Lovely example of a mirror presentation - we did these in class but this is not mine!

I have been extremely busy and apologize for my unexplained hiatus. I have a job now! Yay! I’ve been working at Freebird World Burritos since about the middle of January and I’m still in school at Texas Culinary Academy.

We finished up Proteins class then we had Bake Shop for 3 weeks in February with Valentines day falling right in the middle of it. So Brian got a chocolate box with chocolate truffles inside as a Valentines day gift. Unfortunately, I had food poisoning the week before that, so I didn’t really get to enjoy Valentines day or much of Bake Shop for that matter. We are now finishing up Garde Manger which is a class about cold foods such as salads, dressings, and sandwiches as well as the old techniques of  charcuterie or food preservation of the pre-refrigeration era.

Yesterday in Garde Manger, we did a skills assessment exam or speed drill. This exam was identical to the ACF’s Certified Culiarian exam. The exam consists of:

• fabricating a chicken and presenting one bone in, skin on, airline chicken breast, one skinless, boneless chicken breast, one wing, two thighs, two drumsticks (I presented the two tender loins but I don’t think it’s necessary)
• presenting batonnet of carrot and julienne of carrot
• presenting one pound mirepoix
• using the mirepoix and carcass to make chicken stock,
• presenting a composed plate of sauteed airline chicken breast, rice pilaf, and carrots au beurre.
• The exam must be completed in 2.5 hours.

poultry cuts

I really enjoyed this challenge and using Chef Banks’ method of fabricating a chicken, which he refers to as the “Quart of Blood” method, made this exam very easy. I’m incredibly happy to have learned this method I think it will help me tremendously in my future. It was nice to take an assessment that matches the ACF exam and see that I can do all of that and not feel flustered at all. The only problem that I ran into was the physical space we had to work in was very limited, but that’s pretty representative of industry kitchens from what I hear.

Unfortunately, we have recently learned that because our class is a certificate program and not an associates program we will not be eligible to take the ACF exam. We will be lacking a nutrition class and a management class as well as a specified number of hours of college credit as well as the exam which is not included in our curriculum as it is for the associates degree students. So in order to become Certified Culinarians we will need to take the two classes and the exam on our own (and pay for them ourselves), hopefully my bachelor’s degree will count for the hours of college credit even though they aren’t related to food. The news was pretty discouraging to several of my class mates, but I see it as just one more hurdle that I will get over.

In other news I now have a new job which I haven’t started yet. I will be doing prep cooking at AMF bowling. It sounds a little silly, but it’s a very large bowling alley that hosts large corporate parties as well as public play. Their patrons are taken care of by servers just like at a restaurant, but they get to bowl as well. I will hopefully begin work there this week, and I’m planning to keep my job at Freebird because I enjoy working there tremendously. Hopefully working two jobs and going to night school won’t be too crushingly demanding. I only have two and a half more months of labs at school then we start our externships in May. It’s almost over! I think I can make it!

Sauteed Chicken Breast with Rice Pilaff and
Carrots au Beurre

For Chicken:

• 1 skin on, air line chicken breast (wing up to first joint still attached and frenched)
• 3 oz canola oil
• as needed – kosher salt
• as needed – fresh cracked black pepper

For Rice Pilaf:

• 4 oz long grain white rice
• 2 oz onion small dice
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 2 oz butter
• 8 oz. Chicken Stock (or pipe stock…err…water)
• as needed – kosher salt
• as needed – fresh cracked black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 sprig thyme

For Carrots au Beurre:

• 4 oz carrot batonnet (1/4″ X 1/4″ X 2.5-3″)
• as needed – flat leaf parsley finely minced
• as needed – kosher salt
• as needed – fresh cracked black pepper
• 2 oz butter

