"Be yourself, Everybody else is already taken". -Oscar Wilde
It seemed like a short morning, going to work at 2pm! I worked on my online class on "Starting a Home Based Business" since that is one of the things I am thinking of doing. And also read a little. It was a pretty quiet morning. No beach time today. When I walk out my back door for any reason, there are little lizards that scurry away, as if startled by your appearance. They are all varying sizes here. I don't know if they will grow up to be big iguanas, or if they all will stay the size they are. I did find out before I went to work, that two of the iguana were mating by the pool. They apparently had quite an audience-all filming it or taking pictures! I missed it, too bad. Seems like they would hurt themselves, lol.
I worked Pantry tonight at the Lobster Grille and it was a busy night! I helped Drew make Mango Salsa and a couple other things before I set up my station. I also made a salad for the Rotary Club tomorrow, to give them a head start on prep. When I set up, I found I had no grapefruit for the Lobster Grapefruit Salad, and no Mini Bundt Cakes for dessert! I ran out of Mango Sorbet. And, of course, when you are busy, everyone wants their order at once. One thing at a time, kids! I found out some time during the evening that a rat was under the three door reach in. Ryan and Drew both saw him, I fortunately did not. I did learn what the pole with a knife on the end of it was for. It sits in the back room propped against the sink. Ryan calls it the rat trap. Ugh! But I guess that's what happens when you have a open kitchen in the tropics. I think I'll leave that worry with the boys. Lisa, the General Manager, came to me and asked me if I would be willing to make a birthday cake for a guest who is having a celebritory dinner Saturday evening. I told her, yes! I can make whatever kind of cake I want, as long as there are no nuts. Cool! Looking forward to that.
I have the next two days off. I need to get my laundry done-I don't have any more work clothes! Other than that, I'm not sure how I am going to spend my days. I do think I'll try another sailing lesson though.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Monday, January 31, 2011
Monday, January 31, 2011
"Make today a day for the fancy toothpicks". -from the little book of inspirational thoughts
Yet another lovely day in paradise...... It was sunny but warm today. There are days (usually 82 or warmer) when it is actually too warm to comfortably sit in the sun, as well as being very humid. After a breakfast of French toast and sausage, I sat out on the beach for a couple of hours, careful not to spend all the time in the sun. There was a nice breeze, so it never seems as hot when there's a breeze blowing. I came back in and watched "Meet Joe Black" on HBO before going down to Iggie's at 5pm to work. There was a private party this morning at Iggie's that the staff at Iggie's had to prep for. Usually that type of thing falls on the Lobster Grille staff to prep, but with Janee gone last week, Iggie's inherited the job. I ran into Mary on the way down and she told me she had not done much for me because she had had to prep for thenparty. "Me back and side are killin' me!" she said. I told her go home, and take care of herself.
Lots of tomatoes to dice and slice, shredded lettuce to chop, cucumbers to slice (no more seeding and dicing, too much of a waste of product). It was not a very busy night, I guess Mondays usually aren't. There is a dessert called a Mokie Jumbie (I do not knowmwhere they got that name, lol), which is two Rasta Brownies (regular 3x3 inch brownies with chocolate chips-marijuana free), three scoops of vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce and whipped cream. I had been dishing it up with chocolate ice cream and one of the waitresses corrected me. When I questioned her, she glared at me and told me she had worked there for FIVE years, she ought to know what the dessert did and did not have. Not sure who peed in her Wheaties tonight, but I fixed it and apologized. Not much else to do. The shift for Pantry is only five hours, but when we aren't busy, it seems like it stretchs on forever! At 9:30, Jeff, the kitchen manager, showed up and wanted to do inventory. He gave us each two pages to do. I was the first one done, which surprised him greatly, lol. I told him I had done inventory at the Lobster Grille and also that it had been part of my previous job responsibilities. Unfortunately he gave me another page! I still got off at 10pm. I brought back some Coconut Shrimp with some type of sauce that turned out to be almost tasteless! Imagine my surprise! I think I may say something to Jeff about it. I probably would not order it again with that sauce. We used to serve the Coconut Shrimp at the LG on the old menu, but it came with a sweet and spicy Thai sauce.
A shower, a phone call to Jordan and it's time for bed. I am back at the LG tomorrow, 2-10pm working Pantry. Then two days off!
