To recipe or not to recipe, that is the question……

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I just finished cooking for a workshop of hungry actor’s who were training at a month long intensive in Shakespeare.  Sunday night, as I was sitting at the bar soaking in the end of our time together, I was approached by one of the participants who said “I find it fascinating that you didn’t use any recipes during the workshop.”  I’ll tell all my blog readers a secret.  I don’t believe in recipes.  It’s not that I don’t believe in them but I have the voice of many culinary instructors in the back of my mind saying “A recipe is just a guideline.”

Truly, a recipe is a guideline or a map, if you will.  I will often google a recipe to get a basis for how I want to make something and then make it my own.  When you see recipe’s on this website that’s mainly for your benefit.  Often, when testing a recipe for you all, I have to stop what I’m doing, write it down and it makes the process much longer.  Working without recipes and creating something by tasting it and changing it is what creates the magic that I love in the kitchen.

That being said baking is completely different.  When you make you have to use a recipe because the measurements are so precise.  So in this new year I urge you all to be a little more free with your cooking.  Add something sweet to a salty recipe.  Find something in the fridge that needs to be used up and create a recipe around it.  Cooking can be as much fun or as much of a chore as you want.

Almost back……

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Well hello there! It’s been awhile hasn’t it? I have four more days of the workshop I’ve been cooking for and then I’ll be back to this website. I’ve got lots of things to chat about. I’m really going to try to make some more positive steps in the health department.

I have to say, besides the utter exhaustion, this workshop experience
has been tremendous. I’ve cooked a lot of great food with a staff that, while they didn’t have a lot of cooking experience, worked harder than any group I’ve ever had. And there was absolutely no fighting, no drama and no stress related to them.

This is currently day number 26 without a day off so I’m looking forward to some down time to take better care of myself. I’m attaching a few random pictures for your enjoyment of things that I’m sure I’ll be writing about soon!

Be well!

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Belgian Waffle with Peanut Butter

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Tuesday is the off day at work, for the workshop I’m currently cooking for. That means that I serve a
brunch instead of the normal lunch. People think it’s simple but actually it can be more difficult because it starts a lot earlier than the typical lunch.

I digress, again. Last year I bought a fancy two waffle at the same time maker for a valentines day brunch I was catering. I like to make use of it as much as I can. So typically we
serve waffles on Tuesday, today was no exception.

At the end of the meal today my sous chef went to make himself a waffle and told me that he likes to put peanut butter on his waffle. I laughed him off. Then immediately made myself a waffle and tried it. It was mind altering. It tasted like a Reese pieces candy. My all time favorite candy in the world. Of course, I felt like crap afterwards but it was worth it! I recommend you give it a try! Two more weeks to go and I’ll have more time to blog, record videos etc.

Be well everyone!

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Happy New Year, a little late!

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I’ve been debating about writing this post for days.  What can I say that is new and inspiring to you all?  Sure I have big plans.  The plans to get in shape, watch what I eat, save all my money.  We start off every year with those plans, don’t we?  And actually into day 4 I’m doing pretty good.  I’ve woke up by 6am each morning and done at least 1/2 hour on my Wii Fit. I’ve been keeping my food journal again all while cooking 2 meals a day for an actor workshop at work.  Ok, so yesterday I ate 1.5 belgian waffles with a cinnamon butter and some pure maple syrup.  You can’t be good all the time right?

See, the truth is, the year always starts off kind of strange for me.  On the 28th of December, while the rest of the world is on vacation, I’m starting a month long project of feeding 70 people seven days a week.  By the time New Years Eve comes around I want to get home and go to bed.  That’s what I did this year.  I went to the bar at 8pm to hang out with some friends, briefly, and then went to sleep at 11:30pm!  Lame huh?  But lame is ok.  New Years has always been a holiday akin to Valentines Day.  You’re supposed to be kissing someone at midnight, or maybe you meet a new lover on New Years Eve, blah blah blah.  I’m ok with being in bed early that night.  Maybe one year soon I’ll have someone in my life that will make me feel different about these things.  Who knows!

The real truth is that I have to lose weight now.  It’s more of a I can’t fit into my clothes issue.  I’ve heard about this happening to people, mainly women, but I experienced it last week.  I tried to put on a pair of jeans and they barely fit.  They were so tight I was almost afraid to go out in public with them on for fear that they would bust.  I will not budge and by a new pants size, I can’t.  I all ready wear a size 42 waist.  I think my goal this year is to finally do it.  I want to get down to a size 36.

For this month I’m going to continue to work out and try to stay away, as much as I can, from temptation at work.  I will just have small little tastes of food and then eat salad and meat for my meals.  Then, when this workshop is over, I will possibly get a gym membership and maybe do a juice fast?  I watched a documentary last night call Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead.  It was about this guy who did a juice fast for 60 days and then only ate macronutrients, fruits and vegetables.  I think I might want to try it but it would be impossible while I have to cook and taste all of this food.  I’m even considering taking it slow and juicing one meal a day at the beginning.

Thanks for listening to my early morning rambles.  What are you all doing differently this New Year?  What are your goals?

Happy Holidays, or maybe not!

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Christmas is finally over.  As I was driving home from my sisters house on Sunday, after all the kids opened their presents, I was trying to think of something inspiring to write here.  Truth of the matter is that it was nothing life altering.  I had little nephews running around yelling ‘Uncle Ron, You’re fat.’  As I was playing with one of my nieces toys the same child laughed maniacally saying ‘Look, Uncle Ron is playing with a girls toy, ha ha ha!’  If the child only knew!  The best was the childhood nickname that reared it’s ugly head once again, I don’t have time or energy to go into the origin of that story at this moment but it will happen at some point.  Christmas usually is a pity party for me.  No other holiday, except for Valentines day and weddings, do I feel more alone.  I do have to say though that there hasn’t been a time in my life, at least not recently, that I’ve been happier.  So don’t go worrying about me!

Since this is a food blog let’s chat about food for a moment.  If there is one thing I’ve learned this year it’s that Christmas, for my family, equals butter!  It seems like every time we turned around we were out of butter.  My poor brother in law probably made five trips to the grocery store for more butter.  It was in the turkey, stuffing, apple pies, mashed potatoes, gravy and many others I believe.  I used 1.5 pounds myself just for the crust for 3 pies.  Needless to say my nephew might be right, at least I’m feeling fat.  On Christmas evening, when I got home, I had a sweet potato and piece of tuna for dinner.  I feel healthier already!