Every Day I am Shufflin'

Sunday was my day off as well as Mitch's. So We got to celebrate his 33rd birthday with our family and friends. We had Jaffa Cafe's amazing Falafel and Chicken Shawarma with all the fixings; Hummus, Tzatziki, Tahini, Garlic sauce and peppers. Grammy Kari made some amazing Banana Cream and Chocolate Cream Pies. It was such a great day, one of those days you just didn't want to end. I miss my other half, and the outage just started! Good thing I am busy this month right? 

I heart Falafel pita wraps! 

                      Kayla, Gavin and Jones enjoying some whipped Cream thanks to Grammy ! 

Cream Pies!!!! 

 Happy Birthday Mitchell! 

Monday oh Monday! I do not set my alarm these days, that's what Jude's for. Of course today when I wanted to be out of the house early, he didn't wake up before me. I jumped out of bed at 7:30 started to get myself ready, then Jude woke 5 minutes later :) Fed Jude, made Jones' lunch, finished getting ready, woke up Jones at 8:15 rallied the troops and my 8:30 out of the house turned into 8:45. Jones was amazing this morning. We were up late last night since we had friends over, so naturally Jones slept in. When I woke him up I told him I needed his help and he needed to eat, get dressed and brush his teeth so we can leave. He did it! and I didn't have to ask him a million times nor did I need to help him. It was amazing!!! He is amazing!!! I rushed him to preschool ran to Trader Joe's, then dropped off Ju-Ju at Grammy's. Got to the Kitchen around 9:15 and totally panicked, because I needed to be in SLO at 11:00 and I still have a lot of prep to do.  Oh ya I have a catering event this week with for the Siminoff Banjo and Mandolin Camp. My friend Kali is so amazing that every camp she has me do lunch and dinner for the week. I don't know how, but I did it. Prepped packed and ready to go by 10:50. 

Menu for the week: 

-Chinese Chicken Salad: Mixed Greens, Sweet Peas,Cucumbers, Kumquats, Chicken, Cashews, Fried wontons, Honey Mustard Dressing Pita Bread 

- Potato bar: Yukon Potatoes - Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower, Cheeses, Sour Cream, Butter, Bacon, caramelized onion, BBQ Pulled Chicken, Pesto.

- Soyrizo and yam taquitos, Cilantro and lime re fried white beans and Mexican rice 

-Wild Mushroom Lasagna, herbed green salad with strawberry vin 

-Turkey Patty Melt and Grilled Onion Relish  with lemon -parsley asparagus ( 2 veg burgers)

So another busy week. The kids are doing another event Wednesday night for the District's Secretaries Dinner. They are doing a fun Vegas theme and we are in charge of the apps. 

Menu is: 

-"Craps"cakes: ya i know bad name :) 

- Hunka- Hunka Bites- Fried Plantains with Whipped Peanut Butter and Bacon 

- Casino Nacho Chips- Tortilla rounds with chipolte chicken, black beans, avocado creme, jalapenos and local tomatoes. 

- Bloody Mary Caprese skewers- Local Cherry Tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil with Bloody Mary Vinaigrette. 

Then on Thursday night join me at Peloton Cellars for Cupcakes and Wine. Menu coming soon. Friday night working at tasting room- Farmers Market and then Saturday ........ It's my Birthday!!! So excited to have the day off and celebrate with my girls. 

I got home today and had to clean up after our wonderful party then I got to hang with my wonderful boys. Jonesy didn't take a nap today so he fell asleep on the couch at 5:00 and is still sleeping ( 8:45). Ju-ju and I had some good laughs before he crashed at 6:00. So, I had some free time, so naturally  I cooked! Now I think I should have a beer, shower and close my eyes. I am kicking this week's ass, so tomorrow is going to rock! I hope you all are having a great week too! 

Saturday: Part Deux

Good day sunshine! Everything about the wedding today was hot! Templeton was 100 degrees, the bride and groom were stunning and the food tasted like Morgan Freeman's voice: Smooth and rich! I had the help of one of my best students, David! He loves food and I love teaching him something new!  Thanks to Okui's we had the Marilyn Monroe of strawberries, veggies that would get you making hemp bracelets and more cheese than David Hasselhoff's career . The worst part of today was everyone starring at us while we were setting up the food table, trying to take bites as we were setting up. Some people have no clue, right? I handed out business cards, got a call from the wedding coordinator saying the food was a hit and she gave out my number to numerous people! This makes me smile. I was able to snap a couple of pics as the people were staring at me of course.

 Ended my day with a nice glass of Peloton late harvest Sauvignon Blanc, which is technically a white port. We haven't released it yet but I was lucky enough to grab a bottle to taste for our pairing next week, Thursday Cupcakes and Wine @ Peloton Cellars 6:00!!!! Hope to see you there.