Yet another lovely day in paradise...... It was sunny but warm today. There are days (usually 82 or warmer) when it is actually too warm to comfortably sit in the sun, as well as being very humid. After a breakfast of French toast and sausage, I sat out on the beach for a couple of hours, careful not to spend all the time in the sun. There was a nice breeze, so it never seems as hot when there's a breeze blowing. I came back in and watched "Meet Joe Black" on HBO before going down to Iggie's at 5pm to work. There was a private party this morning at Iggie's that the staff at Iggie's had to prep for. Usually that type of thing falls on the Lobster Grille staff to prep, but with Janee gone last week, Iggie's inherited the job. I ran into Mary on the way down and she told me she had not done much for me because she had had to prep for thenparty. "Me back and side are killin' me!" she said. I told her go home, and take care of herself.
Lots of tomatoes to dice and slice, shredded lettuce to chop, cucumbers to slice (no more seeding and dicing, too much of a waste of product). It was not a very busy night, I guess Mondays usually aren't. There is a dessert called a Mokie Jumbie (I do not knowmwhere they got that name, lol), which is two Rasta Brownies (regular 3x3 inch brownies with chocolate chips-marijuana free), three scoops of vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce and whipped cream. I had been dishing it up with chocolate ice cream and one of the waitresses corrected me. When I questioned her, she glared at me and told me she had worked there for FIVE years, she ought to know what the dessert did and did not have. Not sure who peed in her Wheaties tonight, but I fixed it and apologized. Not much else to do. The shift for Pantry is only five hours, but when we aren't busy, it seems like it stretchs on forever! At 9:30, Jeff, the kitchen manager, showed up and wanted to do inventory. He gave us each two pages to do. I was the first one done, which surprised him greatly, lol. I told him I had done inventory at the Lobster Grille and also that it had been part of my previous job responsibilities. Unfortunately he gave me another page! I still got off at 10pm. I brought back some Coconut Shrimp with some type of sauce that turned out to be almost tasteless! Imagine my surprise! I think I may say something to Jeff about it. I probably would not order it again with that sauce. We used to serve the Coconut Shrimp at the LG on the old menu, but it came with a sweet and spicy Thai sauce.
A shower, a phone call to Jordan and it's time for bed. I am back at the LG tomorrow, 2-10pm working Pantry. Then two days off!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
When I got up this morning, Suzanne made Ricotta Pancakes with Blueberries. They were great! Nice texture, good taste. She also made a fruit plate of melon and strawberries, very artistic presentation. At 10:15am, it was time to go to the airport. They dropped me off, I checked in, went through security, went to the gate and before they would let us walk to the plane (same Dash-8, Series 300), we were patted down and they looked through everyone's carry-on. I thought that was suppose to happen at the first security checkpoint. The plane took off early again, which was fine by me. After landing on St Thomas, it was a trip thru Customs where they asked a lot of questions (they did not know what a Culinary intern was) and then ran our bags through another x-ray machine. After that, I was free to go. The taxi ride back to Bolongo cost me $14.00 (Delita charged me $12) plus tip. Only money, right?
I work at 5pm at Iggie's in the Pantry, so I have a little down time. It was sad leaving Suzanne and Pat after just two days. We had a very good time together and it reminded me that it has been far too long since I've seen her. Janee is back from Miami. She had a baseball sized cyst removed from her ovary but is feeling much better than before she left Bolongo. I talked with her before work because she had scheduled me to work in the warehouse on Wednesday. I told her I did not want to go back there after my experience a week or two ago. She agreed with me and said she had wondered the same thing when she looked at the schedule. As it turns out, I was scheduled to work at Iggie's Monday evening, a day I had off on the Lobster Grille schedule. Good thing I checked both schedules! I'll just get Wednesday off instead of Monday, no more warehouse.
Iggie's was kind of busy tonight. I made salads and sandwiches and wraps and plated desserts. It's funny, but the wait staff have started commenting how pretty my dessert plates look. Either I'm getting better, or they don't get out much! We have a new dishwasher. He's kind of quiet, but seems to do a good job and seems like a nice guy. Otherwise, I am getting into the swing of working at Iggie's.
At 10pm, it was back to my room with a to go container of hummus and pita bread and a glass of wine. A shower and then I talked to Jordan who has been grading homework from his USC students. I only have a month left here. I think time is going to go quickly!