1. In a medium sauce pan sweat onion in butter with salt. Do not saute, you don’t want any color on the onions. Sweat until translucent, add garlic and rice. Coat rice in fat and stir until rice becomes translucent. add bay leaf, thyme sprig, and chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover with lid or aluminum foil. cook on low heat or in 350 degree oven for 13-15 minutes. I cooked mine on the stove top because I would forget about it in the oven, but the French guys insist you do it in the over because it’s gentler, surrounding heat. after about 13 minutes check for doneness and seasoning, adjust if needed.
2. While your rice cooks on low on the back burner, heat the canola oil on medium in a medium size saute pan with sloped sides. Season skin side of breast with salt and pepper. When fat is hot saute the airline chicken breast skin side down, season skinless side with a pinch of salt, baste the skinless side using a large spoon. The technique works well if you put your chicken on the side of the pan opposite from the handle; this way you can tilt the handle side toward you to make the oil pool, scoop it up with the spoon and pour evenly over the breast. Remember though that as you poor the fat over you have to set the pan back down so the skin side cooks as well. It becomes a constant fluid motion. Also, with a bone in chicken breast try to focus your pouring around the bone side because it’s thicker and will cook slower. you don’t want enough oil to completely cover the small side of the breast; if it is covered in fat when the pan is flat the small side will over cook. continue this technique until breast is fully cooked but not over done. If you have doubts use a meat thermometer to measure; after carry over cooking the breast should read at 165 degrees, so take it out of the pan and allow to rest on a rack around 160 or so.
3. When breast is about half way cooked, cook carrots in a small saute pan just covered with water and about 1 tsp salt on medium heat. Cook the carrots until aldente (tender with a slight crunch) when they’ve reach the proper doneness, if the water hasn’t evaporated completely strain and return to the pan. Check for seasoning. Add butter, a pinch of pepper and salt if needed. this part can be done on low heat, the butter should just melt and coat the carrots, you don’t want the carrots to fry, they will become rubbery. once melted and coated remove from heat and toss in a pinch of parsley, if there is an excess of butter dry slightly on paper towel. you don’t want butter to run out on the plate.
4. For plating build a little mound of rice pilaff (minus bay leaf and thyme stem), I used a ramekin as a mold. pile carrots to the side of the rice all going in the same direction, not criss-crossing. Slice chicken breast on a bias starting with small side and working toward the wing bone, position in the same order as sliced in front of rice and carrots on plate, skin side up bone in the back (away from the diner). They should see the chicken first, the rice behind it then the carrots to one side.

Sorry I don’t have any pictures; I hope you can visualize my description.

Using a Balanced Diet to Your Budgeting Advantage

As a second time college student and now a soon to be bride (that’s right! I’m engaged) I have to stick to a budget as well as a balanced diet more than ever. With a basic understanding of what a balanced diet really is I was able to actually lose about 50 pounds while I was in college for my undergraduate degree and now I want to share that knowledge with you.

Maintaining a balanced diet on a budget may seem difficult, but it is completely within reach. Limiting your diet to foods that are high in nutritional value and avoiding empty calories is one of the best way to eat on a budget. A balanced diet packed with the essential nutrients your body needs to function will make your body feel satisfied more quickly. You will need to consume less and, in turn, buy less.

People who rush through the super market, blindly tossing food into their cart without thinking about how that food contributes to a balanced diet are usually spending way more than they need. They don’t weigh the benefits of each food, so in the end they buy more foods that have less nutritional value than if they were buying foods for the purpose of fueling their bodies.

Understanding the purpose of the foods you consume is the first step to maintaining a healthy diet on limited funding.

The Six Basic Essential Nutrients and Their Purposes

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are the body’s most important source of food energy. They are made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms. Carbohydrates help the body burn fat properly. Because carbohydrates are necessary for fuel they should make up a large part of your daily caloric intake, about 45 to 65 percent for an adult.

Complex carbohydrates, especially those from unrefined foods, such as whole grains, are usually better for the body because they contain other beneficial nutrients. Simple carbohydrates and refined starches are primary sources of empty calories and wasted money.

Fats

It is necessary to have some fats in your diet. Fats provide energy in a highly concentrated form, are necessary for regulating certain bodily functions, and are carriers of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K. Saturated fats, found mainly in animal products such as meats, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy products and solid shortenings, are believed to contribute to heart disease and other health problems.

Polyunsaturated fats are found in vegetable oils such as corn oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, and cottonseed oil. Monounsaturated fats are found in high levels in olive oil and canola oil. Research suggests that monounsaturated fats may lower levels of harmful cholesterol in the body. Both mono and polyunsaturated fats are found in plant products such as whole grains, nuts, and some fruits and vegetables. Polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated are believed to be more healthful than saturated fats however an excess of fat of any kind in the diet is not beneficial to bodily functioning or health. Fats are an essential part of the diet but should be limited to about 20 to 35 percent of your daily calories.

