Moving Ah La Lou to Virginia, Goodbye Dallas!

As of July 1, 2010, Ah La Lou Personal Chef Service is closing it's doors for a little while and relocating to Virginia Beach, Va. I will keep you updated on my move there but for now, it's been a great run in Dallas. More to come in VA. Taking the business in different direction so stay tuned.

Judging. I am guilty too.

I recently had a conversation with my daughter about judging that prompted me to PAY ATTENTION to that very act. I am very guilty of doing just that. Even in simple things. One recent act comes to mind. I recently attended the funeral of a friend of mine's husband. Throughout the years, I would see their teen aged daughter's boyfriend always hanging out at their house and as she became an adult he was still around often at times my friend was at work and her husband being very sick would not know the young man was there. Yes, I went there. I immediately thought no good as going on in that house. Well, at the funeral I found out that both of these young people abandoned their dreams of college to stay and take care of my friends husband. The young man was not up to no good he was being selfless and taking care of his girlfriend’s father. I felt very small once I found this out. This kid was so broken up at the funeral. I am so conscience of judging now. God gave me the visual I needed to show me His word in action Isn't that wonderful how he does that?

I thought I had the judging thing handled years ago but I guess I really did not. I had the pleasure of going on a field trip years ago when my son was in high school with his Arts Magnet class. The kids going had hair that was not their natural color and piercing here and there. Yes, they were truly different. I knew I was in for an experience, little did I know I was truly taught something. Once boarded on the bus to the field trip journey I began to listen to these kids. Wow the intelligence of the conversation and the amount of talent in one spot blew me away. I truly learned the meaning of not judging the book by its cover. The next time you feel yourself judging, think of this, you do not know the circumstance of that persons situation. You are not the judge, God does a great job of that and he does not need a sous chef helping him.

The bible says, "Judge not to judge so that your will not be judged. For the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standards of measure, it will be measured to you. Matthew 7: 1-2. Whose standards would you like to be judged by?

Working on something new!

A few of my fellow personal chefs have started doing their chef business out of commercial kitchens, taking orders, and delivering the product. From their experience I have learned that they are working only an equivalent of 2, 8 hr days each week and reaping the same benefits, or more of working 5 days a week. What a concept. I am working the equivalent of part time hours lately due to client cancellations and such so this concept appeals to me a lot. There are folks that are more open to having meals delivered instead of having a chef in their kitchen. I have found a couple of commercial kitchens for rent in the Dallas area and one of my clients currently is a delivery client and so far, it is working out very well. I will keep you posted on how this is working out.

Light summer foods!

With summer in full swing, who likes to have a heavy dinner on a hot day? Eating hearty salads or grilled meals is so on tap for this summer.

Try a pasta salad:

colored spiral pasta

carrots

onions

bell pepper

celery

cheese

cooked shrimp or grilled chicken

tossed with a vinegarette.

Cut carrots, onions, bell pepper, celery into small pieces.

Boil pasta until done.

place vegetables in bowl

Toss with vinegarette and you have a meal

Or how about grilled salmon with grilled vegetables? Try having your heaviest meal in the afternoon so that your evening meal is cool and light.

Eat light, stay on the healthy side and have a great summer!

A fond memory!

I was recently researching how to make crawfish bisque and came upon a recipe that sounded like the visual I had of my grandmother making this when I was young...does that make sense? What I mean is in reading the ingredients and the instructions, I could almost see Big Mama chop the ingredients, mix them all together and stuff the heads of the crawfish before it joins the tasty bisque.  I remember what her hands looked like as she used the spoon to scoop the stuffing concoction into the crawfish heads and lay them out one by one.  What a fond memory!

What is your fond memory of food?

Giving credit where it is due.

I am so excited! I just reconnected with a very dear friend of mine Erika Jane. Now think back to the 60's (if you are old enough) and remember the Mary Tyler Moore show's theme song, "She can turn the world on with her smile"?  Well, that is Erika except it is her personality!  Oh my goodness, you cannot not like Erika!  Smart, Funny, Beautiful with that personality wow. Well quite a few years ago, we lost touch for one reason or another but recently, I connected with her daughter and sought her out.  Oh my goodness, it was as if no time had passed.  We caught up with the many years of kid stories, she has an empty nest, mine is almost there.  But, the reason this is on my blog is not because I am excited about Erika Jane but about what Erika Jane did for me food wise.  We worked for an Insurance company and on some nights before we would leave or through out the day, we would play "what are you cooking for dinner tonight"?Now back then I was not as experienced with the types of food I cooked and with my little ones at that time, selection was limited.  But Erika, well she would cook it up.  No fast food for us, home cooked meals each night for our families.  When I think about all the influences I have had that have brought me to the point I am as a personal chef, I add Erika Jane to that list.  I still make her Crawfish casserole and Potato soup.  I am a better cook because she stretched me all those years ago.  I am happy to have reconnected with her again. 

Spring has sprung!

Although you cannot tell all over the country, Spring is Here! One of the things I love to do in the spring going into the summer is to not only make my world more colorful with flowers and plants but make my food just as colorful.  Why not add the red and yellow bell peppers to a dish and not just the green.  Add raw squash to your salads to give it color beyond the lettuce and tomatoes or better yet, use those yellow tomatoes you are not use to. Take a chance, Color your World!

Happy Spring!