I work at 5pm at Iggie's in the Pantry, so I have a little down time. It was sad leaving Suzanne and Pat after just two days. We had a very good time together and it reminded me that it has been far too long since I've seen her. Janee is back from Miami. She had a baseball sized cyst removed from her ovary but is feeling much better than before she left Bolongo. I talked with her before work because she had scheduled me to work in the warehouse on Wednesday. I told her I did not want to go back there after my experience a week or two ago. She agreed with me and said she had wondered the same thing when she looked at the schedule. As it turns out, I was scheduled to work at Iggie's Monday evening, a day I had off on the Lobster Grille schedule. Good thing I checked both schedules! I'll just get Wednesday off instead of Monday, no more warehouse.
Iggie's was kind of busy tonight. I made salads and sandwiches and wraps and plated desserts. It's funny, but the wait staff have started commenting how pretty my dessert plates look. Either I'm getting better, or they don't get out much! We have a new dishwasher. He's kind of quiet, but seems to do a good job and seems like a nice guy. Otherwise, I am getting into the swing of working at Iggie's.
At 10pm, it was back to my room with a to go container of hummus and pita bread and a glass of wine. A shower and then I talked to Jordan who has been grading homework from his USC students. I only have a month left here. I think time is going to go quickly!
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Saturday, January 29, 2011
It was such a lazy, laid back day today, absolutely wonderful! I slept in til 8am, spent more time talking with Suzanne (she is one of those friends that no matter how long it has been since we've last seen each other, we just pick up where we've left off. Betty and Vicki are the same kind of friends), ate breakfast, and drank coffee. I spent time reading the February digital issue from the ACF (American Culinary Foundation) and looking online and reading about personal chefs and catering-one of the jobs I am considering when I return to Nevada.
For dinner, we drove over to Grand Case on the French side of St Martin. I noticed this time around on both the Dutch and the French side, that the countryside looks cleaner and more lush than two years ago. Last time I was here, you could still see the ravages of Hurricane Luis that happened back in 1995. Even ten years after that particular hurricaine, the island still seemed ravaged. Now the landscape seems more lush, houses have been repaired and most of the excess debris has been removed. The Dutch side, Sint Maarten, broke away from the Netherland Antilles, and declared themselves an independent country, but they are still under Dutch rule. All very interesting and somewhat confusing. Labor laws differ drastically between the French and the Dutch. On the Dutch side, if you are Antillian (an islander), you have a better chance of getting a job than a Dutch citizen. It also makes it harder to fire you. You have to be caught strapping from your employer at least three times before you can be fired. On the French side, a French citizen is cavorts for a new hire over someone born on the island, so you see more white workers than black workers in the shops and working in restaurants. Such a difference!
We parked the car, then walked along the main boulevard. There are really no sidewalks in Grand Case, so people and cars are both in the streets. The only good thing about it is that the "main drag" is a one way street. Mthe restaurants are all open to the street so you can either sit in front and watch the people who walk/drive by, or sit further into the restaurant where it is more quiet. We sat inside the restaurant called La Cottage. I've never eaten there before, I've only eaten at the Blue Martini in Grand Case. Our waitress (French), went over the specials fornus. Suzanne told me she did not understand a word the woman said, but loved to listen to her talk, it sounded so pretty, lol! I told Suzanne she just went over some of the menu items that were considered house specialies, so she really didn't miss anything. The menus are in French and in English, which helps. Having a culinary education helps with reading the menus asmthe language of the kitchen is French. We had a Kir Royale for an aperitif (made with Campagne). Suzanne and I split the Foie Gras appetizer, which was done three ways, (seared and served with toasted gingerbread, a Foie Gras lollipop and Foie Gras mousse), then she ordered a trio of Scallop dishes (a scallop mousse, seared scallops with a tomato sauce and Scallops served as tiny sandwiches). I ordered duck breast four ways (shredded duck in a pastry cone topped with whipped herbed butter, duck mousse wrapped in prosciutto, duck confit in a glass topped with some sort of whipped potato and roast duck breast). Pat had French onion soup (no melted cheese or crouton on top!) and then had lamb chops which were suppose to be served with beets but he does not like beets so they substituted potatoes. For dessert, Suzanne and I split a Grand Marnier Souffle and Pat had a cheese plate made up entirely of cheeses from France. They let me order the wine, which was difficult, as they had a wonderful list of French wines from almost every region in France, but I settled on a 2007 Chateaunouf de Pape, which was excellent! All in all, a place I would definitely go back to.