Proteins

Proteins are necessary for growth, building body tissue, and for basic body functions. The body can also use proteins for energy if the diet does not contain enough carbohydrates. Proteins are made up of amino acids. The body can produce some amino acids, however there are nine amino acids the body cannot produce and must get from foods. A complete protein is one that contains all nine essential amino acids. Meats, poultry, fish, eggs, and dairy products contain complete proteins.

Foods that supply all the essential amino acids only when eaten in combination are called complementary proteins. A legume combined with a starch, such as rice and beans, are an example of complementary proteins. The rice provides the amino acids the beans are lacking. Soy beans, however, contain complete proteins on their own.

The average adult only needs to consume about 50 to 60 grams of protein daily. Most North Americans consume twice the necessary daily amount.

Vitamins

Vitamins provide no energy, but are essential for regulating body function. Some vitamins are necessary for energy to be utilized in the body.

Water-soluble vitamins such as the B vitamins and vitamin C are not stored in the body and must be eaten every day. Special care must be taken to ensure the nutrients in foods containing these vitamins are not lost by over cooking. Fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K can be stored in the body so it is not necessary to eat them daily provided the amount eaten over time is sufficient.

Minerals

Minerals are also essential for regulating body functions. Major minerals are those the body requires in relatively large amounts, more than 100 milligrams daily, and include calcium, chloride, magnesium, phosphorus, sulfur, sodium, and potassium.

Trace minerals must be consumed in smaller amounts and include chromium, copper, fluoride, iodine, iron, manganese, molybdenum, selenium, and zinc. Although small amounts are necessary, too much of any of the trace minerals can be harmful. An excess of sodium, which is found in table salt, can also be harmful. A reduced sodium diet is recommended by health authorities such as the FDA.

Water

Water is necessary in all of the body’s functions. The body tells you when it needs to consume more water by making you feel thirsty, however, it is ideal to consume enough water to prevent this feeling. Eight glasses of water daily is the common recommendation, however this can vary depending on age and level of daily activity.

With a better understanding of the food you consume you can now consider each food item that you consume as if you were making a large purchase. You can weigh the benefits of each food by asking yourself simple questions like “Does this food contain any of the six basic nutrients?” “Does it contain more than one of the six basic nutrients?” or “Does it contain too much of any of the basic nutrients?” Purchasing foods containing many essential nutrients that harmonize together for a balanced diet is the first step toward maintaining good nutrition on a budget.

What I want to know is why a chef felt it necessary to show me that I’m not ready to work on the line in his restaurant. You may or may not know that a chef at a certain seafood and oyster bar on South Congress in Austin told me that he would “give me a chance” and bring me in on a shift to see how I do. After two weeks of me calling and asking when I can come in and getting brushed aside he finally says “I want you to come in Saturday at 5:00PM.” Obviously I was terrified, but I wasn’t going to say no.

It Was a Set Up

I really walked right into this one. This guy throws me in on the line on Saturday night following the grill cook. Now as you can probably imagine, it went terribly and I knew that if put in a situation like that I would not be able to perform adequately. I knew that, that’s why I didn’t say I want to work on your line. I said I want to learn. I said I’ll work anywhere you want me to work because there are other positions besides the line and there are other shifts besides Saturday night. I’d even have washed dishes if it was necessary. Believe it or not I like washing dishes in a professional kitchen because you can use the sprayer and, contrary to what you might think given the current state of my apartment, I like to clean. I’d have been the best damn dishwasher he ever hired.

You might say, as he did, that it’s nothing personal. I really hate when people say that because what they mean is that it’s nothing personal to them. This guy doesn’t know me at all, so no, watching some little, over eager girl fall on her face is not personal to him. It is, however, quite personal to me. This is a choice that I made because it’s something that I love so much; a choice for which I will be in debt for many years. I don’t care what anyone says, these days when there’s debt involved, it’s personal.

It really was a win win for this guy. If I had done well in this nearly impossible situation he would have hired a restaurant prodigy, if I had done poorly he can say, “well I gave some kid a chance and maybe they’ll let me into heaven for that or something.” But what he did wasn’t giving someone a chance; it was setting someone up to fail so he can rub it in their face. Maybe he’s a younger sibling that to this day still gets picked on, so he needs to take it out on young, unsuspecting, eager, hopeful, naive cooks.

