Happy Halloween! I was not expecting any trick or treaters but we got three! Jordan said if you don't want anyone stopping, then turn off the light! So I did. Good thing I had a some candy!
I was up by 7am, had breakfast then went shopping for my two (actually three) jobs tomorrow. The rest of the afternoon was spent prepping all the food, slicing, dicing and making some of the food a day ahead (like the cranberry chutney and the Pecan Pumpkin Crunch). I am making lunch for the SOE crew with some of the leftover asparagus, a good will gesture, if you will. I am making asparagus and spinach quiche, a mixed green salad and chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Then off to my private chef job, my last counting for this client until Christmas (he's going to Maui). Ah, well...
Once I am done there, it's off to cook for the general partnership meeting (read: more people coming than usually come). They are having Sweet Sausage, Sage and Hazelnut Stuffed Turkey Breasts, Herbed Mashed Potatoes, Orange and Ginger Glazed Carrots, Cranberry Chutney, Parker House Rolls and Pecan Pumpkin Crunch with Bourbon Whipped Cream. Should be a good meal. I think I will be tired by the end of the day!
I still have not had a chance to make Key Lime Coolers (cookies). Too many other things to do! Hopefully I will get to them on Wednesday. Don't want to waste those Key limes!
Monday, October 31, 2011
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Sunday, October 30, 2011
I have got some catching up to do!
Friday, I worked at the Hyatt in Incline village (still trying to make that extra money!) doing a wellness clinic. We had to be there by 7am and work until 12:30pm. We ended up going over because a few of the employees showed up after 12 noon (closing time). Our boss for the day told us to keep going, so we did. I ended up meeting three wonderful women, which made the clinic very enjoyable. The Hyatt employees were also great! I was nice to be in a work environment where people were very happy to have a job, loved working at the Hyatt (many of them are long term employees) and were very thankful to all four of us for just showing up to do a wellness clinic for them. And when it was all over, they even fed us! In the next room was a wellness fair to go along with our clinic. The Hyatt was serving lunch to their employees and included us in the bargain. The had spinach salad with a variety of toppings, green beans with red onions, whipped parsnips (most people would not have been able to tell they were not mashed potatoes), chicken in a light sauce and mahi, also in a light sauce. For dessert, there was a trifle and plum kuchen with local honey (to drizzle over the cake). I was impressed, they did a very nice job!
I got home around 2:30-3pm and found Jordan at home working. I did my billing for Tuesday's Food for Thought at SOE, did some reading and by 9:30pm, was ready for bed (had to get up at 5am two days in a row!). Jordan made dinner. He is always telling me he does wonders with leftovers and it is easy to cook good leftovers when he uses dishes I have made. Good man!
Saturday Jordan went on a bike ride in Susanville with a friend of his, Bob Moen. Guess it was really cold, so it made the ride not so pleasant. Me, I worked at Walmart on 7th at a flu shot clinic from 9am to 5:15pm. Walmart was crazy busy all day. People were in there buying Halloween costumes and Halloween candy. I even saw Chef Mark Estee (from Moody's in Truckee and Campo soon to open here in Reno) shopping in there with his wife. Guess you never know who you are going to run into! Gail, one of the nurses from the Hyatt clinic, who lives in Reno part of the year and South Dakota the rest of the year, showed up at my table and chatted for a while. Her daughter lives here and Gail comes to help with babysitting, etc. After the clinic, I drove to my friend, Swad's house, for a candle party (she makes all her own candles). It was nice catching up with a few friends (from my old job at SCOR).
When I got home (about 7pm), Jordan took me out to dinner at Fuego's, a tapas bar and restaurant over by the Pioneer theater. They have patterned themselves after the Spanish Tapas bars and serve mostly small plates of food but do have a handful of dinner entrees to choose from as well as dessert. Some of what we ordered was a little too spicy for me, but the flavors were outstanding. I was glad we went, and even Jordan enjoyed himself, lol. He always says I am the one with the sophisticated palate and that he often cannot tell the subtle differences in foods that I can. I counter that by telling him you can always educate your palate, be it wine or food. I'm not sure he believes me, lol!