The ride home was uneventful though filled with talk of changes Suzanne and Pat have seen on St Maarten/St Martin over the last several years. A little reading and then bed for me. I will be going back to St Thomas tomorrow on the 11:55am Liat flight. Suzanne says she is making blueberry pancakes for breakfast. She has a new recipe for pancakes that uses ricotta. Sounds wonderful! Suzanne is also a good cook, always willing to try something new. I wish I had more time here but the last couple of days have been a wonderful break from routine! AND I am so happy they have WiFi now at the house! I can still blog while here even though a phone call would be international. Modern technology!
For dinner, we drove over to Grand Case on the French side of St Martin. I noticed this time around on both the Dutch and the French side, that the countryside looks cleaner and more lush than two years ago. Last time I was here, you could still see the ravages of Hurricane Luis that happened back in 1995. Even ten years after that particular hurricaine, the island still seemed ravaged. Now the landscape seems more lush, houses have been repaired and most of the excess debris has been removed. The Dutch side, Sint Maarten, broke away from the Netherland Antilles, and declared themselves an independent country, but they are still under Dutch rule. All very interesting and somewhat confusing. Labor laws differ drastically between the French and the Dutch. On the Dutch side, if you are Antillian (an islander), you have a better chance of getting a job than a Dutch citizen. It also makes it harder to fire you. You have to be caught strapping from your employer at least three times before you can be fired. On the French side, a French citizen is cavorts for a new hire over someone born on the island, so you see more white workers than black workers in the shops and working in restaurants. Such a difference!
We parked the car, then walked along the main boulevard. There are really no sidewalks in Grand Case, so people and cars are both in the streets. The only good thing about it is that the "main drag" is a one way street. Mthe restaurants are all open to the street so you can either sit in front and watch the people who walk/drive by, or sit further into the restaurant where it is more quiet. We sat inside the restaurant called La Cottage. I've never eaten there before, I've only eaten at the Blue Martini in Grand Case. Our waitress (French), went over the specials fornus. Suzanne told me she did not understand a word the woman said, but loved to listen to her talk, it sounded so pretty, lol! I told Suzanne she just went over some of the menu items that were considered house specialies, so she really didn't miss anything. The menus are in French and in English, which helps. Having a culinary education helps with reading the menus asmthe language of the kitchen is French. We had a Kir Royale for an aperitif (made with Campagne). Suzanne and I split the Foie Gras appetizer, which was done three ways, (seared and served with toasted gingerbread, a Foie Gras lollipop and Foie Gras mousse), then she ordered a trio of Scallop dishes (a scallop mousse, seared scallops with a tomato sauce and Scallops served as tiny sandwiches). I ordered duck breast four ways (shredded duck in a pastry cone topped with whipped herbed butter, duck mousse wrapped in prosciutto, duck confit in a glass topped with some sort of whipped potato and roast duck breast). Pat had French onion soup (no melted cheese or crouton on top!) and then had lamb chops which were suppose to be served with beets but he does not like beets so they substituted potatoes. For dessert, Suzanne and I split a Grand Marnier Souffle and Pat had a cheese plate made up entirely of cheeses from France. They let me order the wine, which was difficult, as they had a wonderful list of French wines from almost every region in France, but I settled on a 2007 Chateaunouf de Pape, which was excellent! All in all, a place I would definitely go back to.
The ride home was uneventful though filled with talk of changes Suzanne and Pat have seen on St Maarten/St Martin over the last several years. A little reading and then bed for me. I will be going back to St Thomas tomorrow on the 11:55am Liat flight. Suzanne says she is making blueberry pancakes for breakfast. She has a new recipe for pancakes that uses ricotta. Sounds wonderful! Suzanne is also a good cook, always willing to try something new. I wish I had more time here but the last couple of days have been a wonderful break from routine! AND I am so happy they have WiFi now at the house! I can still blog while here even though a phone call would be international. Modern technology!
Friday, January 28, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Well! As it turns out, Suzanne and Pat have WiFi set up at the house so I can still check emails AND blog. Modern technology, isn't grand? Instead of O'Neal taking me to the airport, it was Delita, because she lives at the airport and was going home anyway (but does not mean she gave me money off my fare, a girl has to make a living, you know?). Once at the airport, I was able to check in, but not go to the gate. Each gate has it's own security station. I did not have to go through Customs though. At about 7pm, a Liat worker came through and collected boarding passes from everyone. At 7:12pm, when she checked and found all passengers had checked in, we boarded a twin engine plane, four seats across, about 20 rows, and just took off! I guess they figured everyone's here, why wait?! The flight was uneventful, i got off on Sint Maarten (the plane was going on to St Kitts and then Antigua), went though customs there, walked out into the lobby where Suzanne and Pat wer just walking throu the door! Talk about fortuitous! It was very nice seeing them both again. Suzanne and I stayed up until after 11pm talking, just like old times.