I did enjoy being in the kitchen and working, and I think I could work in a place like that in a position other than on the line. So no, this guy didn’t scare me away from the industry like he might have been trying to do. I’m still going to try to find a job, but now I’ll be looking for chefs who wants to help young cooks learn, and I won’t walk into any more set-ups.

Today I made a salad for a recipe contest. this recipe is by weight because it is the most accurate form of measurement. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, and refuse to get one even though it’s a fantastic investment, you’ll do well to remember that 2T=1oz. and 8oz.=1 Cup.

Avocado Salad with Sweet Honey Dijon Dressing

For Dressing:

• 1 oz. Shallot finely minced
• 4 oz. honey dijon mustard
• 1.5 oz. sugar
• juice 1/2 lemon
• 1 oz dry white wine
• 4 oz. extra virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt to taste; about 3/4 t
• Fresh cracked black pepper to taste; about 1/4 t

In a wide mouth mixing bowl, whisk shallot, dijon, wine, lemon juice & sugar together to combine.

While whisking vigorously, drizzle in olive oil very slowly to form emulsion.

Transfer to a jar for easy recombination. Refrigerate at least 15 minutes before serving to allow flavors to meld.

For Salad:

• 1 head of green leaf lettuce washed, hard ribs removed and torn into bite size pieces
• .5 oz green onion sliced on bias
• 4.5 oz (1)bosc pear pealed, cored, small dice
• 1.5 oz celery small dice
• 2.5 oz walnuts chopped
• 13.5 oz (2 small) avocados small dice
• juice 1/2 lemon
• 1/4 t kosher salt
• 1.5 oz parsley roughly chopped
• 4 oz. feta cheese crumbled
• 1.5 oz. pomegranate arils

In a small bowl squeeze lemon juice and sprinkle salt over avocado, fold together and allow to marinade for a few minutes.

Place lettuce in a large salad serving bowl.

In a separate small bowl combine green onion, pear, celery, walnuts. Carefully fold in avocado. Pour mixture over lettuce and toss, making sure mixture is evenly distributed.

Sprinkle parsley and feta and toss lightly again. Sprinkle pomegranate over top. Serve with dressing

*Pictures of Avocado Salad soon to come.

During the first day of class three weeks ago, Brian’s mom became very sick and had to be rushed to the emergency room! It was very scary, and Brian drove down to Houston to be with his family while I was in class. I never want to imply that I think he should stay with me instead of seeing his sick mother, but that first week of school was a roller coaster of emotion and exhaustion. I didn’t realize how much emotional support I would need to do this until it wasn’t there. I felt sad and alone and anxious because I didn’t know anyone at school and fretful about Brian’s mom. I just needed someone there to give me a hug. Thankfully his mother is doing much better, she’s still in the hospital but will be transferred to a rehab facility this week, but the situation was very scary at the beginning of it all.

I went down to Houston with Brian the weekend after my second week of school, and by that time his mom had woken up and was conscious and we were able to give her the good news that we will be moving to Houston after I’m finished with Culinary School, next summer. I’m so happy to be moving. I love Austin, but I really want to be closer to our families. We will be in the same city as his and only two hours driving time from mine, as opposed to the five hour distance we’re at now. His mom was very happy to hear that we would be closer, I hope that little bit of good news helped with her recovery.

For Thanksgiving I didn’t do any cooking really, other than Boudain dip (one of Brian’s favorites). I left this year’s cooking up to my mom and step dad, and it was quite delicious. They had a deep fried turkey and since Brian is, unfortunately, allergic to poultry, also had a smoked ham. Of course all of the side accoutrement like green been casserole, cornbread dressing, cranberry chutney and pumpkin pie, which is my favorite. My dad gave me my Christmas gift a bit early because it was cash and he wanted me to buy my own gift so I’d have it for Christmas. So I was able to go buy a bran new and very appreciated camera to take better pictures of food!

Today I requested my work hours at Star Nine be reduced even further, so now I will have Tuesday and Thursdays off to look for a new job. I think that Michael, my replacement at Star Nine, has things pretty well under control and I’m so eager to get to work in a kitchen it’s unbelievable. So I sent out about ten resumes to places that wanted them sent via email and tomorrow I have about six other places to apply to in person. I don’t have much real professional kitchen experience, but I just hope my energy and passion will wow somebody and they’ll give me a chance. I just want to work; I want to do what I love doing, but for other people to enjoy.

