CaliPoutine

Wow, I'm glad so many people are reading. I just got home a little bit ago. Today wasnt too bad. It's next weekend that is going to be crazy. Here is a pic from last night. I took the boys to the park. Sometimes we stop at DQ for a doggie cone, but I knew I had some ice cream and some cones so I made them each a little one. Notice those cones are from Kroger. They are sugar cones. The cones we get in Ontario that say sugar cones are actually cake cones( according to where I grew up). I gave them some Breyers strawberry ice cream. Work today: I worked on 2 cakes. A chocolate cake from an old issue of Chocolatier magazine and a carrot cake( 3 x a recipe). I forgot to take pics of the actual unfrosted cake. Its very good, very moist. Its made with oil and unsweetened chocolate. It has 4 cups of sugar in the cake. My boss uses Baker's unsweetened. I mentioned to her today that I'd love to taste it with a higher quality of chocolate. She said she can't get any other unsweetened except Baker's. The frosting is butter, cream, sugar, coffee and 1lb of semisweet chocolate. My boss uses Callebaut. You cook the mixture and then whip it in the stand mixer. I made a bigger recipe of cream cheese frosting too. The carrot cake will be frosted tomorrow. My co-worker Jodi worked on a rib rub. I was surprised when my Boss said she doesnt remove the silverskin. She said she never has. Her rub is from a Williams Sonoma grilling book. It has garlic, thyme, sage, allspice, salt and pepper. Her rub is very different from mine. The one I use is from Cook's Illustrated. Mine has brown sugar, oregano, chili powder, paprika, etc. I usually make the staff lunch. Today was a salad with some deli turkey my boss bought at Costco. We used gruyere cheese as well. Like I said before, today wasnt too bad. I made ahoney- lime vinaigrette for a salad called "40 shades of green"(Fine Cooking). I also prepped romaine for a ceasar salad. I chopped some celery for a potato salad and I ran to the store to pick up ripe avocado's. Oh, I also shucked some corn. After work, I ran to the store again and picked up some stuff I needed for my own catering job on Tuesday and for the Senior meal on Wednesday.

Is anyone even reading? I'm heading to bed. I wont be posting tomorrow until I come home from work.

You can still find it used on Amazon. clicky

Thanks for commenting. Each slice of bread has90 calories, 4 grams of fiber and 18 grams of carbs. It wasnt too bad. I usually make my own bread, but I didnt really have time this week. I bought the potato cooker thingy at TJ Maxx. Its supposed to cook them faster. Its made especially for the BBQ. It was 3.99. It seemed to work well, although I nuked them for a few minutes before I threw them on the grill. Schedule wise, today wasnt too bad. The real fun starts tomorrow. I'll be working non-stop until next Sunday.

Dinner: Pork tenderloin, baked spuds( I made an extra one so Robin can make home fries for breakfast) and asparagus. I only lost one.

So far today I've Made 4 lasagna's. These are spinach and asparagus. I delivered them to my client sans cheese. I gave her the cheese to put on later. Not too exciting, but I thought I'd post the picture anyway. I also went to the supermarket. I picked up local asparagus( 1.25lb). I used a bunch in the lasagna and we'll have some tonight with dinner. I also picked up a 5lb of baking potatoes( 1.99). I mixed up a basting sauce for the pork. Maple syrup, sweet and smokey mustard, and a touch of cider vinegar. This has to be one of the fastest sauces Ive ever made. I also baked and assembled the cake. It wont be ready to eat until Sunday. I'll frost it with some whipped cream before I serve it. I spoke to my boss. Tomorrow we'll be cooking ribs, chicken and salmon. We'll also be making a salad called 40 shades of green and potato salad. I'll take lots of pics!! I think I'll be making a chocolate cake too.

Lunch today: 2 slices of Arnold's double fiber wheat bread, healthy choice oven roasted deli turkey, harvarti cheese, light mayo, honey mustard, lettuce. Baked doritos and a diet Citrus fizz. Citrus fizz is like the generic version of Fresca. The bread, turkey, cheese and chips were bought in MI.

Thanks for the link. Our entire kitchen needs to be gutted so we don't have exsisting countertops to work with. I can't wait for a new kitchen!!