Today, is a nice quiet day, for which I am truly ready! I have a busy week coming up with some cooking and some clinics to do so am working Monday through Friday this week. (I am not complaining!) Ah Choo also seems to be happy I am staying home. He is curled up next to me on the couch and has been for some time. Crazy Mary is upstairs, under the bed, still not really willing to be a "part of the family". Jordan and I have extended the amount of time we are giving her to acclimate but I am unsure of the outcome for little CM (as Jordan calls her). She is still afraid of Ah Choo, even though he wants to be friends. It is a beautiful day out, so both Jordan and I need to get out for a walk or something. No cookies due Tuesday for Hillbilly Hot Dogs, so no baking today. I still have work that needs to be done for Jordan on his LA Hospital project. I will be working on that during my down time.
Friday, I worked at the Hyatt in Incline village (still trying to make that extra money!) doing a wellness clinic. We had to be there by 7am and work until 12:30pm. We ended up going over because a few of the employees showed up after 12 noon (closing time). Our boss for the day told us to keep going, so we did. I ended up meeting three wonderful women, which made the clinic very enjoyable. The Hyatt employees were also great! I was nice to be in a work environment where people were very happy to have a job, loved working at the Hyatt (many of them are long term employees) and were very thankful to all four of us for just showing up to do a wellness clinic for them. And when it was all over, they even fed us! In the next room was a wellness fair to go along with our clinic. The Hyatt was serving lunch to their employees and included us in the bargain. The had spinach salad with a variety of toppings, green beans with red onions, whipped parsnips (most people would not have been able to tell they were not mashed potatoes), chicken in a light sauce and mahi, also in a light sauce. For dessert, there was a trifle and plum kuchen with local honey (to drizzle over the cake). I was impressed, they did a very nice job!
I got home around 2:30-3pm and found Jordan at home working. I did my billing for Tuesday's Food for Thought at SOE, did some reading and by 9:30pm, was ready for bed (had to get up at 5am two days in a row!). Jordan made dinner. He is always telling me he does wonders with leftovers and it is easy to cook good leftovers when he uses dishes I have made. Good man!
Saturday Jordan went on a bike ride in Susanville with a friend of his, Bob Moen. Guess it was really cold, so it made the ride not so pleasant. Me, I worked at Walmart on 7th at a flu shot clinic from 9am to 5:15pm. Walmart was crazy busy all day. People were in there buying Halloween costumes and Halloween candy. I even saw Chef Mark Estee (from Moody's in Truckee and Campo soon to open here in Reno) shopping in there with his wife. Guess you never know who you are going to run into! Gail, one of the nurses from the Hyatt clinic, who lives in Reno part of the year and South Dakota the rest of the year, showed up at my table and chatted for a while. Her daughter lives here and Gail comes to help with babysitting, etc. After the clinic, I drove to my friend, Swad's house, for a candle party (she makes all her own candles). It was nice catching up with a few friends (from my old job at SCOR).
When I got home (about 7pm), Jordan took me out to dinner at Fuego's, a tapas bar and restaurant over by the Pioneer theater. They have patterned themselves after the Spanish Tapas bars and serve mostly small plates of food but do have a handful of dinner entrees to choose from as well as dessert. Some of what we ordered was a little too spicy for me, but the flavors were outstanding. I was glad we went, and even Jordan enjoyed himself, lol. He always says I am the one with the sophisticated palate and that he often cannot tell the subtle differences in foods that I can. I counter that by telling him you can always educate your palate, be it wine or food. I'm not sure he believes me, lol!