 I got to see Mitch today for a second and we shared a good laugh when he got a package in the mail. Addressed to Mitchell Stumpy!!!! Oh lord the best typo ever!

 We got a sofa bed in the play room thanks to the selling of the beach house, so Jonesy and I had a sleep over. We watched Ratatouille, well I watched Ratatouille and Jones fell asleep. I had another glass of Sauv Blanc and nibbled on some 4 year aged Gouda, which I am obsessed with! There is nothing better than that sweet, nutty, crystallization of aged Gouda. Mitchy's birthday is Monday and he has tomorrow night off, so we will celebrate Shawarma style with family and friends. Looking forward to a day off to celebrate my babies daddy!

POPS!

Okui's is open!!!!!! I love strawberry season. Strawberry Gazpacho, Strawberry Bruchetta, Strawberries stuffed with goat cheese and dipped in chocolate! The possibilities are endless. This recipes goes out to my boo who loves strawberries and loves greyhounds!!!! We have had a heat wave so that means... POPS! 

Grapefruit and Strawberry Greyhound Poptail

Makes 18 popsicles

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice (about a 1lb grapefruit)
• 12 oz. strawberries (about 12 medium strawberries)
• 5 oz vodka

Instructions:
1. Place the juiced grapefruit and whole strawberries in a food processor or a blender and process until everything is pureed. Add vodka and process for another 20-30 seconds to blend well. Pour mixture into popsicles mold.

2. Place foil on top of popsicle form and cut a tiny hole in the center of each well. Stick popsicle stick through the whole. Freeze for at least 6 hours or until frozen solid. To release popsicles, run hot water on the outside of popsicle molds for a 2-3 seconds.

 This one goes out to my girl, Heather.Bloody Mary reminded us that being in cruise control sucks. With that, I decided that, hell yeah—let’s interrupt the summer sweet series with a savory Bloody Mary Pops.

To start things off, you can use heirloom tomatoes, because well, they are beutiful and you if got em use em. If you don’t have any in season where you are, regular tomatoes will work just as well. Or for complete ease of mixing, skip the fresh tomatoes for some tomato juice and adjust the flavor accordingly. Whatever you use for the body, don’t forget the chili powder.

Bloody Mary Popsicles

• 1 ½ lbs tomatoes (about six 2 ½ inch diameter in size)
• 1 celery stalk
• Juice of half a lemon
• 4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard
• ¼ teaspoon of chili powder
• ¼ teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
• Pinch of salt
• ½ cup vodka

Instructions:

1. Place all ingredients except the vodka in a food processor or a blender and process until everything is pureed. Pass mixture through a medium strainer and then return strained mixture to blender or food processor.  Add vodka and process for another 20-30 seconds to blend well. Pour mixture into popsicles mold.

2. Freeze for about 2 hours or until mixture starts to solidify enough to hold a popsicle stick upright. Insert popsicle sticks and finish freezing popsicles overnight. To release popsicles run hot water on the outside of popsicle molds for a 2-3 seconds.

This was an early post as now I am off to prep for wedding of the day. I will post pics when I return. Enjoy!!!!

420

Happy Friday y'all! And what a beautiful day it was again! So I will get straight to it. I have a friend who struggles with insomina and doesn't want to resort to taking pills. So instead she has trusted in the all natural ganja, weed, pot, mary jane, dank, chicken, kush, bud, sticky icky.... ok you get the point, to help her catch some z's. Guess what? It works!!!!! She is not a fan of actually smoking, so she has asked me if I could try and make some  goodies. There is a lot to know about cooking with Cannabis and I have just barely began to scratch the surface. I like where this is going because its like a double whammy. I get to cook, people will enjoy my food and it will also help them medically with out having to take nasty chemical ridden pills. I was fortunate enough to find some cannibas butter from another friend, so I did it, I baked! Now I am more of a cook. I Studied pastries and worked the dessert station at the Park for a bit, but I do not have the patience to bake, but I baked. What I baked, will make you baked!!!! 1/2 of one of these mini muffins will do the trick and you will sleep like a baby. Now eating cannabis takes a lot longer (like 3 hours) but it will do its's job.

Lemon Poppy Seed Mini Muffins with Lemon Glaze

Ingredients:

10 tablespoons Cannabis Butter  or oil
3 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a 12 count muffin pan.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, poppy seeds and salt and set dry mixture aside.

In a large bowl, cream the cannabis butter or oil and sugar together. Beat in the lemon juice and eggs, adding one egg at a time. Beating for a total of about 1-2 minutes. Once lemon juice and eggs are added, alternate beating in part of the yogurt and part of the dry mixture until completely added and well combined.

Divide muffin dough evenly into the muffin pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and let cool for 5-10 minutes before removing the muffins. Place muffins on wire rack to cool completely.

