Lessons learned

I have learned many lessons in the past three weeks. Some of them from school and some from living in NYC. Each lesson deserves its own entry, but unfortunately I don't have the time nor the mental capacity to do that (school takes up a majority of my brain capacity these days). These are the lessons I have learned...

WHAT I HAVE LEARNED FROM SCHOOL
-Now that I am a chef my money should go towards nice pots and pans, not shoes. Not entirely convinced of this.
-The nice pots and pans I invest in should be willed to my child.
-If a chef instructor asks what the smell of lemon grass reminds you of and you answer "my L'occitan hand lotion", you will be the only student in class that does not give a food related answer.
-Vegetables and herbs are not snowflakes, decide on a cut and make them uniform.
-I love the sound of chiffonading cabbage.
-Drinking a lot of water plus a small bladder plus cooking for six hours straight is not a good combo. Chefs are not allowed potty breaks.
-Dress warmly in class. The air conditioner is on so high that it rattles the pots and pans. This I am thankful for once I am over a hot burner, not so thankful while I am in lecture.
-It takes more processing to turn corn into high fructose corn syrup than it does to turn a tree into turpentine (translation...stay away from high fructose corn syrup).
-How you cut your onions determines their flavor. Different cuts release different oils.
-If you serve waffle fries instead of regular fries you can charge $3 more simply because it looks fancier.
-Forget about doing your hair while you are a culinary student.

THINGS I HAVE LEARNED LIVING IN NYC
-I should not smile and say hi to the man with the gold grill that I pass on the way home from the train everyday (although his compliments are a boost to the ego)
-Never walk slower than 7 mph.
-The news stand sells week old magazines for only $1...what a deal
-NYC Starbucks charges $1 more per drink than they do in Seattle
-Getting stuck in a mob of tourist is not a good start to the day
-Never ask for your bagel toasted. New York bagel shops are offended by this.
-I love Times Square in the morning.
-There is a truck for everything (cupcakes, coffee, ice cream, taco, burger...)
-If I don't want someone sitting too close to me on the subway, put a bag of chopped onions in my purse.
-People stay out until 5 in the morning. Even on Sundays.

Both lists to be continued...

One of my favorite perks of culinary school is the goodies we are sent home with. After each class whatever food is left may be taken by the students. As one chef instructor put it "take the food, it is your tuition that pays for it". Over the past few days I have collected a random mix of ingredients. One bunch of lettuce, 1/4th bunch basil, grilled millet croquette, and a mango. Combined with the avocado and cherry tomatoes sitting on my counter and wa-la a beautiful salad is made.


MANGO SALAD WITH BASIL VINAIGRETTE
Ingredients
-One head of Romaine Lettuce
-1 mango, small diced
-1 avocado, small diced
-10 cherry tomatoes, cut in half

DRESSING
-1/4th cup olive oil
-2 Tablespoons lemon zest
-1 teaspoon lemon zest
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-2 Tablespoon champagne vinegar
-4 Tablespoons chopped basil

-Mix together ingredients for dressing.
-Toss with salad
-Top with Millet croquette (optional)

This is a perfect recipe for my recent admittance to celebrity obsession. Not to say salad is the only thing celebrities eat, but I do think most starlets enjoy a crisp green salad.

Today while walking to school I walked past 6 police officers standing guard outside a Jamba Juice. Each officer was armed with a machine gun. My first thought was not "there must be a robbery or something bad going on" it was "I wonder if there is a celebrity in Jamba Juice". Hmmm...I think I need to lay off the US Weekly magazines.

Yesterday was beautiful. Very cold but crystal clear blue skies. After taking a "Hot Model Body" boot camp class at the gym I headed to Whole Foods and Central Park. On a side note...I woke up this morning and my legs are still the same length, so the class did not give me the sky high hot model legs I hoped it would. Back to yesterday...Whole Foods is a wonderful grocery store but very expensive. While I am there my eyes become a radar for sale items. Yesterday I was on fire. I was able to exit Whole Foods only $22 poorer than when I entered. My best find of the day was Greek yogurt (three for $2) and kiwi (two for $1). Out of it I created a delicious yogurt parfait. The sweetness of the kiwi and coconut sugar combined with the tangy yogurt for a fabulous combination.


GREEK YOGURT PARFAIT
-1 individual container 0% Greek yogurt
-1 teaspoon coconut sugar
-1 small kiwi, diced

-Combine all ingredients and enjoy!

A New Roommate

I have a new roommate and I am NOT happy about it. A little mouse has decided he wants to bunk with me. I know mice are common when living in a city/old building, but I am still not ok with it. The amount of fear a 1 inch fur ball makes me feel is astonishing (and pathetic). I have seen the little guy twice and both times have screamed bloody murder. Last night he challenged me to a starring contest. He sat in the middle of the hall starring at me while I stood on my bed with a large bath towel (Taber told me to throw a towel over him). Fear inhibited me from releasing the towel and the little guy got away. The mouse may have escaped trapping last night, but he will not be my roommate much longer. I bought a trap and peanut butter today. Hopefully when he comes out tonight he will bite the bait. For all of you animal lovers... I tried to get rid of him the natural way. I put peppermint oil all over the apartment (they don't like it), but it only kept him away for a week. I would love to be brave enough to either live with him or capture/release him, but I am not. If there was not risk of disease or him breeding I would not mind AS much. Another message to all the animals lovers...at least I bought him organic peanut butter.

Black beans, Kidney Beans, Soy Bean, Oh my...