Today, is a nice quiet day, for which I am truly ready! I have a busy week coming up with some cooking and some clinics to do so am working Monday through Friday this week. (I am not complaining!) Ah Choo also seems to be happy I am staying home. He is curled up next to me on the couch and has been for some time. Crazy Mary is upstairs, under the bed, still not really willing to be a "part of the family". Jordan and I have extended the amount of time we are giving her to acclimate but I am unsure of the outcome for little CM (as Jordan calls her). She is still afraid of Ah Choo, even though he wants to be friends. It is a beautiful day out, so both Jordan and I need to get out for a walk or something. No cookies due Tuesday for Hillbilly Hot Dogs, so no baking today. I still have work that needs to be done for Jordan on his LA Hospital project. I will be working on that during my down time.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Jordan is home, yeah! It was a long drive home and now he's not so sure he wants to drive it again, lol. It IS easier to fly.
I was in Fernley today to do a flu shot clinic at the Lowe's on the east side of Fernley. Long drive (not as far as San Diego!). Everyone was very nice. Home Depot has it's training room at the back of the store. Lowe's training room is at the front of the store. Different but the same, I guess. I was scheduled to give 40 flu shots (there are a minimum number of people they need to get signed up in order to have this service) but only gave 22. Lots of sitting around. They were also training new hires today so I got to sit thru that spiel. Interesting to sit in on that. I also learned that Lowe's (although that name is a fairly recent introduction, it was started by a man named Buchman) was started in 1946 and catered only to professional people. It apparently was not open to the general public. The first five stores were opened in North Carolina. It wasn't until after Buchman's death that the company went public, is traded on the NASDAQ and is world wide. Interesting (especially when there is nothing else to read, lol).
I made a Swiss Chard quiche for dinner and served it with a salad. Good stuff. I also made a small Pumpkin Tart. Love pumpkin! I will go back and add pictures of some of the dishes I've made. Since I mostly write on my iPad, it's not easy to upload photos. I need to be on a regular computer for that. So eventually I will catch up!
I have a Wellness Clinic tomorrow at the Hyatt in Incline Village. Should be interesting. And I will get to meet more Summit employees. So far everyone has been very nice. I have to be there at 7am so it will be another early morning!
I was in Fernley today to do a flu shot clinic at the Lowe's on the east side of Fernley. Long drive (not as far as San Diego!). Everyone was very nice. Home Depot has it's training room at the back of the store. Lowe's training room is at the front of the store. Different but the same, I guess. I was scheduled to give 40 flu shots (there are a minimum number of people they need to get signed up in order to have this service) but only gave 22. Lots of sitting around. They were also training new hires today so I got to sit thru that spiel. Interesting to sit in on that. I also learned that Lowe's (although that name is a fairly recent introduction, it was started by a man named Buchman) was started in 1946 and catered only to professional people. It apparently was not open to the general public. The first five stores were opened in North Carolina. It wasn't until after Buchman's death that the company went public, is traded on the NASDAQ and is world wide. Interesting (especially when there is nothing else to read, lol).
I made a Swiss Chard quiche for dinner and served it with a salad. Good stuff. I also made a small Pumpkin Tart. Love pumpkin! I will go back and add pictures of some of the dishes I've made. Since I mostly write on my iPad, it's not easy to upload photos. I need to be on a regular computer for that. So eventually I will catch up!
I have a Wellness Clinic tomorrow at the Hyatt in Incline Village. Should be interesting. And I will get to meet more Summit employees. So far everyone has been very nice. I have to be there at 7am so it will be another early morning!
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
I was up early today to finish off the dinner gift a friend was giving to one of the doctor's he works with. I also needed to make meringues for Pavlova for a luncheon I was making. It was a very busy day today!
I went over to Michael's house (I didn't quite make the 10am I said I was going to do, lol). I set the table with the good china and silver, talked for a bit, then made the salad. Mixed spring greens topped with strawberries and orange segments (it was also suppose to have pecans but I forgot those and we decided to leave them off. I still manage to forget things even with a list, although Jay Bushman tells me that happens all the time.) The salad was dressed with Chai Vinaigrette-a very nice combo. I did find some sunflower seeds while rooting around so added those for some crunch. Next I made the sauce for the salmon. A honey-lime-cilantro mixture. Since I made the rice yesterday, all I had to do was sauté some shallots, then removed the pan from the heat, added the rice, topped the rice with two salmon fillets, tucked sprigs of broccolini around the edges and drizzled the honey-lime mixture over everything. Put it in the oven for 8-10 minutes and you have a very elegant meal. When you plate the meal, drizzle the rest of the honey-lime mixture over everything. It was a hit! For dessert, I made Strawberry Pavlovas, meringues topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and strawberries. What's not to like??
