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! 

Need a change?

One of the reasons I became a personal chef is because I have always had a passion for cooking. Cooking has always been something I knew I could go to when I felt anxious or blue.  I would alway say if you come over and all 4 burners are going and I am cooking Sunday dinner on Wednesday, I have had a bad day.  I use to be in the IT world and cooking would calm me.  

Do you need a change?  Or do you need to reaffirm what you already do?  I have an idea you may want to look at.  A friend of mind is a career coach. She can help you with your career identity or a career change.  What better time then now to find out what your real destiny is? 

go to www.designyourwork.com  and check Coach Tanya out.  Take the online assessment.  What have you got to loose?

Comfort food!

My comfort food is a very simple dish.  Nothing fancy.  Nothing sweet.  Just simple simple, mac and cheese.  Not the box kind. My mom's kind.  Now, this mac and cheese I have had all my life. Once I moved away from home, there was one thing that was consistent, when I needed comfort, I made mac and cheese.  

I use elbow macaroni, grated Colby cheese, egg, salt and pepper, and milk.  Now some folks use a variety of cheeses some plain and some fancy but I just like to do the old fashion Louise Downey way. Boil the macaroni, beat the egg and milk together in a bowl, once the macaroni is cooked, drain and put in the bowl with the egg and milk stirring together then and only then add the cheese and salt and pepper and then pour in a buttered baking dish and cook for 30minutes covered and there you have it....ah la lou....

What is your comfort food?

Happy Fat Tuesday!

I know it is almost over but I have been saying Happy Fat Tuesday all day long and I have gotten some crazy stares here in Richardson, TX.  But you know what, I do not care!  I think it should be a Happy Fat Tuesday!  Even if you do not partake in the festivities where you are, you can go somewhere and toast with a bowl of gumbo, a shrimp po boy, a big ole creamy praline, or a hot cup of chicory coffee.  Man, I am making myself very hungry!  

As a child I remember going to Mardi Gras often.  I remember the parades and the beads.  That was the thing, getting the mother load.  I still have a box of beads in one of my closets that seems to multiply every time I rediscover it.  My mom who was born and raised in New Orleans, use to go to Mardi Gras every year and would bring back beads to the granddaughters so year after year of  beads add up.  When I worked in corporate america, I would bring beads from that same box to the office and throw them on desks.  For my daughter's 16th birthday, she wanted a Mardi Gras theme so again, I took beads from the box and used them as decorations and party favors (she is now 23!) So I think they multiply in the dark, hey I'm just saying....Mardi Gras is magical!  Maybe next year we all can go and support New Orleans and attend the parades and ask them to throw you some beads but I may actually bring some and throw them back. :-)

Interesting web site

Ok so I have been doing a lot with facebook and twitter lately and come across a lot of foodie type of  web sites and here is one I found that was interesting :  foodess.com

Check it out.  Good visuals.

Cook on!

Meeting at the chamber!

About a month ago, I joined our local chamber of commerce.  I have been really trying to market my business in many different ways so one of the ways mentioned in my studies at the Culinary Business Academy was to look into joining the local chamber.  So today there is an orientation and lunch.  I am not sure what to expect but I am going to walk in there with a positive outlook and lots of business cards.  

Besides joining the chamber, I have sent out postcards advertising my business to local neighborhoods, and tomorrow will be the first time my ad will run in the Dallas Morning News insert called Neighborhood Go. 

Do you have any unique marketing ideas....pass them on.

Cook on!

Do we teach our kids to cook anymore?

I remember growing up a lot of years ago and watching my mother cut up stuff and stir stuff and boil stuff and put stuff in the oven and then when all that was done, a delicious meal was set before me.  Back then, fast food was the exception instead of the rule.  I remember growing up in San Antonio on special occasions, we would go to a restaurant called Earl Able and the food was always so good.  But the food never could compare to my mom's cooking.  During my younger years we would sometimes stay over at my cousin's house and there were 8 kids in that family, the oldest daughter Yolanda, would just make the most wonderful simple dishes and the next oldest daughter MarShiela baked the most wonderful cakes and pies as well as made a mean dinner anytime of the week. But they came by it honestly because their mom Helen to me made the most wonderful enchilada's.  Then in the summer, we would spend time at my grandmother's house in New Orleans and that was a whole new type of cooking lesson.  The things that came out of that kitchen were so good.  I guess I have always been surrounded by good cooks which only cultivated my love for cooking more.  

