I love him! I am taking three classes this quarter, Speech, Concepts and Theories of Culinary Techniques, and Fundamantals of Culinary Techniques. Speech is ok, but scary! We had to give a demonstration speech, I did mine on how to make a chalkboard! It was ok, rather scary but I got through it. I’m worried my grade is low for it though. I’m trying really hard to keep my “DEAN’S HONOR ROLL” status!

My Concepts and Theories class is awesome, it’s where we talk about what we are going to do in the Fundamentals class that week and Fundamentals is where we actually DO what we talked about! Fundamentals is my favorite! I got cut the first day, but its all good, I’m having so much fun!

We made stock the FIRST day of class!! It smelled soooo good!! Then this week I made mayonnaise! By HAND!! I also made Hollandaise! By Hand! It was awesome! Even though my wrist and arm feel like they were the ones beaten as opposed to the eggs. I also made Espgnole the other day. I tried to turn it in to Demi-Glace yesterday but it took too long to get to it. I was stuck washing dishes for what felt like hours, but was probably only an hour and a half. There were a lot of what e call “Drive by’s” yesterday, where people just dropped their dishes and ran. I was just trying to clean up after the stock that my tables strained.

Homework is burying me. I feel like I have paper cuts all over my hands from all of the papers I have to write. I have to look up Vocab words and handwrite them, no typing, then I have to read the chapter and do the review questions for those chapters, then I have to take a class that isn’t even a class. It’s called Serve Safe and this way I get my license to actually work in the culinary field! It is all online and is actually a Sub Class for my Concepts and Theories class. So i guess technically I am in four classes, but it only counts as three. Weird…

Anyway then I have recipe cards to write out and laminate, journals to write for class, notes to re-write and organize, papers for speech to type up and get ready to print, theres just so much to do! I’m really enjoying it though, it is nice to be busy doing something for you instead of everyone else.  This is how I’m going to succeed, so getting buried in homework is alright in my book!

I’m sure there is lots more to talk about, but I am tired and as you have seen, completely BURIED in homework. I have about 1/4 of my homework due next week done, but NONE of the homework that is due on Monday completed. I have to get BUSY!! Have fun everyone!!

 

Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside. ― Mark Twain

Vroooommmmm! BEEP BEEP!!

Hello to the internet universe! I know I know, it has yet again been weeks since I have updated anyone on anything. So much has been happening, it feels like I hardly have time to take a breath and yet there is so little to talk about I feel it is a waste to keep saying the same thing eat time! The Career developement and the Ethics classes I was taking have ended with an A and a B+ respectively. Ethics kicked my butt because the instructor wanted us to think in a different mind-set than we actually do and that is something that is hard for me, but I passed :). This term I am taking Management by Menu and Western Civilizations to 1600. They seem to be rather interesting so far. This is only the start of the second week for each so we will see how they go. Next term I finally start commuting to Denver three times a week. I’m going to be taking three classes, but one of those classes is twice in one week. I’ll finally be able to start wearing my uniform! Chef coat here I come! 😀

To be able to start commuting we needed to get me a car that would actually make it the 75 miles both ways three times a week. Something that hopefully won’t let us down or cost too much money to maintain. We found a great deal on a mint green 2010 Ford Focus! She is adorable and until I find out what her personality is her name is Mint. I really love her! She even has air conditioning and a heater!! I love my new car!

Husband and Daughter are doing well. He finally got promoted this month. Something that should have happened many years ago. He loves and hates it. Everyone higher than he is has started comign to him to get things done because the others at his level are not what they should be and never o what they are asked. He is so reliable that he is getting swamped, poor man. He is doing very well under the pressure though, I am so proud of him! Daughter just started third grade, she loves and hates it. Since she is in the GT program she is doing from third through fifth grade work depending on the subject. I think her teacher is pleasantly surprised that she has a high school reading and comprehension level, but I could be wrong. I can see how it would be difficult to keep a student like that interested in work, especially when the work won’t be interesting or challenging. I have no fear though that this teacher is going to have too much trouble. She seems like an awesome teacher.

Husband’s gluten has become even more of a challenge lately. We have had to eat out twice in the last two weeks because of late night car deals and Daughter’s back to school night. (Why do they always schedule things like that during dinner hours? Is it a conspiracy between the schools and the restaurants in the area?) It is actually very difficult to find gluten-free items in restaurants. Unless he gets a salad with no dressings. We were able to find him something he could eat at the mexican place down the street though.