Apparently we are going to a beach bar tonight where they have jazz, cocktails and tapas. Sounds cool! Tomorrow night we will drive over to the French side for dinner. Oh la la! Today, we'll see. Suzanne asked if I had an agenda for the trip. I said no, don't need to go to the beach, I just wanted to get away. So we'll see what the day holds!
Suzanne and I ran some errands, bought Pat some essentials, went over to Marigot on the French side and had lunch at La Sucriere, a French Boulangerie and Bakery. We also walked to Serafina's, another French Bakery but thought La Sucriere had fresher goods. Since going to culinary school, I look at food and especially bakery goods much differently than I used to. I love looking at the pastries and figuring out what they are when the bakers use the French terms. Then looking to see how they were made. The French really do know how to make pastries, whether it is in France or the island of St Martin. So pretty and so tempting. No could have ordered one of everything, if only to take one bite of them to see how they tasted. I also wanted to ask if they'd be willing to take on an apprentice, lol, it looked so good. Often things look much better than they taste-a disappointment! Suzane and I both had a sandwich. Mine was made from a baguette half, had butter slathered on both sides, then tomato slices, lettuce, cheese and ham. Suzanne had a baguette filled with tomato slices, lettuce and slices of Brie. I don't know if they tasted so good because we were hungry or because, once again, the French know how to make and serve really good food! After that we drove back to the Dutch side and to The Fresh Market. Holy Cow!! The food was beautiful! Fresh fruits and vegetables, cheeses, meats, all sorts of goodies that are hard to find on St Thomas. Their wine and beverage section makes you feel like you are in France. They actually had a 2007 Chateauneuf de Pape!! 2007 was one of the best years for that region, and there it was, sitting on the shelf for $25! Unheard of in the States.
We came back to the house at 4pm, rested a bit, then at 6 pm headed to Simpson Bay to eat at Karektor, a Dutch beach bar. On Friday evenings they have jazz, cocktails and tapas. We ordered mojitos to drink, then some tapas. There were Brie, walnut and honey filled puff pastries, chicken satay, Swedish meatballs, sweet and spicy shrimp, bits of flounder with bacon, bacon wrapped apricots and dates, and Tomato Garlic Bread topped with ham, among other things. I was quickly full, so was happy we were all sharing the tapas. There was indeed a jazz band with one man on guitar and two saxophone players, one man and one woman. They were quite good. Nthe place was packed! It is SO out of the way, that I asked Suzanne how they ever found this place? She said there are a lot of people online who chat about St Maarten and restaurants and bars here, that recommended thisnplace so one day they decided to try it. Apparently between the
Dutch and the French side, there are 400 restaurants on this island! At 9 Suzanne drove us back home without mishap. I can't say that for the ride there beccause a car came out of nowhere and we almost hit him trying to turn a corner. Oh, my, that was close!
I am happy there is free WiFi at Suzanne and Pat's house so I can write as things happen. Otherwise it is easy to forget what happens. Nso far this has been a wonderful trip! And again, nice to be wanted and pampered! :-)
Apparently we are going to a beach bar tonight where they have jazz, cocktails and tapas. Sounds cool! Tomorrow night we will drive over to the French side for dinner. Oh la la! Today, we'll see. Suzanne asked if I had an agenda for the trip. I said no, don't need to go to the beach, I just wanted to get away. So we'll see what the day holds!
Suzanne and I ran some errands, bought Pat some essentials, went over to Marigot on the French side and had lunch at La Sucriere, a French Boulangerie and Bakery. We also walked to Serafina's, another French Bakery but thought La Sucriere had fresher goods. Since going to culinary school, I look at food and especially bakery goods much differently than I used to. I love looking at the pastries and figuring out what they are when the bakers use the French terms. Then looking to see how they were made. The French really do know how to make pastries, whether it is in France or the island of St Martin. So pretty and so tempting. No could have ordered one of everything, if only to take one bite of them to see how they tasted. I also wanted to ask if they'd be willing to take on an apprentice, lol, it looked so good. Often things look much better than they taste-a disappointment! Suzane and I both had a sandwich. Mine was made from a baguette half, had butter slathered on both sides, then tomato slices, lettuce, cheese and ham. Suzanne had a baguette filled with tomato slices, lettuce and slices of Brie. I don't know if they tasted so good because we were hungry or because, once again, the French know how to make and serve really good food! After that we drove back to the Dutch side and to The Fresh Market. Holy Cow!! The food was beautiful! Fresh fruits and vegetables, cheeses, meats, all sorts of goodies that are hard to find on St Thomas. Their wine and beverage section makes you feel like you are in France. They actually had a 2007 Chateauneuf de Pape!! 2007 was one of the best years for that region, and there it was, sitting on the shelf for $25! Unheard of in the States.