After I cleaned up and washed dishes it was off to prepare for the next gig. I went home, repacked my rolling cart, then mixed up a batch of pumpkin cookies dough. Standards of Excellence (SOE) does this demonstration in one of their ovens where they cook a head of garlic with a sheet of cookies to show that the garlic does not affect the taste of the cookies. Then it was off to shop. Raleys ended up not having Boursin cheese or prosciutto so after I bought all I could at Raleys, I headed for Trader Joe's and picked up those two items. It did, however, put me behind in my time line. I arrived at SOE, unloaded the car, and started working. Almost the entire meal was done in their steam oven. Unfortunately, it is rather small and they have only a limited number of pans that work in that oven so things had to be done in stages. That did not help my timeline! I steamed broccoli, but in the middle had to refill the water reservoir inside the steam oven, so that took longer than expected. My rice didn't cook all the way through in the steam oven so I had to finish it in the steam microwave-convection oven (who'd have thought there even was such a thing!!). There was only one non-perforated pan so I had to cook the chicken in stages. And quite a few people cancelled so I had a lot of extra food stuff. Dispute several setbacks, people loved the meal and they all had a good time.
I did learn several things tonight: even though I regularly cook on different appliances, I need to give myself extra time for SOE as things can go wrong very easily. I need to arrive hours earlier than I did today. I learned not to plan two events in one day (although I suppose there would/could be some exceptions). And I need to shop the day before, or at least the morning of, not right before an event like this. Bottom line: people seemed happy with everything, as did Laurie the manager, so that was a good thing.
Now it's time for bed though, I am exhausticated!! Jordan called to say he would be later than he thought, so I probably won't be able to stay awake to greet him. I'll let Ah Choo do that, lol.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
PT this morning. I am going once a week now until the middle of November then I'll be done. Yeah! The knee is great, it's the scar that is a little bothersome.
I took the Oatmeal Raisin cookies to Karen, who said she didn't order any! Since they were packaged up already, she took them. She still has some cookies left from last week. Another lesson learned: don't always believe your client, let them order from you. There is a fine line between pursuing a client and helping them order what they want and not doing anything, which might be misconstrued as you not wanting their business. One of these days I'll get it right!
A few errands, then off to cook. I baked tart shells and a Bourbon Pecan Tart. I cooked Chicken Roulade with Rice and Asparagus, Split Pea Soup, Baked Ziti with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe and would have made two other things but forgot my eggs. As I am going back tomorrow to make lunch, I'll get to them later. I also made Bourbon Honey Roasted Pork Tenderloin, Mashed Potatoes and Apricot Roasted Carrots and Parsnips. These will be the doctor's gift to Mellonese. I also made Salad Nicoise ala Julia Child. Michael lent me one of Julia Child's cookbooks that he had given his mom for Mother's day one year. Huge book! Lots of pictures, though and very how to.....
I had dinner then returned home to do a bit more work. I am tired tonight! Jordan worked at USC today and will tomorrow morning, then drive back to Reno. He always seems rejuvenated when he goes down there!
Monday, October 24, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
It's quiet without Jordan here! My daily routine also changes slightly when he is gone. Wake up, stretches, feed the cats, muck out two kitty litter boxes, make my own coffee (I am spoiled, lol), shower, then get on with my day.
I made Oatmeal Raisin cookies this morning. I need two dozen to fill Karen's order but the recipe only made 23! I had to make up another batch! I used a new spice blend from Penzey's called baking spice. It has cinnamon, cardamom and two other spices. Quite tasty, so we'll see how well they are received. I also learned my lesson, bag and label cookies the night before they are due so as not to have last minute "snafus" that make me late! So they are all boxed up nicely.
