Have YOU thanked your dishwasher today? aka: rant

…working in restaurants for a living you get used to washing dishes. You also get used to having a dishwasher. Yes, a PERSON that is constantly washing the pots and pans that you use, the roasting pans that are burnt, the dishes with someone else’s eaten food on it, the glasses with lipstick stains, all those spoons you use to taste with all day long, graters with cheese stuck everywhere, ricers with mashed potatoes stuck in every groove, strainers with all the starch crap left if every whole that could take 1 hour to wash if you are anal about it, every single plastic container that was used to store food in it.

I have always known it was a thankless job. Being in the hot, steamy, short tempered kitchen if the dishwasher is in a bad mood, everyone pays for it. Everyone from the bartender, to the annoying little 2o something year old server, to the newbie cocky cook that makes you roll you eyes every time he opens his mouth, (yup, mostly likely a “he”) wants to yell at the dishwasher about something. I know I couldn’t do it! Nor would I  put up with all the bullying that they are put through.

Now that I am at home cooking everyday. I have realized that if I ever get skinny it won’t be because I don’t want to cook; its because I’m getting really sick of washing dishes!!! (No I don’t have a dishwasher of any sort, I AM THE DISHWASHER.) Every time I turn around “they” are there…dishes, like stink bugs. I thought I washed them all but NO… YOU NEVER WILL! & You know what would be even better than thanking your dishwasher?… How about going over to that sink and washing some dishes. & don’t half ass it. Put the water on hot, get the clean sponge soapy, and scrub that grime. Wanna gold star… spray the sink down with some kind of house hold cleaner and wipe it down, clean out the drain. I know, I know, your head is about to explode.

Braised Pork Tenderloin with Tomato Ragu (Easy Dutch Oven Recipe)

March is here but it is still cold and snowy. Lets make a easy recipe that will warm you and your family up.

2 # pork tenderloin (season with salt, pepper, pinch of nutmeg, paprika, thyme)

1 small onion

1 garlic clove

1 pint tomatoes (any kind)

3 0z white wine/red wine/ or beer (this is meant to be easy, use what you have w/o running back to store)

2 cups of chicken stock

2 cups of tomato sauce

1 bay leaf

any starch your heart desires (I used gnocchi, but egg noodles would be easy or even cut up potatoes and add into braising liquid!)

~Rub your tenderloin with your seasonings and sear on all sides in a hazy dutch oven (the haze is your already hot oil in the pot)

~combine your onion & garlic and let sweat for 3 minutes

~deglaze with your wine/beer, let cook off for 1 minute

~add in your tomatoes, bay leaf, tomato sauce, and chicken stock

~put top on dutch oven, turn heat down to low, turn tenderloin over every 30 min

…in about 4 hours it will be so tender it will shred so easily and be ready to eat and serve

(if you have leftovers…which you probably won’t but you could do it all over again; this is also a perfect filling for home made tacos!) YUM!

Food is Love! …or is it?

Being a new mom I am learning all sorts of new things about life. A huge part of raising a healthy child is proper nutrition. Where does that come from?… FOOD! As an adult too many of us don’t think about what we put into our bodies. “WE” just want to satisfy our palates. Yes, I am guilty of this too. Only human.

Of course I am aware of what is healthy to eat and what is not… right? Well…with a baby I have really became aware! Its amazing how a child grows and gets nourishment though mamas milk. The amount of growing that takes place is unbelievable really. This is when I am conscious about what I ingest. Everything I eat my baby is affected by. Then there is when baby starts eating food…

ORGANIC IS BEST… or what our great grandparents knew as “FOOD”. Why humans have decided to modify our food is not doing us any good. Most people don’t even know what they are eating anymore. Even when we stock our pantries up with fruits and vegetables and we think we are being healthy… we don’t know whats in our food unless it states organic. This as I now know gets very expensive. There are things I don’t even know when I buy food… when labels say natural, does that mean there are no GMO’s? I’m not even sure?

I have to go back to the basics. Its funny taking a step out of the restaurant world. When you order food for a restaurant, (almost all restaurants) the main thing is to focus on the cost. We must buy food to make a profit. If we ordered food health consciously there would be no restaurants. To go into detail makes my head spin.

If we ALL ate the way we want our babies to be raised, things would be so much different. Only we can be in control of ourselves but we can try to help and educate others. There is so much to learn.

Welcome to my chefs pantry.

I will be sharing my stories from working in a professional kitchen, to tips on how to simplify your home kitchen. Things on my mind are organizing, FIFO (First In First Out); keeping your kitchen fresh, healthy cooking (in moderation of course), easy recipies, kitchen tools that you can’t live without & ones that are just taking up space.