We came back to the house at 4pm, rested a bit, then at 6 pm headed to Simpson Bay to eat at Karektor, a Dutch beach bar. On Friday evenings they have jazz, cocktails and tapas. We ordered mojitos to drink, then some tapas. There were Brie, walnut and honey filled puff pastries, chicken satay, Swedish meatballs, sweet and spicy shrimp, bits of flounder with bacon, bacon wrapped apricots and dates, and Tomato Garlic Bread topped with ham, among other things. I was quickly full, so was happy we were all sharing the tapas. There was indeed a jazz band with one man on guitar and two saxophone players, one man and one woman. They were quite good. Nthe place was packed! It is SO out of the way, that I asked Suzanne how they ever found this place? She said there are a lot of people online who chat about St Maarten and restaurants and bars here, that recommended thisnplace so one day they decided to try it. Apparently between the
Dutch and the French side, there are 400 restaurants on this island! At 9 Suzanne drove us back home without mishap. I can't say that for the ride there beccause a car came out of nowhere and we almost hit him trying to turn a corner. Oh, my, that was close!
I am happy there is free WiFi at Suzanne and Pat's house so I can write as things happen. Otherwise it is easy to forget what happens. Nso far this has been a wonderful trip! And again, nice to be wanted and pampered! :-)
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
"I take it one day at a time, but sometimes several of them attack me at once". -little book of inspirational thoughts.
It was up at 6:30am to work days at the Lobster Grille. Cliff and Carl were working today, Cliff on hotline and Carl on Pantry (the Pantry person usually makes the employee lunch, which is a bigger deal at lunch because they feed more people at lunch than at dinner). Cliff is always very nice to me, but he was anxious that he show me how HE sets up, prepares, cooks and plates the food rather than letting me do much of anything. Best not to argue or make a fuss. Plus, you never know what you might learn. It's days like this that it's hard to stay at work when I'm not doing much. Cliff asked me when I was leaving and if I was planning on coming back. The answers: March 1 and no. I told him I'd have to have a job offer before I'd come back. Apparently he would like to open his own restaurant! He does like to cook. I did end up leaving at 1pm rather than 3pm because we weren't that busy. Cliff told me first that there were 116 guests, then another time that there were 128 guests (which usually equates with being busy). Who knows which answer is the right one? Not me.
I went back to my room and showered, then packed a bag. I am on the 7:50pm Liat (a French Caribbean airline) direct flight to Sint Maarten to visit my friends Suzanne and Pat. Same weather there as here, so I won't need much. The flight is only about 36-40 minutes long. I didn't realize how close St Thomas is the St Maarten/St Martin (if you are familiar with St Maarten, then you know that one side is Dutch-Sint Maarten-and the other side is French-St Martin). It sure seems like a hassle, though, to go between some of the islands! And O'Neal, the taxi drivermtaking me to the airport, says sometimes Liat is early, sometimes they are late. It IS the Caribbean, where much of life happens very slowly and is doesn't seem to matter to the people who live here. The only people who get upset about slowness in anything here, are visiting Americans. Otherwise, it is easier to just accept that this is the way it is. He is picking me up at 5:00pm, which seems early for a 7:50pm flight, but it's not worth arguing, as you pretty much do things on their schedule (call us a captive audience, lol). When you leave St Thomas, you have to go through Customs, not sure why, so it does take longer to get checked in for your flight. The same was true when Jordan and I took tour of the BVI. We had to go through Customs on St John, even thou our final destination was back to St Thomas.
Amazing the things you just end up accepting!
I probably won't be blogging while I am on St Maarten because it would be international access and end up being quite expensive, so when I get back on Sunday, I will catch up with everyone. Here's to a change of scenery! Hazzah!
