The Joy of Cooking and other bedtime stories

                                                             Just a little light reading.

A little obsessed with the wood fired oven idea. 

Why?

Just imagine: it's 5 am, you've been up since three making sure the oven is fired and hot and getting your dough ready. Its just you, your cup of tea, and maybe someone special, watching the sunrise, hearing the birds wake up, smelling the warm moist smell of bread starting to bake. It's bliss.

That's my idea of a good time folks.

Cheers

-M

NOM!

Frozen Mango, Blackberry Cassis, and Vanilla mosaic. Art AND food! I'm definitely trying this out before the summer is through! (From the Epicurious cookbook, which is really neat and different if you happen to be looking for a new cookbook!)

Stop Hating on the Staff of Life

Soapbox warning!

My fellow blogamericans,

Please, for the love of God, please stop eating "health food."

Stop shunning traditional flavors in favor of out of season, out of locality, wildly unsustainable "superfoods."
Stop counting calories.
Stop hating carbohydrates.
Stop following fad diets.
Stop denying yourself.
Stop saying no to foods history has proven to be good for you.

And above all, stop hating on the Staff of Life.

That's right. This whole new attack on bread is ridiculous. It started in the early 2000's with the anti-carb craze and now we're terrified of wheat, whey and gluten. As a nation we have become afraid of grain. Yes, some people are highly intolerant to whey and gluten. No, you are probably not. You are probably just eating too much bad bread and for that matter, bad food.

Here's the skinny folks: the only thing that hurts your stomach, the only thing that makes your skin bad, the only thing that makes you fat, and the ONLY thing you should be AFRAID of is the astronomical amount of  PROCESSED FOOD we are all ingesting as a country.

Here's a description of the effects of good hearth baked bread from "The Bread Builders" by Daniel Wing and Allen Scott.

"Nutritionally this bread will excercise your digestive system from your teeth and tongue to your colon.

The yeast and bacteria from the sour leaven will provide B vitamins and biotin...If the bread contains whole grain flour, the soluble and insoluble fiber in the bran will help control the absorption of fats and cholestorol, and will reduce the rate at which sugars are absorbed after a meal. Bran will retain water in the gut and stimulate the bowel, increasing transit speed and reducing the gut walls exposure to toxins, some of which will be detoxified by antioxidants from the bran and germ. Natural fermentation pre-digests bran so that its minerals and vitamins are more available for absorption, despite the increased bowel transit rate."

Now, how in the world could that be "unhealthy?"  Sounds pretty damn healthy to me.

(Disclaimer, as an academic I implore you not to believe everything you read, not even me or any book I quote from. But if you can, try a slice of hearth bread and see if you feel a difference, ok?)

The bottom line is, people, that life is short. Eat what you want but keep everything in moderation. I could die tomorrow and I don't intend my last meal to taste like cardboard because Dr. Oz said it would help me lose weight. I'm gonna eat some meat, cheese, and bread like a boss.

And, no, eating whatever you want is not just for skinny bitches who got lucky with good metabolisms.

Its simple lifestyle:

Grow, pick, catch, cook, bake your own meals with good, local, in season ingredients. And if you can't do that figure out where you can buy from people that do.

Make time to work out any way you can. Walk, run, bike, play tennis, climb Mount Everest, whatever as long as you're active.

Stop listening to stupid people on TV. Start listening to yourself.

Make time to enjoy your life and your food. Its important, I promise you.

And

Stop hating on good foods, especially bread: it's the staff of life for a reason.

Just sayin,

Cheers

-M

Let's Play 20 Questions

20 Questions from the SBA website to answer before starting a business:

1.) Why am I starting a business?
      Besides wanting to make some money, I want to follow my passion and be my own boss.

2.) What kind of business is it?
      I would like to start with a foodtruck or a stand and eventually have a full fledged restaurant.

3.) Who is my ideal customer?
      Yuppies.
      No, but seriously my clientele would be pretty much anyone who's up for a good fulfilling meal made from fresh ingredients. Which most of the time is yuppies but oh well.

4.) What products and services will my business provide?
      Good food and a great, lasting experience.

5.) Am I prepared to spend the time and money needed to get my business started?
     Let me just say I am 23 years old with 3/4ths of a college degree that I can't seem to finish and work like a dog to make a little money which I spend on rent and bills. I live by myself and don't have all that much of a social life to begin with. I'm sick of the first two things and I could do with or without the latter so I guess what I'm saying is I have nothing to lose and...