A few weeks ago we picked up a bag of corn meal to spread around the yard to kill the ants that we have. We were told that they were not able to digest it and so it would kill off the colony. Well when that didn’t work we still had this bag of corn meal in the house and had no idea what to do with it. One day I decided that we needed to work with it somehow and decided that I was going to try to make corn dogs and I was going to have Husband help me. Now we don’t eat hot dogs in our house, but we eat bratwurst. The first batch was alright, not the greatest, but edible. The second batch was much better because Husband finally listened to me about putting sugar in the batter. They were so delicious! I even had popsicle sticks in my craft room that we stuck in the brats to be able to hold them better. I was so happy that I only got burned once on my fingertips trying to hold the corn brat in the oil instead of letting it sink to the bottom. If they sank the batter on them would flatten out! They were toally worth it though!

I think that is everything for now, its REALLY late and I should have been in bed hours ago, just had to make sure I got an assignment in. Goodnight all!!

 

“The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude.”  Julia Child

Holy MOO!!!

It’s been WEEKS and I am so sorry that I haven’t updated all of you about what is going on! There have been so many things and yet so few things that I haven’t had the time. Husband was on vacation for about three weeks and we did so much and yet not really anything at all. We played games and had some family time, but that’s about it. Today he had eye surgery to get rid of his glasses. I’m going to miss those glasses, I fell in love with him while he had those glasses, but now that I wear glasses of my own I can see why he wouldn’t want them anymore. I’m still going to miss them.

We also recently found out that Husband has a Gluten allergy. We are still trying to figure this out. I made Chicken Crock-Pot tacos the other day and used fried white corn tortillas instead of the flour tortillas we used to use. They were actually really good. It made me so happy to see him be able to eat one of his old favorites without getting sick. I am working on transitioning my other recipes so that he can still enjoy them without the horrible illnesses that come with them, like my fried chicken strips. I use regular everyday flour and since it is made with Wheat he can’t have them. One things I have noticed is that if you go from having regular everyday fattening brownies you cannot then move over to gluten-free brownies. The taste leaves something to be desired. They tasted more like burnt powder than chocolate brownies. After taking a bite or two we actually had to throw them out. We are still searching for really good gluten-free foods though. The pancake mix that we tried was delicious and we add chocolate chips to the batter because that is the way Husband likes them, but every once in a while I would love a plain old waffle that I can actually have syrup with because chocolate and maple syrup and not my idea of a tasty treat.

Daughter is being a pain lately, but I think it’s because we are making her do school work over the summer to keep her brain working and school is going to start soon. We are having her do a math worksheet everyday and a book report once a week. Not too hard but you’d think we were forcing her to learn physics at age 8 the way she carries on lol. She is still beautiful and the light in my days though.

I have finished the first Quarter of Culinary School. It wasn’t easy but I got through it, and not I am in my second quarter. There are two sessions to this quarter and this first session I am taking Sustainable Purchasing and Control and Introduction to Ethics. I was worried about Purchasing because it is all math, but I am actually doing very well. I’m really pleased at my progress. Ethics on the other hand is a lot of monotonous reading and that makes it difficult to hold my attention. I’m doing alright, but not as good as I could be doing. I have to read each chapter two and three times just to be sure that I understand the material. I can do this though, no worries.

This year we have decided that in order to save money on Christmas we are going to make all of the gifts that we give to each other and other people. I have already started on the gifts for Husband and Daughter. I would tell you what I am making for Husband but since he (rarely) reads this blog of mine I can’t, but Daughter’s gifts are adorable. I took some of my frames and I wrapped them in fabric, then I sewed beads onto the fabric to make words like “Believe”, “Create”, and “Dream”. Then of course there are ribbons and bows and just cute things. I also made her a HUGE pillow out of some soft fuzzy fabric and pillow fluff. I don’t know what else I’m going to make her, so any ideas would be great! I have a lot of crafting supplies so don’t hesitate because you think I won’t have something your idea requires. Please remember she is 8 so things like paper bag puppets are a little young for her. Thanks in advance!

One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.  ~Luciano
Pavarotti and William Wright, Pavarotti, My Own Story

Some time to rest, more time to think…

Hello to the internet universe! Just a quit stop to keep you up to date. The school quarter had ended and now I am waiting for the next to begin. I passed both of my classes, one with an A (thats the management course) and one with a B (nutrition). Most of my problem in Nutrition I believe was the math, I haven’t taken a math course in at least ten years, and most everything I learned back then went out the window a LONG time ago lol. Either way I passed, and that is what is important. My next classes are Purchasing and Western Civ. These are going to be eleven weeks long as opposed to the 5 1/2 weeks my last classes were. Makes for much less stress I hope.

