Cactus

Ok this will be a short post and i hope i can figure out how to add a pic from the blog app on my iphone. I am lunching at Cactus in Kirklamd, WA today and I’m eating he most amazing special soup!! Butternut squash bisque with crutons and cilantro oil! I couldnt help but share! YUM!!!

Day 9, and counting…

It’s crazy how different you can feel from one day to the next. Two days ago, i felt sure I had a new job at Apple…and now, I’m here, with an email that they are pursuing other candidates. What? Did i not just have a successful hiring event and a succesful hour long interview. Was I not called back for the “formality” of the second interview? I just wish I knew what changed everything. Why would they call me back only to send a rejection email? I don’t get it, that’s all I know.

So now, tonight I lie in bed blogging from the iphone, a bit bummed out. Wondering what my next move should be. I wish I didn’t have to have a job at all. I wish I could just start my own business and get this unemployment crap behind me. But, alas…would I fail at that too? Probably so.

Anyone, if you are listening/reading this…what the hell should I do with my life…because I sure can’t seem to figure it out!!!

Unemployed: Day 4

I know it has been ages since i actually wrote on this blog. It is crazy how the time passes by so fast at times. Today i woke up to day 4 of being unemployed. I must admit it hasnt been as bad as i expected…at least not yet. I’m guessing it hasn’t really sunk in yet. Rigjt now sorta feels like a long weekend rather than being unemployed. I have been doing some reading…browsing stores for Christmas gifts…and doing some light cleaning around the house. Not much else really. I have also been interviewing at Apple computers. It is for a part time retail gig as a specialist, but I am really interested in becoming a “creative” with Apple in the future. they get to spend their days doing just that. Being creative and helping others get the technical stuff out of the way so their creative juices can flow as well.
I go for my second interview Tues at 9am, and if all goes well, i should start training on Friday.

I guess i should get to the deep cleaning part of the house before then, huh?

Well…i’ve missed blogging so look for more of it soon. The iphone app for wordpress will surely help keep me conected regardless. So look for more posts soon. Thanks for reading.

25 days…and counting!

Well…today it is 25 days until I am unemployed. My last day of work is November 30. This blog may move into many new topics other than food as I swim through the ocean that is unemployment during this economy. Don’t get me wrong. I am still actively looking for a good full-time job, but I am also looking into some certificate programs and such in which would make me much more marketable.

I think I may be ditching the nursing idea. I think I would do well, but nursing didnt’ really align with the majority of my long-term goals…only the financial one. I am looking to be able to work from home should I want to, and possibly for myself in a perfect world…SO…I am going to try to stay in the realm of creativity as that seems to be what makes me tick. So…web design/development??? That is what I am exploring right now. Any comments or suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated and welcomed!

I hope this post finds you all happy and healthy!

Sheesh…

Sheesh – it’s been over a month and I promised myself I wouldnt let this blog go that long w/o a post. My aplogies to the one of you that checks this thing on a regular basis.

Update:

So..here is the update on my current situation. Nothing is final yet, but it looks like I will be working at Shaw through November, then on to unemployment if I don’t find anything before then. I am looking into many diferent things. Curse all of you who knew at 5 years old what you wanted to be when you grew up, or even if you knew after college, curse you too!  I am quite scared of the lack of funds that I would receive if I continue on my “plan” in the culinary industry at this time. So…I am thinking of possibly going back into the medical field. I worked medical about 10 years ago as an EMT before going to get my degree at HSU. I enjoyed the work, but didn’t want to be a fire-woman or go to school for 10 more years at the time. And to think, if I had, I could be a practicing physician right now making plenty of dough to pay the bills! Ironic how life happens.

Anyway, I am looking into several options and trying to narrow it down and move forward…so don’t be haters! I will still post about food as well since i LOVE food and still love to cook very much.  Maybe I will try to post about more nutritious stuff to tie it in with medical…or…maybe not. i like sugar, butter and vanilla!

Maybe I should just post a poll and let you readers decide what I want to be when I grow up! That would be interesting!

Finals…for now

I am the worlds most prolific procrastinater. I am doing it right now by blogging here instead of studying. I have my first final tonight in Concepts & Theories of Culinary Techniques. That is the lecture class. I am hoping I can still pull out an A grade, even though I have sort of lost focus over the last couple of weeks. My midterm grades for the two classes I am in were an A and an A-. I can live with that. But, there is no telling what a couple of bombed quizzes can do..not to mention a couple of absences.