I got this.

6.)What differentiates my business idea form others on the market?
     Does it have to be different? I'm in the business of feeding people, a business so old there's not really much left to differentiate. The only thing that would really make On The Way stand out is the level of care and dedication put into the food, atmosphere, and customer service.

7.) Where will my business be located?
      Anywhere the wind blows! If I had a foodtruck I'd be bombin around town feeding people errwhere. Well, errwhere the local laws and regulations allow. If I had a stand I'd like to have it on a main street or by a park of some kind.

8.) How many employees will I need?
   Probably just myself at this point to reduce overhead but eventually will need probably two more people to help bake and cook.

9.) What type of suppliers would I need?
Here's the sticky wicket. I would very  much like to use only locally grown produce, meat, and breads or I would make my own. But since that is an expensive option, it will drive my prices up which is something I don't really want to do because I would like to make good food accessible to everyone. That's the challenge I face.

10.) How much money will I need to get started?
That's a doozie! A good food truck costs about $18-20,000 plus the cost of food and permitting fees and insurance. So probably about $30,000, which actually is not as bad as a full fledged restaurant's start up costs.

11.) Will I need to get a loan?
       Nah, I'm totally independently wealthy I just like to pretend I'm poor....so, yes.

12.) How soon will it be before my products and services start making a profit?
        Probably not after a good bit of trial and error. I'm thinking realistically not for at least, at least a year or so. : /.

13.) Who is my competition?
I've never seen a food truck in Culpeper, but there are several stands which sell bbq and smoothies.

14.) How will I price my product compared to my competition?
       I'd like to say I'd keep them a little lower to start off with but I don't know if that's a feasible business model.

15.) How will I set up the legal structure of my business?
       Oh dear lord, I'm getting me a law-yer to deal with that nonsense.

16.) What taxes do I need to pay?
        Let's see there's VA food tax, sales and use tax, and income tax.

17.) What kind of insurance do I need?
       Vendor insurance, plus car insurance for the vehicle.

18.) How will I manage my business?

         LIKE A BOSS.

19.) How will I advertise my business?
       Social media, newspaper, business cards and the truck itself will be advertisement.

20.) How soon will my products be available?
       As soon as they come out of the oven!



So obviously I have a lot to think about. Turns out I can just pitch up a roadside lemonade stand like in the old days. Darn. There's going to be a lot of leg work before this business is even half way off the ground. But I can do it. I have to do it. I will do it.

I just remember a good mantra:
 You are as your deep driving desire is.
As your desire is so is your will.
As your will is so is your deed.
 As your deed is so is your destiny.

– Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

So in other words...

Wish me luck!

Cheers,

-M

   

Wow the government can be helpful!....Sometimes....
Anyway this is a pretty decent website and helpful resource for anyone starting a new business in Virginia:
http://www.sba.gov/content/entrepreneurship-you

And this is a neat little PDF explaining rules and regulations of food trucks in VA:

http://www.vdh.state.va.us/lhd/chesapeake/EH%20FORMS/Mobile%20Food%20Unit%20Operation%20Guide%20.pdf

And this is a sweet food truck website (I WANT ALL OF THEM):

http://fastfoodtruck.com/trucks/18-feet-trucks/

And this is Gordon Ramsay having dinner with a turkey:





Because, yeah.



Cheers,

-M

The Cookie Chronicles part 2

THEY LOOK (and taste) LIKE COOKIES! AND PEOPLE ATE THEM AND DIDN'T DIE!

Look I made him smile!

Now I'm going to make the banana fudge chocolate whatevers

Ok Ok i'll make the chocolate chip a few more times, calm down dude.

Also this because its funny

:

Eat the fucker.

Cheers

-M

SHMEATS

Probably the biggest question someone must ask themselves when even thinking of starting a business is this: "What product am I going to be offering people and is it good enough to make them want to pay money for it?"

For me that's an easy one. I know that my product is food. Simple, right? Well it could be, if all I wanted was to sling a hamburger at you and tell you to get lost. But I don't want that. My product is more than food. My product, the one that people really pay for when they go out to eat, is the experience.

I know for myself at least, some of my best experiences have been centered around food. And I bet if you think about it, so have yours. Your carefully picked meal for your first date, your h'ors devouirs for your birthday parties, the chocolate fountain at your prom, your wedding cake, your good times in the backyard with the grill, your anniversary dinners, your awesome vacation buffets and booze cruises, your retirement soirees, and even funerals. 

