Onward, Upward

Hi this is me... well, It's a self portrait after hours of drinking and eating... so yes, This is me!



Today was my first day at my new job.

What? I got a new job? Yes it's true and being the busy individual that I am I haven't found the time to blog about it. Last Wednesday was my last day at Trader Joe's.

There, I FINALLY mentioned where I work on my blog.
Aren't you proud? Well if you think I'm going to tell you the company I got a job WITH, you have another thing coming.

For the past three years and four months I worked for what is truly a spectacular little grocery store. I learned a lot about food, was constantly praised for both my knowledge and my skills, was given ridiculous raises and benefits, and built very meaningful relationships with numerous amazing people.

I also learned what I want to do when I grow up, which has lead me to where I am today. I learned at the ripe age of 27, that without a doubt, I will always be working with food. I knew I didn't want to go back into the service industry, and let's be serious: retail is a bitch. Granted, Trader Joe's is probably the only form of retail I could or would ever work, and is GREAT retail overall.

But I also knew that one day I wanted to have a family and that 50 hour work weeks, all or most holidays and lots and lots of weekends was not conducive to being the type of parent, spouse or daughter that I wanted to be.

This led to a job search. I had no idea what I was looking for, and quite honestly I wasn't feeling very optimistic. A lot of what Trader Joe's provided me with was really hard to put on paper.

But I persevered.

I read Craigslist ads with the search term "food". I sent my resume to a friend that works in Career Counseling. And I (wait, don't laugh) had patience.

I would like to encourage you to go search on monster or craigstlist with the search term "food" to see what I was up against.

Food: Yes! Food service: NO!

Shuffling through dozens of daily listings can make you eyes go crossed : Manager, host, food runner, line cook, food service director, merchandise coordinator, serving position. WAIT! Go back to that second to last one. Merchandise coordinator? That was a good title! Tell me more!

Giving little indication as to which company the add was for, the job sounded interesting at least. "Develop relationships, price comparisons, organic foods, yada yada". I closed my eyes, threw together a cover letter, shuffled some things around on my resume and sent the email. I had applied for a new job. I had no idea what to expect

A waited a week or two and heard nothing. I was angry that I didn't get a call back and had no idea what I would do if my well manicured resume couldn't even get me a call back.

I'm not one to dwell, so I moved on, perused craigslist a couple days a week and ACTUALLY moved on. That's when things happen right? When you move on? That's when I got a call. And then an interview, and then another. All of a sudden they wanted to fly me to Chicago. And finally, two and a half weeks ago, an offer.

It sounds like a whirlwind, and in retrospect it was. But at the time the anticipation was killing me. I couldn't talk about it at work. I had to keep a secret. I HATE keeping secrets. The whole process lasted just over two and a half months and friends and family had to listen to my anxiety during the whole thing.

I was terrified of leaving Trader Joe's. Talk about job security in the year 2009? I continuously received fabulous reviews from a company that is growing a million miles a second. That is job security in a nutshell. What did I know about this new company, would Kyle and I be safe financially?

The company well, it's well known, so that's a good start. It's privately owned by people with a very German sounding last name. Well shoot, that sounded a LOT like Trader Joe's. But I did more research. I needed to be sure.

Most of their products are organic and are sourced from within 500 miles of production. They don't allow GMOs in their ingredients. They are ecologically sound. They give back to the community. I even asked about the companies growth over the past few years. The percentages were good... Very good. It was a fit, and when I received the offer there wasn't hesitation. I went without eating for about 20 hours so as not to throw up when giving my notice, and all of a sudden my life totally changed. I had phone calls to make and loose ends to tie up. And now, today I am officially an employee of a new company! So insanely crazy. I can't even begin to explain...

My hopes are that my new position will (with will and organization) help me meet my personal goals. Things I have missed so much during the past 3.4 years. Cook more, be healthier (that's right, no more Maple Leaf cookies on a moments notice), blog more, train for long distance runs, photograph food and spend time with my family... oh and maybe even have a family of my own one day! So wish me luck, and have patience as I learn who I am all over again while you sit here and read about it.

Tomorrow, my first CSA dinner of 2009 and the eat local challenge!

5 people + 1 bottle of B&B = Fun Dinner Party

I totally stole that title from Chris's google status.


I got the idea of making the sweetbreads for more than just Kyle and myself on Monday night. If you're cooking weird shit, it's way more fun making other people eat it too, so I invited some culinarily minded friends.