Good Morning. I feel very bloated today. I'm sure its from all that sodium and MSG I ingested yesterday. I just had some cottage cheese and berries. I took this out for dinner. 2.99lb I think I'll grill it along with some potatoes and some sort of veg. I might make a salad too. Normally, I work on Friday for the caterer, so I never cook dinner. For the past few weeks, we've been getting chicken schwarma's from this new place in town. Since I'm working tomorrow, I figured I better cook tonight. I'm going to make this today as well. I know its a mix, but if I end up making this dessert for a future senior meal, I won't make a from scratch cake. As much as I'd like to, time and budget just won't allow it. I actually really like this line of mixes. The ingredients are: Organic wheat flour, organic cane sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar, organic vanilla powder and carob bean gum. This mix cost 1.99. I also have to make some lasagna's for a former personal chef client. I pretty much stopped cooking for clients when I started the catering job. I ran into a former client of mine and she asked me if I could make some small lasagnas she can put in the freezer. She's allergic to garlic and wheat doesnt agree with her. I whipped up a marinara sauce the other day. She provided 2 boxes of kamut noodles. This shouldnt take me too long. I might have to run to the store for some spinach. I need to get in the shower before the kitchen people come.

Dinner: Some really bad Chinese. The buffet costs 12.95, a total rip-off for what you get. I found it extremely salty. On the way home, Robin wanted to stop for ice cream. She had an Arctic Swirl, Farmer Dell's version of a blizzard. This is choc. soft serve with Skor( aka heath bar) candy. I'm not going to be doing much cooking at home this week. However, I do want to test a potential recipe for the Senior's. I'm going to make a 4 day coconut cake. I read about it on a foodblog. You mix up some sour cream with sugar and coconut. You let that sit for one day. Then, the following day you bake a 2 layer cake, split the layers in half and frost them with the sour cream mixture. You wait another 2 days before you eat it. I'll mix up the sour cream tonight and bake the cake tomorrow.

Well, I've had 2 diet cokes and 1 diet dr. pepper so far today. I know its a busy schedule, but I don't plan on cooking much at home and I usually get online when I get home so I can unwind a bit. I probably won't post as much as I do on a day off. I'm very excited!! I'm currently at my MIL's house. We went to the foodshow. There were all of 3 vendors there and it was very lame. Before the show, we went to the kitchen place and picked out a few styles of cabinets, etc. I can't wait for a new kitchen!! Tomorrow we'll get an idea of a rough estimate of the total cost. What do you think of granite countertops? They really seemed to be pushing those.

Lunch: Yesterday, I brought us home 2 salads from Wendy's. We ate them today. I had Mandarin Chicken, Robin had Chicken, BLT( no tomatoes because I threw them out, we both do not like raw tomatoes). I used some croutons from Zingerman's in Ann Arbor. I had 4 "patriotic" peanut M&M's as well. I'm a type 2 diabetic and I am on a wonderful drug called Byetta. This drug controls my blood sugar and prolongs gastric emptying. I stay full a lot longer. If I want something sweet, a bite of something usually does the trick.

You're right, it is rewarding. It's not the field I trained in, but I'm enjoying teaching her about cooking and different foods. The goal is for Marley to be self-sufficient. She loves cooking and would love to have a job in the food industry. I thought I may be able to get her in 1x a month at the caterer, but its just too fast paced for her.

Here are my furry children. Oliver( 8 going on 9, black and tan smooth standard dachshund) Harley ( 7, going on 8, wirehair standard dachshund) They love to sleep and eat!!