I found out two weeks ago that I will be losing my full-time job soon. I am not getting fired…just laid off. They are eliminating my position as my boss will be moving to Chicago.  Sometimes I have a good attitude about this, and other times…not so much. I feel myself slipping into dark places some times…worried about money, self worth, money. I am one of those idiots that has wracked up a ton of unsecured debt (in the form of credit cards) – so…it is quite possible I will go bankrupt if I don’t find something soon. I have not ever been late on a payment, I just have stretched myself so thin, that a loss in income will be enough to cause the flood waters to rush over my head!

So…here I am. Waiting out my last days as a Shaw employee. It has been rather hard for me to focus on anything really. Work. School. People. The sun shining. it all really doesn’t matter to me right now. However, I am trying to find it in me to finish strong for this qtr that I have been a part of Culinary School. I believe that will have to go on hold until I find some full time work. I can’t justify more student loans w/o a job to back them up.

So…that is my life today. Wish me luck tonight. I will need it.

Harvest…

I love this time of year. It is just now that my tomatoes are finally becoming ripe and the blackberries out back are also ready for harvest. There is something altogether fantastic about growing your own food. It reminds me not to waste food because it takes so long to make it, not to mention the work that goes into planting, cultivating and harvesting.

   These are the blackberries behind my house. They grow wild like crazy and most people find the vines a big nuisance…however, I always like watching the berries appear, grow and change over the summer…finally when they are big and plump and can be easily pulled off the clusters…they are ready for all sorts of pies, tarts and pastries!

 

 

 

Mom was in town last week, so I had to make something yummy with these for her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This beautiful tomato was picked today, along with a few others. They will go into a homemade tomato sauce for pasta. It is a fantastic recipe and SUPER easy! If anyone is interested, let me know and I can email you the recipe.

 

 

 

Well…I’m off to cook something!  But…just for fun…I will leave you with my “Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad Pose”

glamour shots on the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad with Mom and Amber! (trying to pass the time!)

Why you should never volunteer for something you don’t know about…

I have the number one reason you should never volunteer yourself for something you know nothing about!

At the beginning of class a while back, my Chef Instructor asked if any one wanted a “_ _ _ _ _ _ ” (i don’t even remember what it’s called.)

Curiously, I raised my hand…she counted off five of us and said “Follow me!”

She took us to the Pastry Kitchen, in which, we were each greeted with one of these….

 

who needs this….? Anyone?

14 days…

14 days since I last logged on and posted here. I can’t believe this two weeks has flown by so fast. Don’t worry, I have been thinking about you! I have pictures to post and have tried a few new recipes…I believe I will start posting some of the content from class as well as we are finally getting into proteins and finished dishes rather than Stock, soup, veg, etc.

Last night we made Roasted Chicken. I learned to truss, and butcher a whole chicken for the first time. (when I say “whole chicken” – I do mean the carcass…not like a whole chicken with a head and feathers!)  The trussing was tricky at first, but I think I have it down. Maybe I will try it at home soon to make sure. 

I can’t say our team’s roasted chicken came out the best. There were way too strong of herbs in it for me…plus, to make chicken good..I like to add something  or another that isn’t your typical “roasted chicken” stuff…I was thinking maybe a plum sauce or apple sauce or something along those lines. I was shot down by another team member as this person wished to “do a simple pan gravy, something we don’t have to think about.” I tend to choose my battles in that class, and I decided not to push my ideas. I should note, however, that pan gravy does in fact require thinking as my team member found out yesterday. Wrong de-glaze liquid, no draining of fat, and poor consistency made for a horrible sauce. On second thought, maybe I should have pressed my idea of sauce…then I would have held the reigns there. Who am I to judge, we all have off days…we all screw stuff up…and we usually all learn from it. It wasn’t that it was messed up that upset me…I think the fact that my team member shut down after that really sorta ticked me off. This person knows quite a bit about food, mostly self-taught, but can cook. This person likes to lead in dishes and probably takes over more often than not. Which, in turn, teaches the rest of us nothing unless we push ourselves in and take over an element of something.  Last night was the biggest team disaster we have had. The other three of us finished what we started, and it was fine. But, I hated how this one other person simply disappeared from the project and did nothing else to finish the dish. It was disheartening. But, alas, I will give this person the benefit of the doubt and hope that last night was an off night, and tonight will be better.

Tonight: Pork Tenderloin…trussed and cooked with 2 Veg and 1 Starch. I will let you know how it goes!

Lunch!

Ok. I couldnt help myself but post this lunch I just made and ate!

I had a flatbread at a restaurant downtown a while back that I loved, and this was my re-creation of it.

Flatbread (home made)
Basil Pesto
Fresh Arugala
Touch of Olive Oil
Touch of Balsamic
Nice Fresh Tomatoes

Thats IT! And..it is FANTASTIC!!!

 

I’m not sure life can get much yummier than this!

I have much more to post, so check back often!