I had lunch with Ric at Arlington Gardens (he does go to other restaurants but not often, lol). Meatball soup and Norwegian limp bread ( the cook at Arlington Gardens makes it each year for the Daughters of Norway so gives some to the restaurant). The limpa bread was better than I expected or remembered!
The rest of the day was filled with laundry, recipe research, mail correspondence and work on the LA hospitals project. I also stopped into Pier 1 and filled out a job application as a sales person for seasonal work. We'll see what happens! Just trying to cover all my bases so to speak and make sure I have some sort of steady income.
I talked with Jordan tonight. He is staying with his daughter. She and her husband recently moved to a small town outside of San Diego as they were buying a business in that area (her husband lost his job some months ago). Unfortunately the deal fell through and now they are
not sure what they are going to do. Just goes to show you there are others with more problems or issues than you. So I am very thankful
for what I do have. As my mother always said, "Things always work out, maybe not how you thought they would, but things always turn out
the way they are suppose to". Wise woman, my mom.
Tomorrow, PT in the morning then cooking the rest of the day. The other doctor Michael works with and that he often shares his lunch with, has asked me to make a special lunch for her and Michael. So Wednesday morning I will be making Lime Honey Glazed Salmon, Basmati Rice and broccolini, a mixed green salad with strawberries and pecans dressed with a Chai vinaigrette, and for dessert-Strawberry Pavlovas. She is very excited about it! Little does she know that he is giving her a take home meal that day also, lol! Bourbon Honey Glazed Pork with Mashed Potatoes and Apricot Roasted Carrots and Parsnips. She also gets dessert-Bourbon Pecan Tart (got a bourbon theme going on!). Nice surprises all around!
A friend has been suggesting I look back at my blog and see what I was doing a year ago. Well I finally did just that and found out a year ago I was in Paris! How time flies. And what a wonderful trip that was! Time seems to soften the memories, which is a good thing. By the end of that trip most of us were ready to go our separate ways (too many strong personalities!) but what I mostly remember is cooking, seeing many stores/factories/restaurants and remembering how beautiful everything was. Maybe some day I will be able to go back.....
I made Oatmeal Raisin cookies this morning. I need two dozen to fill Karen's order but the recipe only made 23! I had to make up another batch! I used a new spice blend from Penzey's called baking spice. It has cinnamon, cardamom and two other spices. Quite tasty, so we'll see how well they are received. I also learned my lesson, bag and label cookies the night before they are due so as not to have last minute "snafus" that make me late! So they are all boxed up nicely.
I had lunch with Ric at Arlington Gardens (he does go to other restaurants but not often, lol). Meatball soup and Norwegian limp bread ( the cook at Arlington Gardens makes it each year for the Daughters of Norway so gives some to the restaurant). The limpa bread was better than I expected or remembered!
The rest of the day was filled with laundry, recipe research, mail correspondence and work on the LA hospitals project. I also stopped into Pier 1 and filled out a job application as a sales person for seasonal work. We'll see what happens! Just trying to cover all my bases so to speak and make sure I have some sort of steady income.
I talked with Jordan tonight. He is staying with his daughter. She and her husband recently moved to a small town outside of San Diego as they were buying a business in that area (her husband lost his job some months ago). Unfortunately the deal fell through and now they are
not sure what they are going to do. Just goes to show you there are others with more problems or issues than you. So I am very thankful
for what I do have. As my mother always said, "Things always work out, maybe not how you thought they would, but things always turn out
the way they are suppose to". Wise woman, my mom.