This coming weekend, we’re having our pot-luck “Thanksgiving” with our friends at our house. We usually have it the weekend before Thanksgiving, but because of the craziness that was going on we had to postpone it. So I will be making gumbo and boudain dip! I think we’re going to sort of transform it into a Christmas gathering, because Brian’s going to set up our tree tonight. I’ll definitely be taking pictures and posting the recipes, and hopefully things will calm down some and I’ll be able to post more often than just every three weeks!

I start school tomorrow. I’m beyond excited and nervous and any other emotion you can think of. In preparation this weekend I’ve been doing homework. I got my books last Wednesday, so I’ve read and taken notes on chapter 1 of Professional Cooking, and I’m going to read chapter 1 of Serve Safe. I want to have two chapters from each book finished by the end of today. Does that make me a huge nerd? Ya know, I don’t really care if I’m a huge nerd or a know it all. This is what I love to do, so I’m going to get ahead and do my best, and my best is really good.

I just hope that all this work pays off. I’m not doing the Culinary Arts Associates degree program because I already have a bachelors degree in print journalism. Instead I’m doing a Culinary Arts Certificate program, which they’ve only had for about a year at Texas Culinary Academy. I asked if they had any statistics about the marketability of the students who did the associates degree versus the students who did the certificate. Unfortunately, because it’s so new they didn’t really have any statistics about that yet. So in an effort to make up for the name of the thing I’m working for (certificate not degree) I have set incredibly lofty goals for myself.

Expecting Culinary Excellence

I expect to be, and have set the goal of being an ‘A’ student. To me there is no reason I can’t be exemplary. This is what I want to do, and I want to be the best that I can be. This is something that I can physically practice if I don’t do it perfect the first time. I suppose I could have practiced journalism by continually writing stories, or web development by using things like javascript every day, but those things are more abstract. There isn’t a tangible end product that can be compared to the one that was previously made. I know some people are so passionate about reporting that they’re always thinking of stories to write, but I was just never that into it. But when it comes to cooking I do what journalists do, I constantly think of new recipes. I don’t have to try to get the creative juices flowing either, I just slip in to day dreams about things like the difference in flavor of parmesan, asiago and romano cheeses and which one I should use as a funnel shaped receptacle for my avocado ceviche…?

Getting My Money’s Worth

I also want to have exemplary attendance. TCA doesn’t want students to skip classes, but why would anyone want to? In college I skipped classes probably more than I should have. I think I skipped because I was never very excited about class. A four year university is so drawn out and long I think that many students lose sight of their goals and lose the passion for education that they may have had when they started. I started to forget why I was getting a degree, I just knew I needed to get one. When I finally did and it came time to get a job, I didn’t really want to be a reporter nor did I really want to be a programmer, but I was going to have to start paying back loans pretty quickly and needed an income. After working as a web developer for over a year, I now know what I want to do, and I’m going to do everything I can to do it perfectly. Since I’m only in school for 7 months I have to make the most out of every single class. I can’t skip if I want to stay ahead, not only that, but if you have 98% attendance you get red ropes to wear at graduation. I want those red ropes!

Activities and Involvement

Aside from good grades and perfect attendance, I want to get involved. I want to be a part of the community of the school. I plan to join the Bleu Print, which is TCA’s online news letter. I’ve read it over the last few months, and it’s not bad, but it could be improved so much, and I think I could help. It’s a PDF, and I’m not sure what program they’re using to create it, but I could help by using Adobe InDesign to clean up the layout a bit. They’re also using a scanned in image for the Le Cordon Bleu logo when they could just take a screen shot of an online version of the image if the don’t already have a vector graphic version. A made for web version would look so much better than a scanned in version. Also, I do have a journalism degree, I might as well use it; I would love to write stories about food. Food writing might be a direction I want to take my career eventually, so I think getting a start while I’m in school is a good idea. There are a few other student clubs that I would love to join like the American Culinary Federation (ACF) which hosts competitions and participates in certification exams, but I just don’t know if I’ll have time since I’m still working 30 hours per week. I think they would both be a lot of fun and would look great on my resume.

Presenting the Winning Dishes

Not only am I going to try to do all of those things, but I also want to get this whole thing paid for with scholarships if possible, so I’ll continue to compete in recipe competitions. There is no recipe with today’s post because I’ve been working on recipes for the Chilean Avocado recipe contest. I don’t want to give away my recipes before the contest is over, but these pictures are of some dishes that I will be submitting.

