Misc
See, what had happened was. . . . . .
Hello out there! I’ve been gone for so long! So much has happened. So little has happened. So let’s sum things up — I believe I mentioned before that I left corporate America (or it left me — still not 100% sure on that one). I focused on getting my health right, which I thought was important. Finding another job was more daunting that I thought, but I finally got a chance to work at the amazing Zingerman’s Bakehouse over the holidays. It was a fabulous experience! I also decided to formalize my training and head back to culinary school. Now I just need to find a paying gig to work with my schedule. I can try to get my bakery up and running again, but I don’t exactly have a lot to devote to my advertising budget. Got something in the works which would start in a few months, but a paycheck in the meantime would be helpful. I got some other plans in the works, so we will see what pans out. Right now I am focusing on school and the NCAA basketball tournament (priorities!). I’m a little freaked out that almost every analyst out there is picking either my Florida Gators or my Michigan State Spartans to win it all. Hoping that isn’t a jinx! But this is a nice distraction from my everything-is-up-in-the-air life. I’ll be here more often because I miss blogging and writing. I’ll need to schedule some regular time and devote it to Jereme’s Kitchen. Maybe that will help get my ass in gear.
Anyhoo, the saga continues. . . .
Fall is almost here!
Fall is my favorite time of year. I love everything about it — the smells, the cooler days, the crisper nights, the colors, the pies, Halloween, Thanksgiving, volleyball and football start up again — what’s not to love? Alright, I admit there is one thing I don’t like — cleaning up all those damn leaves on my property. I own about an acre of land with maybe 20 giant oak trees. So the leaves can pile up and pile up quickly. And unlike in some neighboring cities, I can’t just push my leaves into the road, so I either have to do it myself or hire someone else to do it. But that’s a whole other issue. . .
Anyhoo, I saw this the other day on Facebook and wanted to share. This appeared on my feed from the magazine Midwest Living. This sums up everything that is awesome about Fall and I wanted to share it with y’all. What do y’all like about Autumn? Just let me know — either here or on Facebook! I gots a recipe for some Gluten-Free Rocky Road Brownies coming up later this week, and hopefully some other fun stuff.
Stay tuned!
Where the hell have I been?
Alright, so it’s been some time since I’ve been writing. I know, I know — I am ashamed 😦 But things happen in this thing called life. Not to make excuses, but I was trying to adapt to the new schedule caused by my new job. Then I got a weird volleyball injury that took up my time trying to rehab that. Then I got really sick really fast around Christmas and found myself admitted to the hospital several times. Lucky for me this happened in December and January so I got to fulfill two massive deductibles back to back. Hurrah! And hospitals are not fun — especially when you get the bill months later and can’t decipher what charges came from where and from whom and for how much. I will say to my insurance company that your estimate on what a CT scan costs is sooooo completely off from what the hospital says ($800 estimate vs. $1700 charge). All that fun and the multiple docs couldn’t even tell me what was wrong; just treated the symptoms and see what could be managed.
Then after getting to know the hospital, I got a weird infection that sidelined me for over three weeks. Meds didn’t work, I was weak all the time, I couldn’t walk without getting dizzy (which is a challenge if you have to navigate stairs to get to your truck — not that I could drive anywhere even if I managed to make it to the garage). Things eventually cleared up, but since I missed so much work, I ended up losing my job. Which I guess is alright aside from the fact that I am penniless. I don’t blame them for firing me; it just sucks for me. So much for my first stint in Corporate America!
But losing my job meant that I could focus on the physical therapy for the injury that happened months ago. And lucky for me (or unlucky for me), I met my out-of-pocket maximum for the year back in January so no charge! Well fast-forward a couple of months and my knees are still shit. I can’t afford COBRA anymore so I guess I will have to tape them up and just go on with life.