Tomorrow, PT in the morning then cooking the rest of the day. The other doctor Michael works with and that he often shares his lunch with, has asked me to make a special lunch for her and Michael. So Wednesday morning I will be making Lime Honey Glazed Salmon, Basmati Rice and broccolini, a mixed green salad with strawberries and pecans dressed with a Chai vinaigrette, and for dessert-Strawberry Pavlovas. She is very excited about it! Little does she know that he is giving her a take home meal that day also, lol! Bourbon Honey Glazed Pork with Mashed Potatoes and Apricot Roasted Carrots and Parsnips. She also gets dessert-Bourbon Pecan Tart (got a bourbon theme going on!). Nice surprises all around!
A friend has been suggesting I look back at my blog and see what I was doing a year ago. Well I finally did just that and found out a year ago I was in Paris! How time flies. And what a wonderful trip that was! Time seems to soften the memories, which is a good thing. By the end of that trip most of us were ready to go our separate ways (too many strong personalities!) but what I mostly remember is cooking, seeing many stores/factories/restaurants and remembering how beautiful everything was. Maybe some day I will be able to go back.....
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Quiet weekend, really. Janell and I went to the McQueen Craft Fair Saturday with one of her friends. I haven't been in years! I did manage to pick up a couple of presents there. The food was provided by the students: Tri-tip, hamburgers, hotdogs, pulled pork, chili (from a can!), mega-cinnamon rolls, cupcakes, soda and water. The students seem to have more of a presence there than I remember, but it's good to get them involved and it acts as a fund raiser.
Afterwards, I worked on organizing my finances. It may not be much money, but it makes me feel better to know what money has come in and where it has gone. And of course, it will be useful at tax time (:-(.
Jordan left for San Diego this morning. There is a geo-thermal conference he is attending. He just called me tonight to say he was stuck about an hour or so out of San Diego-all the tires on his rental car are loose and the brakes weren't working properly. Good thing he was paying attention!! Don't want any accidents happening! He was waiting for a tow truck at 8pm. Poor guy!
I spent most of the day looking at recipes. I needed to come up with a Holiday dinner for Standards of Excellence (December 7). I guess they like to get that pre-approved through Corporate in a timely fashion. I have a dinner on Wednesday this week with them. My first one! I find out on Monday how many I will be cooking for. Between cooking and clinics, I have something going on everyday this week, which is a good thing financially!
I am also doing some research for Jordan's students. USC has been tasked with figuring out what hospitals there are around LA County, how old they are, how many beds, when they were built, how big a campus they have. A lot of this can be found on websites, but it isn't always easy information to find. And it will provide some income for me, so that is much appreciated. I rather enjoy it, too.
Crazy Mary, our new cat, is no nearer getting used to Ah Choo and she still hisses. But I noticed she is putting on weight, which is good. I did put an ad on Craigslist to see if I could find her a good home. Still not sure what's going to happen with her.
Afterwards, I worked on organizing my finances. It may not be much money, but it makes me feel better to know what money has come in and where it has gone. And of course, it will be useful at tax time (:-(.
Jordan left for San Diego this morning. There is a geo-thermal conference he is attending. He just called me tonight to say he was stuck about an hour or so out of San Diego-all the tires on his rental car are loose and the brakes weren't working properly. Good thing he was paying attention!! Don't want any accidents happening! He was waiting for a tow truck at 8pm. Poor guy!
I spent most of the day looking at recipes. I needed to come up with a Holiday dinner for Standards of Excellence (December 7). I guess they like to get that pre-approved through Corporate in a timely fashion. I have a dinner on Wednesday this week with them. My first one! I find out on Monday how many I will be cooking for. Between cooking and clinics, I have something going on everyday this week, which is a good thing financially!
I am also doing some research for Jordan's students. USC has been tasked with figuring out what hospitals there are around LA County, how old they are, how many beds, when they were built, how big a campus they have. A lot of this can be found on websites, but it isn't always easy information to find. And it will provide some income for me, so that is much appreciated. I rather enjoy it, too.
Crazy Mary, our new cat, is no nearer getting used to Ah Choo and she still hisses. But I noticed she is putting on weight, which is good. I did put an ad on Craigslist to see if I could find her a good home. Still not sure what's going to happen with her.
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