We recently found out that my husband has a Gluton allergy. I have found that this is not the easiest allergy to cook for. Still in the learning stage, we found that breads make him sick, Gatorade makes him sick, noodles, barley, crackers, chips, all of these thigns make him sick. The poor man has lost so much weight. He can’t even eat Tortillas! Anything that has wheat or barley in it and maybe a few other things as well. I have loads of research that I printed out to read and I’m learning more as I go, but so far we have had at least three days without making him sick! I’m so proud! If you have any recipes for gluten free, please post them in the comments! It would help so much!

For now I am off to do the many other things that require my attention, so much to do so little time lol have a good one!

 

“If more of us valued food and cheer above hoarded gold, it would be a much merrier world.”  ―    J. R. R. Tolkien

Goodbyes, Discussions, and StReSs…

Hello to the internet world! It has been a couple of weeks since I have updated you all. Not much is different and yet so much has changed.

I would first like to say Goodbye to a wonderful girl. Her name is Heather Sullivan and she passed away the first day of June 2012. Heather is my best friend’s sister, and while I only met her once she was a nice person and loved her family dearly. You will be missed Heather.

My first set of classes are almost over and I have yet to lose my “A” in either class. I could be doing better in Nutrition, but some of it I just don’t understand that well, I keep going over and over the material and it just looks like math to me. Maybe when I take my math classes I’ll understand more. I can only hope.

My Management and Supervision and Career Developement class is going wonderfully. I think I may have surprised my Instructor with the plans I have already been making for my future restaurant. He seems to be impressed with my ideas and the firm grasp I have on the curriculum. This is in part due to an old friend who is also taking the culinary program through the same school, though he is much farther along in his degree than I am. He hits two years (I think) later this year. He took me through some of the stuff that he had done for the same class and it really helped! Thanks again Richard!!

This whole week starting Monday I have been hanging out with the Hubby and Daughter on the football field. My Hubby’s Brigade is having Iron Horse week and the Hubby was on the football team. The daughter and I went to give out support. It was fun and nice and it got us out of the house and she got to play with the kids and dogs that were there. We debated taking our little guys, but decided against it as it was too hot and there wasn’t any shade. Not to mention we are not sure how one of them would handle all of the people. She seems pretty shy, which bothers me, but we can’t have her getting antsy and biting anyone. I think we have decided to slowly start getting her to interact with others. It won’t be easy, but we’d like to be able to take her places, especially when the other little girl gets picked up by her Momma. Hopefully that will be in or before August.

We are looking for a house to move into so that we can get out of this neighborhood. We just don’t feel safe here anymore. We’ve had two homicides in the neighborhood since we moved in last November. I don’t feel safe letting the daughter play outside by herself and I certainly can’t let her play with the other children in the neighborhood. The language alone is horrible not to mention they constantly have fist fights in the middle of the street! So we are working on moving as soon as we can. I certainly wish we had known about this when we moved in, but I guess hind site and all that. We are hoping to get a house in the neighborhood where the daughter’s school is. It’s a really great school and we want her to stay there for as long as possible. We are even thinking of asking for orders to stay here longer, so that she can stay in this school until High school or at least Middle school.

I did my frist round of shopping at The Whole Foods Market. It really wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. I had to dig through old, wilted, and dirty produce to get some decent lettuce. Their green beans left something to be desired as well. The meat was over priced and while it may have been “organic” it didn’t taste any different. There were some good things about it though, I found where I could buy barley, and when we tried it we found that it wasn’t a bad taste or texture. It will hep us get more fiber in our diet. Then there was the apple juice. You haven’t lived unless you have tried this organic apple juice. It is a bit pricey, $7 for a gallon jug. But so delicious that we plan on going back for the juice again and again plus I take the labels off of the beautiful glass jugs and make them my own. I have one filled with tea now already. There are a few other things we’ll go back for, the pure cane sugar, the dried fruits the hubby loves, and the Tilvee which is helping so much with my psoriasis. Other than that I think we’re going to go back to the regular grocery store and I’ll just be even more picky about what I buy.

Other than that my dear followers, there is nothing new to tell. But here is just a little food for thought…

 

Food is our common ground, a universal experience – James Beard