It was up at 6:30am to work days at the Lobster Grille. Cliff and Carl were working today, Cliff on hotline and Carl on Pantry (the Pantry person usually makes the employee lunch, which is a bigger deal at lunch because they feed more people at lunch than at dinner). Cliff is always very nice to me, but he was anxious that he show me how HE sets up, prepares, cooks and plates the food rather than letting me do much of anything. Best not to argue or make a fuss. Plus, you never know what you might learn. It's days like this that it's hard to stay at work when I'm not doing much. Cliff asked me when I was leaving and if I was planning on coming back. The answers: March 1 and no. I told him I'd have to have a job offer before I'd come back. Apparently he would like to open his own restaurant! He does like to cook. I did end up leaving at 1pm rather than 3pm because we weren't that busy. Cliff told me first that there were 116 guests, then another time that there were 128 guests (which usually equates with being busy). Who knows which answer is the right one? Not me.
I went back to my room and showered, then packed a bag. I am on the 7:50pm Liat (a French Caribbean airline) direct flight to Sint Maarten to visit my friends Suzanne and Pat. Same weather there as here, so I won't need much. The flight is only about 36-40 minutes long. I didn't realize how close St Thomas is the St Maarten/St Martin (if you are familiar with St Maarten, then you know that one side is Dutch-Sint Maarten-and the other side is French-St Martin). It sure seems like a hassle, though, to go between some of the islands! And O'Neal, the taxi drivermtaking me to the airport, says sometimes Liat is early, sometimes they are late. It IS the Caribbean, where much of life happens very slowly and is doesn't seem to matter to the people who live here. The only people who get upset about slowness in anything here, are visiting Americans. Otherwise, it is easier to just accept that this is the way it is. He is picking me up at 5:00pm, which seems early for a 7:50pm flight, but it's not worth arguing, as you pretty much do things on their schedule (call us a captive audience, lol). When you leave St Thomas, you have to go through Customs, not sure why, so it does take longer to get checked in for your flight. The same was true when Jordan and I took tour of the BVI. We had to go through Customs on St John, even thou our final destination was back to St Thomas.
Amazing the things you just end up accepting!
I probably won't be blogging while I am on St Maarten because it would be international access and end up being quite expensive, so when I get back on Sunday, I will catch up with everyone. Here's to a change of scenery! Hazzah!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
"Be where you are. Otherwise, you will miss your life". -Buddha, from the little book of inspirational thoughts.
I was up at 9am, after a restless night. Had breakfast, then went to the beach for an hour-hour and a half. I love the sound of the waves hitting the beach. It is a very peaceful sound. It was windy today and if I had had more time, it would have been a good sailing day!
I went in to work 1/2 hour early so I could make Coconut Chocolate bar cookies. I got them all mixed and in the pan, they looked great, I walked over to the combi one with the pan in my hand, and some how dropped the cookie pan on the floor. I was able to save most of the dough, but was quite upset with myself!! I guess things like that happen to keep you humble. I knew they would taste good but didn't look as pretty as they did before the "fall". Millie laughed at me, Ryan and Drew kept silent (good guys). I couldn't see wasting good ingredients (sent to me by Jordan), so went ahead and baked what I had. They did taste good, even if they weren't pretty! People seemed to enjoy them.
Once I finished the cookies bars, Ryan gave me a list of things to do: roast a hotel pan of red potatoes, make lobster stuffing, cut four containers of cherry tomatoes (half of them in half, half of them in quarters), and make the employee dinner. I took chicken breasts out of the freezer first, so they could thaw while I worked on other things. I was going to do potatoes next, but we didn't have any so I skipped that until Ryan could go get a bag of Red Bliss potatoes from the warehouse. So I started on the lobster stuffing (one yellow onion, 2 red bell peppers, one green bell pepper, one carrot, 3 T garlic, 1 cup sherry, 3T lobster base, 3 cups diced tomatoes plus 2 cups tomato juice, 3 T dried basil leaves, water, 1/4 cup lemon juice, mini shrimp 1/3 bag, one large can crab and 1/3 bag Panko), which is kind of a big process. I roasted the chicken breasts with a lilttle oil, salt and pepper. I also roasted a bag of mixed vegetables with them. After 25 minutes in the oven, I took the pan out of the oven, brushed Dijon mustard over them, then sprinkled Panko over the mustard and pressed it down. I returned them to the oven to brown. I made some rice pilaf next and put that in the oven to bake. Then the potatoes came and I halved them, mixing a little olive oil over them, then flavored them with dried thyme, salt and pepper. Bake at 350 for an hour or until golden brown. And I cleaned up after everyone. Ryan really did the Rotary dinner himself. He made meatloaf (what I call meatloaf surprise because he put ham and cheese in the middle of the meatloaf so it was layered. He made pasta primavera with ground beef, using my pasta dish from last night as a base. I made a green salad, then plated Otis Spunkmeyer brownies. The brownies crumbled very easily and I told Ryan that these brownies suck. He said in a loud voice, "whose in control here April, you or the brownies". It made me laugh but he was apparently serious. I did finally get them cut and plated. I cleaned the walk-in, peeled potatoes for tomorrow, then he said I could go. He was pretty nice to me all things considered. I had a glass of wine at the bar once I showered and Ryan, an orange tabby who lives at Bolongo, walked through the restaurant, looking for Harry (who shares his dinner with the cat when he works) and to see what handouts he could get from the guests. Pretty funny, though against Health Dept regs. But he is part for the Bolongo family, lol.