Surprisingly, sweetbreads are not hard to come by aside from the fact that my hours aren't very conducive to me visiting the butcher. I sent Kyle on a mission to swing by Clancy's on his way home from work on Tuesday to pick up 2 pounds of sweetbreads... for $12. Talk about economic downturn, why isn't everyone making sweetbreads for their dinner guests. This stuff is cheap!

I started soaking them Wednesday night and changed the water in the morning on Thursday, and again when I got home on Thursday night. The water was pretty clear even after the 1st soak, so I figured they had to have less "ick" in them at that point. Though all of the recipes I read called for several changes of water, 3 would have to suffice as I was short on time.

Taking off the membranes was definitely the hardest part. There were a lot of membranes, and not a lot of patience on my part, especially since they were SO COLD. My hands are cold by nature, so I was just mad at those damn glands the entire time I was peeling them. Put that on top of the fact that I didn't really know what was supposed to be there and what wasn't, it was an interesting experience to say the least.

After peeling off membranes and cutting off valves (yes, valves) I covered the sweetbreads in salted water and brought them to a boil. I quickly rinsed them off and put them between two plates with 2 pieces of le creuset on top to press. This apparently gets more "ick" out, and renders them more tender.

Right after being pressed



I kept them pressed until it was time to dredge and fry the guys. Nothing fancy, just some flower and whatever spices I had handy.




I melted 1/2 stick of butter and went to town


I totally forgot to take pictures of the finished project, but Chris allowed me to snap some of the remaining glands from his plate.


I was kinda bummed because I didn't have a very good gauge on what I was doing and couldn't find a reliable recipe online to save my life. I essentially made up my own recipe, picking some tips up from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking (which is really a pain in the ass to cook from) and and a little from Gastronomique. While they were tasty enough, Chris told me the flavor and texture could have been improve by both soaking and poaching in milk rather than water.



I also think they could have used a sauce of some sort, but it was kind of a thrown together dinner party and we had loads of meats and cheeses along with homemade bread to nibble on so sauce was an afterthought. Peter was the only one to clean his plate


I think of the five of us, four had never had B&B before. I recall serving it to people back in my table waiting days, but never thought to try it. It was sweet and spicy and overall pleasant as a general consensus... and then the five of us finished the bottle (which was full when dinner began). Whoops.



Overall I'd say its fair to call the dinner a success, if not for the sweetbreads then definitely for the company. In six months maybe I'll try my sweetbreads again (or when my mom is in town, as she's a sucker for such things).

Next week: Undecided and not inspired (this isn't a good sign if it's only my 2nd week into this goal) Suggestions, anyone?

Weekend goal

I am really bad at meeting goals unless they are very well defined (or SMART goals... enter "gag me" face here). In a recent turn of 1/4 life crisis events I realized that I don't cook anymore. Not like I used to anyway. This is the saddest thing I think I've ever realized, and have been trying to improve my quality of life by making weekly goals. Marxfoods has helped because I would feel guilty if I didn't use the great stuff they've sent me. But I also need inspiration and adventure.

What is cooking, if not an adventure?

{Wow, that was cheesy. My employer would be so proud}

I think good cooking is the perfect balance of both practical (left side of the brain) and creative (right side). I need to stimulate my right side. I am far to practical 95% of the time (just ask Kyle).



Goal #1 Make dinner at home one night during my work week.
Wow, doesn't this sound depressing. I used to do this all the time and this seriously kills me.

Lets take a look at last weeks work schedule: Sunday 12-10pm, Monday 12am-10pm, Tuesday 12am-10pm, Wednesday 8am-6pm, Thursday 6am-4pm.

Maybe I would have made something on Wednesday, but I was so tired when I got home I practically collapsed. I passed up free pie from Chris, and I certainly did not go for a run. I think I ate pizza. I don't even remember. We cooked the Szechuan Chicken on Thursday, but I don't think my Friday counts as a weeknight.

Goal #2 Cook something I've never cooked before one night during the weekend. This could be as easy as poaching salmon, or as involved as homemade gnocchi (I crossed both of these endeavors off my list years ago).

This weekend is sweetbreads. I had sweetbreads for the 1st time on my 23rd birthday at El Gaucho (which is long gone) and they were good (though Kyle and I did eat pancreas in an frittata while living once which was pretty good and somewhat similar I think) I hadn't encountered them again (to my recollection) until we ate out with my parents at one of my favorite Houston restaurants Cafe Rabelais. I was being conventional and went with Red Snapper, while my mom ordered the sweetbreads which she hesitantly let me try. Damn it they were delicious.

I'm doing it this weekend, no questions asked, pictures to prove it.