Starting tomorrow, I have a long and hectic 7 months ahead of me. The end result will be well worth the work, and I can’t wait to get started.

It seems like many of my friends and family are floundering in the grip of this terrible cold and flu season. With Culinary school starting in a little over a week I can’t afford to be out sick. I decided that Brian and I need an immune system boost; what better way to get it than from soup. Soup gives the opportunity to combine an array of healthy and healing ingredients because you can basically throw everything in but the kitchen sink.

If you’ve already taken ill this flu season and think you don’t have the energy to cook, this recipe is relatively easy to make especially with the use of canned or box stock (which I use often when it’s just for Brian and me).

I recently read an article called “The Axis of Food Evil:  Fat, Sugar and Salt.” The article explained that food can stimulate the same circuits in the brain as drugs. Every one knows the affects of food cravings and that feeling that you just can’t stop eating even though you’re full. You know that feeling when you’re eating a bag of potato chips and you just can’t pull yourself away from it. It can be difficult to eat well with all of the salty, sweet temptations bombarding us daily.

If you actually stop and think about each ingredient in the food you’re eating as a way to provide your body with caloric energy and nutrients it can change your world. The first two healing ingredients that came to mind while writing this recipe were Ginger and Garlic, but after doing some research I found that most of the ingredients I planned on using anyway would also contribute to boosting our immune systems.

Here’s my reasoning behind some of the ingredients:

• Red Kidney Beans for protein, iron, vitamins A and C.
• Ginger for nausea, migraines, aches, chills and congestion
• Garlic and onions help stimulate the power of macrophages and T cells which are important to immune system defense.
• Celery and carrots for vitamin C which may help reduce the duration of the cold.
• Tomatoes for antioxidants which protect against destructive free radicals

Please keep in mind that this soup is not the end-all-be-all to curing your cold. It contains many healthy ingredients and is an example of things that should be included in a healthy diet  that can lead to a strong immune system, but it is not a substitute for a visit to the doctor if you are sick. For more nutritional health information a great book to read is “Foods that Harm Foods that Heal” by the editors of Reader’s Digest or Prevention.com has a fantastic Nutrition Section.

The Healing Soup

• 3tbs evoo
• 1/2 medium onion finely chopped
• 2 carrots finely chopped
• 1 celery stalk finely chopped
• 1lb mushrooms caps sliced
• 1/2 tsp koser salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp poultry seasoning
• 1 tbs butter
• 1 tbs flour
• 4 cups beef stock
• 2-3 tbs fresh ginger minced
• 9 cloves garlic minced
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can red kidney beans
• 1 lemon juiced
• 3 tbs fresh parsley chopped
• 2 green onions diced
• parmesan cheese
• orzo

heat evoo in a large soup pot. Saute onion, carrot, celery and mushrooms until just tender, season with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. add butter to pot, when it’s melted sprinkle in flour and stir. allow to cook 3-4 minutes.

Add beef stock, ginger, garlic, thyme, and bay leaves to pot and bring to a boil. scrape off any foam that rises to the top. Add canned tomatoes and kidney beans. Turn heat down to medium low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, uncover and add lemon juice, parsley and half of the green onions. Stir together. Serve over orzo pasta, garnish with remaining green onions and parmesan.

Additions & Substitutions:

Shrimp: if you don’t like beans, throw in a 1/2 pound of pealed, deveined shrimp at the last ten minutes of simmering. Cook until shrimp are opaque. – shrimp for protein, iron, zinc & slenium

Some of my Home Cooking Philosophy:

I realize that fresh produce provides more nutrients and a better flavor than canned and frozen, but buying only fresh can become quite expensive. Generally, I split my fresh and frozen/canned usage about 50/50. Freshly grated artisanal cheeses are expensive as well; you’ll notice that I use the pre-grated stuff in the plastic cylindrical container for our daily use. I try to be as frugal as possible, I do however frequently spend the extra money on canned or box stocks because I don’t have the time to make them myself on a regular basis. I would not criticize you if you did the same or if you made your own. I believe in culinary freedom.

I’ve never won anything before, so when Lucy from Splenda called me this morning to make sure I’m enrolled in culinary school (my title still says Web Developer) I started thinking something might be going on. I thought, “maybe I’m in the running, it’s probably nothing though.”