Good Morning from Exeter, ON( Pop: 4,400). Exeter is about 30 miles N. Of London. We're also 2.5 hrs from Toronto and Detroit. When Susan( Snowangel) asked me to blog again, I thought about it for a short while. I said Yes, because this foodblog is going to be a lot different than my last two . I blogged last year with eG member Pookie and the year before by myself. ( you can find the links to my other 2 foodblogs under my signature) A lot has changed since I last blogged. I have 3 part-time jobs and they are all in the food industry. My main job is a Sous/Pastry Chef for a caterer in Grand Bend. I work the second job on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month. I am the Chef for a Senior Dining program also held in Grand Bend. I work the 3rd job once a week although it didnt start out the way it has ended up. When I moved here from California, I couldnt work until I became a permanent resident. My Spouse Robin is a Director for a social service agency and through her I met Shelley. Shelley runs a program that helps young adults with a developmental disability to make a successful transition from school to a range of community participation/activities/work. She matched me up with Marley. Marley is now 19 and has Down's Syndrome. Last year Marley worked at a day care center and she did not enjoy it. I suggested we cook together and that has been very succesful. We cook dinner together at her house once a week. I wanted to start this blog today, rather than Saturday because this weekend is going to be crazy. I'm working for the caterer on Saturday and Sunday. We're catering a BBQ for 60ppl in London( the big city). My boss won't be attending the job so it will just be myself and a server. I'm really not sure what to expect yet. I believe the menu is chicken, salmon and ribs. I'm not sure what the sides are. Here is how the week will go. Today- I'm very excited. I'm going to a food show( sysco) in Goderich. Robin is joining me because before the show, we're going to West Coast Kitchens. We're going to pick out counters, cabinets, etc and then tomorrow West Coast is coming here to give us an estimate on a kitchen remodel. We're going out for dinner too ( buffet Chinese, please don't get me started). Friday- The kitchen people come!! Sat/ Sun- work Monday- Baking for a catering job on Tuesday morning, Marley in the afternoon. Tuesday- breakfast catering, prep for Wednesday Wednesday- I'm filling in at another dining program. Thurs-Sat - work for caterer. Prepare for 3 weddings!! Here is my breakfast. I went to Port Huron, MI yesterday and brought back my favorite cottage cheese. I had that with some fresh berries and a glass of non-fat milk. I'm not a coffee drinker!!

I thought she was supposed to get her own restaurant!!!

Niagara Falls US or Canada? ← Canada!!

We're taking my neice to Great Wolf Lodge( Canadian side) on June 25th. We'll be spending the Sunday night at another hotel ( Brock Plaza). Any recomendations for a good kid friendly place to eat( my neice is 9, but she'll try anything). I'd like to stay away from the tourist traps.

Check out the Old Florida Seafood House in Wilton Manors(ft. Lauderdale). I also had some excellent Cuban food thanks to a recomendation by Anne. Las Vegas Cuban has a few locations in Hollywood( although I ate at the one in Plantation).

Here is a contest all you would be Jewish, Kosher cooks might be interested in. Click

I make Jewish food all the time, not just on a holiday. I just made some kasha and bows a few days ago. I make kugel a lot too. I even made hamantashen for my grandpa long after Purim!! To me, Jewish food is comfort food. It reminds me of my childhood. When I dont feel like eating or cooking a big dinner, I'll make my "old reliable". egg noodles with cottage cheese( and lots of fresh cracker pepper). Here is some kugel I made in May 05 And some soup I made when the weather turned cold in Oct 05

If anyone has any books they want to donate. The Eg Heartland Gathering this July in Cleveland is having a cookbook sale organized by moi. I will gladly accept your book donation at my PO Box in Michigan and I'll take them with me to the event. The money raised will go towards the society.

Now..........see.........this is what I'm finding as well. Nothing that I recoginize, nothing that really intrigues me and I always have the nagging suspicion that the stuff they had WASN'T stuff *I* wanted. And I would think being in southern LA county/almost Orange County my market would classify as upscale.......? I have found some tremendous buys on cookware, gadgets, utensils, serving pieces, plates and stemware, but I've always stayed away from the actual foodstuffs. Maybe I need to take a closer look??? ← I lived in Long Beach( for 10yrs) before I moved to Canada. You're right, I never really found anything great foodwise in Ross or Marshalls or TJ Maxx. The best stuff I've found has been in Ann Arbor, MI.

There is a Ruby Tuesday's in Port Huron, MI. For those that don't know, I live about 60 miles from PH. I go there a few times a month to pick up mail and do some grocery shopping. I tend to eat out lunch while I'm there and the pickings are slim. Fast Food or Chain's. I have my choice of Ruby Tuesday's, Applebees, Chili's, Olive Garden( no way in Hell) or Red Lobster. When I travel elsewhere, I would never step foot in a chain restaurant. But, I basically have no choice and to me, Ruby Tuesday's and Chili's are the least offensive to my palate. I don't eat beef and Ruby Tuesday's makes a really good Turkey burger. They've recently( maybe within a year) revamped their image. They're using those square white plates now and have added some " upscale" items like a lump crab burger.

Exeter is home of the White Squirrel!! ← Albino rodents! I love it! Are there decorated statues? BTW I have been to Exeter and I image its quite lovely this time of year. ← Actually, they are true white squirrels. They are not albino's. No statues, but every light post has a fancy lighted cut out of a squirrel under the streetlight. I'll try to get a picture. We also have someone who dresses up in a white squirrel costume for parades.