And that is what I am trying to do — go on with life. I think I’ve done enough wallowing in self-pity and it is time to git goin’! I’m finally able to work out again (with some obvious limitations) and I’m getting back to what I love — FOOD! And booze, of course. Actually, right now I am in the Corner Brewery here in Ypsilanti trying to raise my spirits. Some pulled pork tacos and a Buzzsaw IPA can sure help with my mood, but more on that later! Although it is a bummer that no one wants to join me here — stupid friends and their stupid jobs and families and prior commitments!
But in all seriousness, I plan on getting back to blogging and sharing my foodie adventures. I did just take another trip up to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and found some amazing pasties, and breweries , and wineries, and distilleries. . . . I’m also trying to make a theme cake (note the emphasis on trying). What’s wrong with a round cake? I can do those, no problem. Dinosaur shaped? Ugh, I need to practice this. A lot. Plus I have some posts that should have gone out last year (oops!), but they’re still relevant.
So Stay tuned! More food and booze and hijinx heading your way! And for no good reason — here’s my sweet idiot dog Cooper enjoying the summer sun!
And the winner is. . .
Alright, so I have been really busy lately, not that I have anything to show for it. So that explains why I haven’t been keeping up with my blogging responsibilities. The truth is that (like an idiot) I have started working out again. Well, since I am apparently unemployable, might as well be constructive with my time. But I am remembering how much working out takes out of me — time-wise (takes me about 2 1/2 hrs. each time), recovery-wise (I’m not in undergrad anymore and all that extra work hurts!), plus all the extra shower and laundry time!
But I digress. . . I’m here to announce my first blogiversary giveaway winner. And the winner is. . . Sarah at The Cook’s Life!!! Congrats to Sarah!!! And check out her blog where she shares her thoughts on cooking, family, and all adventures in between!
So I will try to catch up with some posts. I have several in the pipeline, including a couple focusing on Chef Eve Aronoff, who was the big subject of my giveaway!
Happy 1st Blogiversary Jereme’s Kitchen
Just a quick post / announcement — today is my Blogiversary!!! I can’t really believe it’s been one year already. Hope that I can still try to keep things going! I will probably make some changes to some things, like adding more things to the blog roll or, adding more links, or adding a resource page or two.
And great news — I’ve finally figured out what to do for my anniversary give-away. You’ll have to stay tuned tomorrow when I post what it is (I have to actually go out and pick it up). And it will probably involve Facebook!
And Happy Black Forest Cake Day!
March Foodie Holidays
Happy March everybody! It’s another big month for foodie holidays — including my 1st blogiversary (can’t believe that it’s been a year already, not that that’s a foodie holiday). I was thinking about having an anniversary giveaway but I’m not sure yet. Maybe I’ll post something on Facebook (11 likes so far! check out the bottom of the side menu)! More on that later, but check me out on Facebook anyway. Anyhoo, here’s what we have in store for this month (check out some of these links): Celery Month, Flour Month, Frozen Food Month, Noodle Month, Nutrition Month, Peanut Month, and Sauce Month. Now here are some of the special days that we can celebrate in March:
1 Peanut Butter Lover’s Day, Fruit Compote Day
2 Banana Cream Pie Day
3 Cold Cuts Day, Mulled Wine Day
6 Frozen Food Day, White Chocolate Cheesecake Day
7 Crown Roast of Pork Day, Cereal Day
8 Peanut Cluster Day, Agriculture Day
10 Blueberry Popover Day
12 Baked Scallops Day
13 Coconut Torte Day
15 Peanut Lovers’ Day, Pears Helene Day
16 Artichoke Heart Day
19 Poultry Day, Chocolate Caramel Day
20 Ravioli Day
21 French Bread Day
23 Chip and Dip Day, Melba Toast Day
24 Chocolate Covered Raisins Day
25 Lobster Newburg Day
26 Waffle Day (in Sweden), Nougat Day
27 Spanish Paella Day
28 Black Forest Cake Day, 1st Blogiversary!
29 Lemon Chiffon Cake Day
31 Clams-on-the-Half-Shell Day
Trusting your food
I saw this today on Pinterest and it made me laugh ’til I peed, because it’s so true for me! And given the week I’m having, I needed a good guffaw! What do y’all think?