But I guess my question is, don't we teach our kids to cook anymore?  With the 99 cent drive through meals sometimes it is easier to feed them that type of food but what if, just what if we taught them how to make a few simple dishes well so they could be self sufficient.  Now, don't get me wrong, as much as I would like to say my two oldest children went off to college making shrimp creole and smothered chicken, that did not happen. Honestly, I taught both of them to cook pretty much over the phone.  They would call with a taste for something and I would guide them through with phone instructions and e-mail recipes.  I must say in my defense they did know how to cook simple things, survivable things, I will not go hungry in my dorm things.

I cannot tell you how many young women have come up to me asking me to teach them how to cook.  This was not something their parents did when they lived at home or like my kids, they were busy with other things and did not have the time to learn.  I feel pretty bad for those right now who do not know how because with the economy the way it is, the most cost effective way to eat is to prepare meals at home.   

Teaching young people to cook can start with simple pre cut cookies on a cookie sheet.  Then graduate to making them from scratch.  Teach kitchen safety along the way.  Then graduate them to their favorite meal.  At the least before your child goes off to school, they should know how to scramble an egg, make taco's, or make spaghetti.  Obesity can be fought with knowing what is being prepared and what is in what you eat.  Did you know if you eat breakfast or dinner out on a regular basis, your chances of becoming obese are doubled?  Just a little foodimentary for thought.  

Cook on.......

If you are in the Dallas area and are interested in cooking classes, contact me at ahlalou.com

What would you like to learn how to cook?

Is there a dish that you remember from childhood, or a meal you have had that you really want to learn how to cook?  What do you want to learn how to cook.  Let me know....just curious.

What is beurre blanc?

Beurre blanc is a hot butter sauce made with a vinegar and shallot reduction to which butter is added (lemon juice is sometimes used).

Tibits from foodimentary

I started following foodimentary on twitter and this gentleman sends out tweets on a regular basis.  He is awesome.  You get unknown facts like:  the pasta and seasoning mix "hamburger helper" was introduced in 1970.  It was created during a meat shortage.

Check it out. If you have twitter ( http://twitter.com/Foodimentary ) or facebook, he is on both.  Go to foodimentary.com (coming soon) but it will take you to facebook and twitter.

If you do not have either, I will be updating his tidbits on this blog.  He is just a guy with a lot of time on his hand who tweets about food stuff.  How neat.  

Cook on!

The Inauguration.

Ok, not food related but equally amazing.   I attended the inauguration on the 20th and I must say this is an event I will never forget. I stood in the midst of over a million people and must say I did not expect the peacefulness we experienced.  I was so glad I was able to share this with my girls. This was a great day...

THE Resolution!

The number 1 new years resolution is a vow to lose weight.  One major component of this is eating habits.  Eating healthy is key to losing weight along with exercise. Eating healthier is not all about low fat and no taste, it is about the right choices and correct portions.  I think this is very important to a healthier and happier you.  Now if you know me you look at me and say what does she know about losing weight, she is thin.  Well I am here to tell you it is not about size it is about your health.  Yes, one should be concerned about weight but more about being healthier and that can be at a size 4 or 12. It is all about health.  So, vow not only to lose weight if that is what you want to do but eat healthier. 

Happy New Year!

2008 is officially gone and new and exciting things for 2009 are ahead. Although 2008 was not a total disaster, I am looking forward to the new things to come that this new year will bring. I am looking forward to getting really creative with my business in light of the way the economy is. Although everyone has to eat people are tightening their belts and a personal chef, may seem like a nice to have expense. I would like to bring home cooked meals to homes that would normally eat out and spend unnecessary money on unhealthy fast food. I can cook or I can teach to cook but either way, the families are getting a healthy home cooked meal. Nevertheless, I am going to charge into 2009 with good thoughts and the same faith that started me on this cooking journey. Also, look for ahlalou.com 2.0 version sometime this quarter.