When she called back this afternoon and said that my Fallen Carrot Souffle won first place in the Splenda Dessert Fame Recipe Contest, I nearly lost it. I was in complete disbelief. I think I said something to the effect of, “Holy crap, are you kidding me?” She wasn’t kidding! I won $3,000! Holy Crap!

Every little bit helps, so $3,000 is just awesome, but the real prize here is the sense of accomplishment, and recognition. I finally feel like I am actually good at this, and someone else thinks so too, and they’re going to give me money for it!

My confidence is through the roof because I can now say I’m a national scholarship and recipe contest winner. For those of you who don’t know me, I don’t usually toot my own horn, I’m not a horn tooter (yeah, I said it), so don’t worry I’m not going to start going on about how amazing I am. But I am definitely going to enter more contests, so I hope you enjoy reading about them.

I already have a degree in journalism. Lately I’ve really had trouble justifying taking out more loans to go back to school for a completely different career. Winning this contest has made me feel like culinary school was the right decision. Cooking makes me happy, I like to do it. I will never have to be forced to cook for someone. In fact, cooking for someone is what I like the most about it.  It’s like another creative outlet, and It comes easily to me. For example, I threw this recipe together in an afternoon; I think it might have even been a weeknight! It was such an easy recipe I didn’t even have to go to the grocery store! So I hope you try it and enjoy it!

Haley’s Original First Place Fallen Carrot Souffle

• 1lb baby carrots
• 1/2 Cup melted butter
• 1 tablespoon butter for greasing
• 3 large eggs
• 1/3 Cup Flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 Cup Splenda Brown sugar
• 3/4 Cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener Granulated
• 4 teaspoons Splenda No Calorie Sweetenter Granulated (divided)
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 and place rack in center of oven.

Boil carrots until tender. Drain and mash with a potato masher in a medium mixing bowl. Some small chunks remaining is okay.

Grease four 7oz. ramekins with butter and coat with Splenda No Calorie Sweetener Granulated. Dust off excess Splenda and position ramekins on a foil lined baking sheet.

Mix eggs, flour, baking powder, Splenda Brown Sugar, Splenda No Calorie Sweetener Granulated, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt with carrots using a whisk until combined. While whisking, slowly pour melted butter into mixing bowl until incorporated.

Fill ramekins to 1/4-inch from rim and sprinkle the top of each with teaspoon of Splenda No Calorie Sweetener Granulated. Bake for 30 minutes.

I always wake up early on Saturday mornings, well early for a Saturday anyway. Today I woke up at 8 to a pair big puppy eyes peering over the edge of the bed below a pair of perked up, expectant tan colored ears. After Lucy’s business of the morning was taken care of, I couldn’t go back to sleep, so I just made some coffee.

School starts in a couple weeks, so figuring that I probably won’t have the energy to wake up early on Saturdays I’ve decided to take advantage of the few that I have left. So I made scones.

I’ve only attempted to make scones one other time, and they didn’t work out very well. Instead of using a fork or a pastry blender for my previous attempted I tried rubbing in the butter with my fingers. People say that this works, but I’ve never been successful with the technique. The dough always ends up tough and rubbery; I think because I end up overworking it and because the heat from my hands makes the butter too warm.

I used a fork this time although it would have been much easier with a pastry blender. Unfortunately, I don’t have a pastry blender; a fork gets the job done but takes a little more effort.

As far as baking goes these are relatively easy to make. It’s not required to sift anything, you don’t have to break out the mixer; the hardest part is probably grating all the cheese. Keeping the wet ingredients cold makes these tender and flakey.

I love that scones can be sweet or savory. Really they can be what ever you might have on hand. I chose cheddar and dill because I tend to love cheesy things with a cup of coffee (probably from all the late nights in Gary’s coffee shop in high school) and dill seemed like a good compliment. So I curled up with a cup of coffee and a scone and watched the New Yankee Workshop and Victory Garden this morning, and it was fantastic.

Saturday Morning Cheddar Scones

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp dried dill
• 1/2 tsp ground mustard
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, very cold
• 8 oz sharp cheddar grated plus a bit for sprinkling on top
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 tbs milk
• 1 large egg

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, dill, dried mustard, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in butter with a fork or a pastry blender mixture should be coarse with some pea size pieces and some a bit bigger. Then fold in cheddar leaving aside about 3/4 cup for sprinkling on top.