All of these instances have a common denominator. 

Food and drink are ever present and tied to some of the most important memories we have. Most of the time, however that food takes a back seat to the moment, because of course that's really what matters to most people who are not as freakishly obsessed with food and eating as I am. But, every once in a while, there is a meal, a homemade dish, a drink, or a restaurant, that is so good it becomes part of that moment and can never be forgotten. It provides a magic memory with a lot of power as is seen in the following example:

 "Hey honey I know we have 5 kids and we're in kind of a slump, but do you remember that one place we ate on our first date with the caramel encrusted brie that was so stellar? We should go back there and rekindle our romance."

"Yes, how could I forget that cheese. As I recall you were pretty ok then too. Actually I recall that you were awesome...but not as good as the cheese. Let's do it, if not for us, then for the cheese!"

And voila, kid number 6 is made.

Anyway, my whole point is as a business person I intend for my product to leave an imprint on not only the palette but the mind as well. Not that I intend to be the world's best cook or baker or have the best restaurant. All I want is to leave this world a little better than when I found it and I think this is the way. By providing people with joyous moments that will stick with them forever.

That leads me to my next question that I've been asking over and over the last few weeks.

"What kind of food am I going to sell?"

The answer for me isn't so simple. I like just about everything. Narrowing it down to a certain genre or theme is difficult, especially for me. See I had no food culture growing up. I'm just the average white kid without any specific or strong cultural influences or even cooking skills. 

I do know what I'm looking for though. They say cook for yourself and you can't go wrong. I know I like small, rich, wow! meals. 

I like meats of all kinds so maybe sandwiches and steaks? I also have a sweet tooth so I was thinking about desserts.

(I had an idea for a steak and dessert shop called SHMEATS, no one liked the name...wonder why????)

I like soups, I like burgers, I like pastas.

I LIKE EVERYTHING AH!

So the question is going to be unanswered for a while but that's ok. I'm still learning the cooking part. The business part is a little down the road so I have some time to decide.

This is just a baseline. I'll be giving updates as I go.

And I'm still casting my vote for SHMEATS.

Cheers,

-M

People I'd like to Have a Chat With.

These are my two cooking idols and the reasons why I would love to meet them.

1.  Who: Martha Stewart

Why: Besides being a great cook, t.v. personality, and craft madame, Martha is just cool. Like you'd probably want to hang out with her because she can do this: 

                                                                      Dude. Yum.

And she does stuff like that for fun. FOR FUN. She can't eat all of that herself, so you know she feeds all of her friends. I, for one, am not too proud to pass up constant free desserts.

Also she's a fitness buff, a mighty creative thinker, and a stone cold business woman who would be, for me, a goldmine of marketing information and industry know how.

Also she was a model:

                                                                          Smokin'

And a convicted felon:

                                              

                                 "I will shank you if you don't eat this delightful berry and remoulade tartlett"

Oh yeah, it's a good thing.

2. Chef Gordon Ramsey

If you've ever set flame to your kitchen, messed up a batch of cookies, or otherwise thought you'd ruined a meal (guilty, guilty, guilty). Don't feel too bad. At least you are in your own kitchen and no one is there to judge you for your mistakes. Feel even better that you don't have this screaming at you non-stop:

                                            

                                        Stand really still, maybe it won't see us and won't attack.

I however am a glutton for punishment and have a bizarre wish to have Gordon Ramsay stand in my kitchen and tell me just how awful my cooking is, because hey, that's how I learn. If my self esteem isn't shriveled completely by these constant attacks, I think I'd be a pretty successful chef because of it. Every time I mess something up or don't move quick enough I think "what would Chef say?" For some reason that helps.

Long story short, I want to put Chef Gordon Ramsay in my pocket and carry him around so he can berate me and make me a better cook.

Is that creepy?

Probably.

But another reason I'd like to seriously meet Chef Ramsay is because I've read and seen that he is interested in the cottage food industry and grows his own stuff and raises his own meat. He's also a stellar business man who doesn't take shit from anyone and speaks very honestly about what he wants. Very cool. Also, as a woman it is my solemn duty to try to find the gooey center at the heart of of this hardened man.There's got to be a good side to him. See:

                                                    

    "His name is Mike. I raised him and loved him. He's my best friend. Then I chopped him up and ate him."

Ok maybe not.