*So on a quick not about my students, the real stoners were not in class today the wanna be stoners talked about  420 and wore rasta, and of course asked me numerous times of I was stoned and or a stoner! As my day job ended and I headed to the beach to Peloton, I was reminded how lucky I was to live in such a beautiful place. Avila was packed and the tasting room was hopping! As I sit here at 10:50 all I can think of is... I am hungry and I need to sleep because it all starts over again tomorrow!!!!! Good night and Happy Holidays!

The Sun Is Shining On My Dancing Feet......

My Thursday started off with a nice cup of Joe this curly head monster and the Easter Bunny. I don't think it could of asked for a better morning. At 6:30 am it was warm and sunny which meant all I wanted to do was bathe in the sun. But.... the universe had other plans.

 Said hi to Mitch as I was waking and he was hitting the sack, dropped the boys off at Grammy's where they had a fun, naked, water filled day in the sun! Thank god for Star testing this week. My first class did not start till 12:50, which gave me TIME. I was In SLO by 9:30 Smart In Final, Costco, Dicks Sporting Good ( where I thought I saw a Costa Rican from my past starring at me in the golf section) and Target ... Back to AG by 11:20 and started my prep. I had one of my best students come in and help and it sure is funny the things he wanted to talk about. We covered, some crazy "bitch" who wanted to fight his friend, who we thought the worst TV cook is, the fact he pierced his nipple by himself,  if I was gong to celebrate 420, culinary school, and how our strawberry gazpacho would be good with coconut rum in it! Oh hell was I this crazy in HS? Dare I ask! The best cooks are a little crazy so you can imagine how great he is at 17. So I have a wedding this Saturday in Templeton 100 people, heavy apps and drop off. 
Menu is as follows:

Artisan Cheese and Farmer Market Fruit Platter 

Smoked Salmon 

Sliced thin with black pepper potato chips and lemon creme fraiche 

Black Bean and Bacon Hummus 

Black beans, Cilantro, lime and Cumin with pita bread 

 Heirloom Tomato Bruschetta

Heirloom Tomatoes, Fresh Basil, Garlic, Olive Oil, with Crostini 

Bacon Wrapped Dates 

Soy-rizo and Pepperonchini stuffed dates wrapped with apple wood smoke bacon. 

Roasted Vegetable Platter

Farmers market vegetables with Balsamic Vinaigrette and Fresh Herbs 

Spinach and Artichoke Stuffed Mushrooms 

Creamy Spinach, Artichokes and chipotle pickled jalapenos  topped with Panko

 This is me taking a break from my ill mannered foul mouthed 16 year old high school boys, and loud chatty giggling high school girls who want to tell me about their loser ex- boyfriends. Thank god I have the walk in fridge to take a breath in. I might vent about these crazy kids, but they all do have a special place in my heart. My favorite time is in the am when no kids are there and I sit and sing in the walk in. It has some great acoustics and I think I could be on American Idol. I am just waiting for someone to walk in as I am belting out the lyrics from Too $hort!

 Since the weather was shining the kitchen was HOT! So of course they talked me into not wearing their uniforms. But we did manage to make Ciabatta and french baguettes. My day ended with my boys at the park to celebrate Toby's 4th birthday. Pizza, cupcakes and kids loving life running around in sweet weather. Tomorrow 2 classes more prep and night shift at Peloton Cellars. It will be a long one but Mitch has the night off , enough said!

Jones said it best as I walked in the back yard and hear him singing, " Red solo cup, proceed to party!"
Remember tomorrow is 420 so of course I will pay tribute and talk about medical cannabis cooking ;) Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins to be exact.

Day 1

So I have somehow convinced myself to start blogging. With being a wife, mom, chef, and teacher, why not add blogger to the list, right? This month is crazy with school, events, kids and my love working the night shift at Diablo. But as I sit here on the couch with my glass of Peloton 06 Cab I believe I can, so therefore I will do!

I feel like I need to back track as my love and I just returned from New York!!!! I haven't been to the boggie town Bronx since college and Mitch has never been to NY. We ate our way through brooklyn and the city enjoying life love and friends.

Tonight my Culinary Arts kids did a appetizer reception for speaker Alan November. They as always rocked it. The menu: Basil Lemonade, Strawberry Gazpacho, Cucumbers with Avocado Creme and marinated Shrimp, Sun dried Polenta with Blue and Goat cheese mushrooms, Apple- sausage meatballs with Honey mustard dipping sauce, Cream Cheese stuffed Jalapenos wrapped in Bacon. Tomorrow : Finish shopping and get shit together for wedding on Saturday and start prep, Teach kids how to make ciabatta, Birthday party, make loves lunch/dinner, dinner, baths bed, wine, blog :)