In a small bowl, whisk sour cream, egg and milk until smooth.

Using a fork or your hands if you like, stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until large dough clumps form. Use your hands to press the dough against the bowl into a ball. The dough will be sticky in places, it might seem like there’s not enough liquid at first, but is should come together as you press. If it doesn’t, throw in a little more milk.

Turn dough out on to a lightly floured surface, kneed a couple times to make sure it’s all together. pat or roll with a pin into a 7- to 8-inch rectangle about 3/4-inch thick. Use a sharp knife to cut into triangles; I got about 13 out of it, depends on how big you want them. place on a cookie sheet (preferably lined with parchment paper or silpat), about 1 inch apart. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. sprinkle with remaining cheddar and put back in oven for a few minutes to melt cheese. Cool for 5 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature.

I was too scared to do anything useful at the TCA open house and job fair. All i kept thinking was all of these people are students here or even graduates, I have absolutely no experience in a professional kitchen; I haven’t even started classes yet. I know I’m not an idiot and I’m a very fast learner and I’m knowledgeable about food and cooking, but I just felt like I couldn’t compete with any of the other people there.

I don’t do well in big competitive free-for-alls like job fairs unless I know I can at least compete with some of the people there. I just get scared and clam up and feel very very small and insignificant. Yes I have experience in the professional world of web development and internet marketing and that counts for something, but I had no idea what sort of experience any of the other people there might have. They might be just as professionally adept as I am plus they are already culinary students and many of them have probably worked in kitchens before.

The students also had the opportunity to sign up for interviews with the employers well in advance; that meant that they knew who was going to be there. This left me even more disadvantaged and unprepared. If TCA had listed the employers that were attending on their website I would have researched them all. I would have found out what type of cuisine they specialize in, the size of their establishment and their average cost per plate. It would have helped me to find a place that I felt comfortable talking to and working in. I wouldn’t have been able to impress someone who looked down at me for having no experience, so I would have focused on those who might be interested in helping me learn and who’s cuisine I already have experience cooking at home.

Going into a job fair completely blind and having no experience is not the right way to do this for me. I think I’m going to continue working at Star Nine part time until the end of the year like we had planned. I don’t think I really need two jobs; Brian is living here now and paying for half the bills, so it’s not like I’m at risk of being evicted or anything like that. I think this gives me a few months to feel it all out better. I’ll start school and then start looking around on my own for job in a kitchen or bakery. I know a one on one interview situation with a potential emplyer would be better for me even without any professional culinary experience. In an interview I would feel more confident and capable and be able to wow them.

So I did what I always do when I’m feeling kind of lame…I cooked, of course. I decided soup would be perfect for a rainy, lame kind of day. This is what I made

Cream of Mushroom Parmesan Soup

• 5 tbs butter
• 5 tbs AP flour
• 3 cups milk
• 1 clove garlic peeled and smashed
• 1 lb white or brown mushrooms caps sliced
• 1/2 medium white onion minced
• 1 cup beef or vegetable stock
• 1 tbs red wine or sherry
• 1 Cup grated parmesan plus a little more for garnish
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper (use white if you have it. I did not)
• 1 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
• 2 green onions chopped – optional garnish

Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium low heat. Saute mushrooms and white onion in butter until mushrooms are just soft. Add salt and pepper. Sprinkle flour over mushrooms and stir together, allow to cook until flour is a light sandy color, about 6 or 7 minutes

Meanwhile heat milk with smashed garlic clove over medium low heat until just before it starts to boil; don’t let it boil.

Add wine to mushroom roux, allow to reduce for just a minute then whisk in stock. whisk until it’s smooth, it will thicken at this time too. Once smooth ladle in hot milk whisking together between each ladle. Once all the milk is whisked in and it’s all combined grate the nutmeg over soup and stir in. Taste and adjust salt and pepper, check consistency – it should coat the back of a spoon. Allow to heat just to a bubble then immediately remove from the heat and serve. Sprinkle a little more parm over the top and green onion if desired.

*Last night I was reading “Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom” by Julia Child. She gave me the idea to add dried tarragon to this recipe. A 1/4 teaspoon should do; added in with the nutmeg. I think you’ll like this, give it a try and let me know!