I work days tomorrow at the Lobster Grille, then leave for themairport for a trip to St Maarten at 5:30pm. Can't wait! As St Maarten is Dutch, and requires international phone service, I may not be writing my blog while I am gone. But I will start up again Sunday when I get back. Time for bed, no sleeping in tomorrow!
I was up at 9am, after a restless night. Had breakfast, then went to the beach for an hour-hour and a half. I love the sound of the waves hitting the beach. It is a very peaceful sound. It was windy today and if I had had more time, it would have been a good sailing day!
I went in to work 1/2 hour early so I could make Coconut Chocolate bar cookies. I got them all mixed and in the pan, they looked great, I walked over to the combi one with the pan in my hand, and some how dropped the cookie pan on the floor. I was able to save most of the dough, but was quite upset with myself!! I guess things like that happen to keep you humble. I knew they would taste good but didn't look as pretty as they did before the "fall". Millie laughed at me, Ryan and Drew kept silent (good guys). I couldn't see wasting good ingredients (sent to me by Jordan), so went ahead and baked what I had. They did taste good, even if they weren't pretty! People seemed to enjoy them.
Once I finished the cookies bars, Ryan gave me a list of things to do: roast a hotel pan of red potatoes, make lobster stuffing, cut four containers of cherry tomatoes (half of them in half, half of them in quarters), and make the employee dinner. I took chicken breasts out of the freezer first, so they could thaw while I worked on other things. I was going to do potatoes next, but we didn't have any so I skipped that until Ryan could go get a bag of Red Bliss potatoes from the warehouse. So I started on the lobster stuffing (one yellow onion, 2 red bell peppers, one green bell pepper, one carrot, 3 T garlic, 1 cup sherry, 3T lobster base, 3 cups diced tomatoes plus 2 cups tomato juice, 3 T dried basil leaves, water, 1/4 cup lemon juice, mini shrimp 1/3 bag, one large can crab and 1/3 bag Panko), which is kind of a big process. I roasted the chicken breasts with a lilttle oil, salt and pepper. I also roasted a bag of mixed vegetables with them. After 25 minutes in the oven, I took the pan out of the oven, brushed Dijon mustard over them, then sprinkled Panko over the mustard and pressed it down. I returned them to the oven to brown. I made some rice pilaf next and put that in the oven to bake. Then the potatoes came and I halved them, mixing a little olive oil over them, then flavored them with dried thyme, salt and pepper. Bake at 350 for an hour or until golden brown. And I cleaned up after everyone. Ryan really did the Rotary dinner himself. He made meatloaf (what I call meatloaf surprise because he put ham and cheese in the middle of the meatloaf so it was layered. He made pasta primavera with ground beef, using my pasta dish from last night as a base. I made a green salad, then plated Otis Spunkmeyer brownies. The brownies crumbled very easily and I told Ryan that these brownies suck. He said in a loud voice, "whose in control here April, you or the brownies". It made me laugh but he was apparently serious. I did finally get them cut and plated. I cleaned the walk-in, peeled potatoes for tomorrow, then he said I could go. He was pretty nice to me all things considered. I had a glass of wine at the bar once I showered and Ryan, an orange tabby who lives at Bolongo, walked through the restaurant, looking for Harry (who shares his dinner with the cat when he works) and to see what handouts he could get from the guests. Pretty funny, though against Health Dept regs. But he is part for the Bolongo family, lol.
I work days tomorrow at the Lobster Grille, then leave for themairport for a trip to St Maarten at 5:30pm. Can't wait! As St Maarten is Dutch, and requires international phone service, I may not be writing my blog while I am gone. But I will start up again Sunday when I get back. Time for bed, no sleeping in tomorrow!
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