Cheers,

M

The Cookie Chronicles pt. 1

The Cookie Chronicles
Or How I forgot my recipes and learned to love my mixer.

So I got some good advice yesterday. Sometimes I have a tendency to get a tad over excited and ambitious about things. Luckily I have someone that gives me a spoonful of that bittersweet medicine called reality every now and then when I need it.

As I explained how I was planning on baking banana fudge chocolate cookies and a killer mascarpone cream I was reminded of one very important fact:

I really don't know how to bake yet.

Ok so, I'm a little impatient. Pff I said, simple is easy I can do that no sweat. Maybe I'm like the Einstein of cooking? So I decided to master a simple, time honored recipe from the Joy of Cooking. I lowered myself to baking some chocolate chip drop cookies.

Piece of cake (or cookie, hehehe get it?), right?

Well my cookies turned out like this:


Epic cookie fail. Those aren't mine by the way but its pretty close to the real thing.

What would Swedish Chef Ramsey say about those cookies???



So I'm not a baking prodigy.

Fine.

I'll just try again, using a recipe stolen from my mom who in turn stole it from Martha Stewart.

Update you tomorrow.

Cheers,

M

On the Way

2013 has turned out to be, appropriately, the most unlucky year of my life. A chain of events including but not limited to smooshing my brand new car into another car (and not having gap insurance!!!), getting fired from my job of two years, and getting sick unfolded from February of this year. Mix in a dash of relationship drama and a pinch of crushing pressure from unpaid student loans and the ever present monthly specter called "making rent" and its been swell so far.

But guess what? Despite what the melodramatic intro would suggest, this is a cooking blog! Surprise! 

Why?

Because food, cooking, and the dream of owning a restaurant of my own one day (among other things) is helping me survive. Food is saving my life.

And this is a chronicle of my journey towards my dream.

To begin with I'm a typical suburban kid, raised on a solid diet of McDonalds, frozen meals, and big box restaurant food. My family was a splintered one who ate whatever meals in our rooms, apart from each other  and in front of the t.v. I never gave a second thought to what I was eating all the way from childhood to my college years. Food wasn't important to me. Food just was. 

Until I moved out on my own. No more mom to cook me dinner. No extra money to go out and buy dinner. I was stuck either eating Frosted Flakes every night or nothing at all. So I began to think about my food. I began to cook for myself.

It started off kinda shaky, I'll admit. Some of my better quotes:

"Defrost the meat before you cook it? Nah, that seems like too much work."

"Oh you have to mix milk with eggs to scramble them? Learn something new everyday."

"What do you mean Frosted Flakes aren't one of the major food groups????"

And so on.

I began to challenge my upbringing. I started to cultivate a small garden that is coming along pretty well now, something I never would of done before because plants bored me out of my skull as a kid. I stopped making things from mixes and boxes and began to yearn and desire for fresh ingredients and new ideas. Someone made me stop eating cereal and began taking me out for sushi and Afghan food (thanks!), expanding my palette and opening my mind to a world of taste I never knew existed. Food was no longer just there. Food was exciting. Food was a good time. Food was fun.

And then somebody happened to toss me a book one day because I needed something to read. That book was "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan and it changed my life. Like them or not, Pollan's views on today's food culture really opened my eyes to where my food is coming from and what I was eating. I began to actively search out quality ingredients and go to farmer's markets. 

Around that time I got fired from a job I had poured myself into. I suddenly had all this time and nothing to do. So I cooked. And I baked. And I began to think about my relationship with food. See, I dropped out of college because I didn't know what I wanted to do or who I was. Was I a writer? Was I an artist? Or was I a worker bee with a respectable paying day job? Was I anything worthwhile at all? I was pretty lost as to where my life was going. I didn't feel strongly about any of those things, even though I'm fairly good at them. And then one day, in the midst of all of my life's crises. I figured something out. I am all those things. I just am not applying them correctly or in the right medium.

Because cooking brings all of the arts together and is a practical skill to boot. It's the only art that can satisfy both the mental and physical palette simultaneously. It is the way for me. Learning to cook and see it as an art and a skill has hyper focused me in a way that nothing has before.

So now I have some goals to accomplish.

The first being learn how to cook and bake very well. The second to finish a degree in business management.

and ultimately I will own a restaurant that serves food that people will walk away from and never be able to forget the food they got there as long as they live.

And could that restaurant be called anything other than:

On The Way.

Cheers,

M