This past week we have been mastering grains and beans. Mastering the art of cooking beans and grains requires A LOT of bean and grain consumption. We pressure cooked, boiled, baked, oil roasted, and dry roasted 12 variety of grains and 14 variety of beans...in TWO days. I don't have to do the math for you, that is a lot of beans and grains in the span of 24 hours. The outcome was delicious, but my bean and grain tank is full. Two of my favorite recipes we made were the "Black Soy Bean Salad" and the "Fried Millet Croquettes". I may have had more than my fair share of each. Which may be part of the reason I am beaned/grained out. Consider this a fair warning...once you pop a millet croquette in your mouth it will be hard to stop.

FRIED MILLET CROQUETTES
Ingredients:
-3/4 cup millet
-2 cup water
-large pinch salt
-6 tablespoon whole wheat bread crumbs
-1/2 bunch scallions (5-6), minced
-1/2 bunch parsley, minced
-1 1/2 tablespoon shoyu
-cornmeal (for dredging)
-coconut oil

-Wash and drain millet and dry roast over high heat for 5-10 minutes, stirring constantly.
-Add water and salt, cover, and bring to a boil. Simmer 40 minutes or until water is absorbed.
-Put millet in large bowl with breadcrumbs and let cool.
-Once cool, squeeze grain until sticky
-Add scallions, parsley, and shoyu to millet.
-Heat 1/2 coconut oil in a large skillet
-With wet hands, form croquettes from the millet. Dredge in cornmeal.
-When the oil is rippling, add croquettes to skillet and dry until golden brown on each side. Flip once during cooking.
-Drain croquettes on a cooling rack.

BLACK BEAN SALAD
recipe by Jenny Matthau
Ingredients:
-1 cup black soybeans (soaked 4-8 hours)
-3 cups water
-1 Tablespoon mustard
-1 garlic clove, minced
-2 Tablespoon lime juice
-1 Tablespoon cider vinegar
-1 teaspoon sea salt
-1/4th cup extra virgin olive oil
-3 red radishes, small dice
-4 scallions, minced
-1/4 cup parsley, minced

-Drain soaked beans and rinse well with water. Drain again.
-Combine beans and water and bring to boil over high heat
-Lower heat and cook for 40min-1 hour. Until beans are soft. Drain Beans
-Which together the next 6 ingredients and pour over warm beans.
-When beans have cooled, add the radishes, scallions, and parsley.

I have officially been a new york resident for three weeks. As of this moment, I have been an official solo NYC resident for two weeks. My mom returned home to Seattle two Saturdays ago. I was sad to see her go. So sad that I broke down in tears in the middle of Whole Foods. One must be on the verge of depression to break down in tears while surrounded by beautiful food, flowers, and wholesome goodness.
It was incredibly helpful to have my mom here for the first week. I would not have been able to get settled without her, and that is a fact. Although I am 28 and should be able to move to a new city without the assistance of my mom, I am not ashamed to admit that I would not have been able to do it. Growing up on the East Coast and being a NYC resident herself (when she was younger), she has a great deal of NYC knowledge. Including the train system...which I am still trying to figure out. She taught me how to take the train, the general layout of New York, and many more pieces of NYC survival mechanisms. Not only did she help me get settled in a new city, she also gave me a lot of smiles. My moms departure left me with swollen eyes (from a few tears). Luckily, I am in culinary school so I could blame it on the onions. My first two weeks alone in the city went better than I expected. Looks like I won't be blaming the onions on swollen eyes too often, I am going to survive on my own.
While she was here, we spoiled our taste buds with many delicious meals. One particular dessert we had still makes it way into my dreams... The Tartufo from Aramone, an Italian restaurant in Hells Kitchen. Tartufo is an Italian ice cream dessert. I wanted to crawl under the table and lick the plate clean. It was that good.

ITALIAN TARTUFO

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:

* 3-1/2 cups chocolate ice cream
* 1-1/2 cups frozen pitted cherries, thawed and chopped
* 1 cup chopped milk chocolate
* 20 chocolate sandwich cookies, finely crushed
* 1-1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
* 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
* 2 tsp. oil

Preparation:
Let ice cream stand at room temperature 10 minutes to soften slightly. Mix chopped cherries and chopped chocolate into the ice cream. Scoop ice cream mixture into eight balls using an ice cream scoop. Roll in crushed cookies to coat. Place on wax paper-lined cookie sheet and freeze until firm, about 3 hours.

In microwave-safe glass measuring cup, combine semisweet chocolate chips with oil. Melt on 50% power for 3-4 minutes, stirring after every minute, until melted and smooth. Remove from microwave and stir in milk chocolate chips, stirring constantly until chips melt and mixture is smooth again. Cool to lukewarm.

Place frozen ice cream balls on a wire rack. Spoon melted chocolate over each ball, coating the top and sides. Place the coated balls on waxed paper and freeze again until firm, at least 2 hours. After 2 hours, place each Tartufo in a paper muffin cup and cover tightly. They can be kept in the freezer up to 2 weeks. Remove from freezer 10 minutes before serving. Serves 8

Use the highest quality ingredients possible. When choosing the ice cream, buy the one with the least amount of ingredients (and ingredients you can pronounce). Buy organic cherries and chocolate. It may cost a bit more but is well worth. Higher quality/organic ingredients ensures good taste and, more importantly, is less harmful to the body.

New York, Concrete jungles where dreams are made of.

I moved to New York three weeks ago to pursue my dream of attending culinary school. Before taking this leap, I spent many sleepless nights wondering if it was the right decision.I am happy (and relieved) to report that the answer is "yes". After only three weeks in The Natural Gourmet program I know, without a doubt, that this is where I am suppose to be. The path this education and experience has already started to lead me down fills me with excitement.