I luv all kinds of dried fruit, but raisins? Maybe it’s just psychological, especially when you get raisins as a gift from your piano teacher when you’re a kid. Who gives a kid raisins? I’d rather have nothing! But raisins really are gross. Use currants instead (real currants, not those tiny raisins)!
And don’t forget to visit me on Facebook! And oops! — I just realized that I haven’t posted an actual recipe for some time. So tune in tomorrow!
Pisco what now?
It’s Valentine’s Day and I’m sick again. So I’m here on the sofa drinking tea and watching Martha Stewart. And for whatever reason I start thinking to myself, “Waterlily, we certainly have a lot of Pisco.” Now what else can you do with Pisco that isn’t a Pisco Sour? If you don’t know, Pisco is essentially a brandy made from grapes that is particular to Chile and Peru. Kinda like champagne, there is debate about what can be called pisco, depending on the origin of the grapes. According to Chilean law, for a spirit to be called pisco, it must be made from muscat grapes from particular regions of Chile (regions 3 and 4 to be exact). Anything else will not be recognized as pisco. Of course, don’t tell that to any Peruvians since there is an actual town called Pisco, which is the origin of the brandy.
After a trip through the kitchen, I came up with some rhubarb syrup, pisco, cognac, rum, and lime juice. What I can up with is kinda like a Sidecar. And since it’s Valentine’s Day, I christen this drink the Rhisco Kiss. Here’s what you need:
- 2 oz. Pisco
- 2 oz. Rhubarb syrup
- 1 oz. brandy
- 1 oz. rum
- juice of 1/2 lime
- ice
Line the rim of a martini glass with some sugar. Shake all ingredients in a cocktail shaker to combine. Strain into the glass and drink up!
Notes — I get a lot of my booze know-how from drinking experience and from the program Three Sheets. It aired on the Mojo network a few years ago, and after that network went belly up, it made the rounds on several other channels. I lost track of it after that, but what I liked about the show was that you got a chance to actually learn about different cultures, traditions, and the booze that they drink. I’ve seen a couple of newer versions of the program, but they focus more on drinking than on culture. I haven’t been as enamored about those shows as I am with Three Sheets. If you get a chance check them out. It’s on Hulu and YouTube and the like. I’ll post a video of the Chilean show on my Facebook page, so go visit me there and like my page. I’m up to five likes now!
February Foodie Holidays
So this is a little late, and I apologize. As I said in my last post, I’ve been having issues with the editing software on here. I did a little adjusting of the settings here and there and I think I’m set.
No pictures of Daisy or Cooper this time. But since Groundhog Day is February 2, I did include some pics from Punxsutawney, PA. We made a stop there on the way moving from Maine back to Michigan. It was a little bit out of the way (well a lot out of the way, and it was especially difficult driving a moving truck on those twisty mountain roads), but I couldn’t resist meeting the famous groundhog!
In addition to Groundhog Day, we celebrate National Cherry Month, National Grapefruit Month, National Hot Breakfast Month, National Macadamia Nut Month, and National Snack Food Month. Plus we get National Pancake Week during the last week of the month! Here are some of the fun holidays (along with some links, as always) we have this month:
1 – Baked Alaska Day
3 – Carrot Cake Day
4 – Stuffed Mushroom Day
8 – Molasses Bar Day
9 – Bagels and Lox Day
11 – Peppermint Patty Day
12 – Plum Pudding Day
13 – Tortellini Day
14 – Cream-filled Chocolates Day, Valentine’s Day
15 – Gumdrop Day
16 – Almond Day
17 – Indian Pudding Day
19 – Chocolate Mint Day
20 – Cherry Pie Day
21 – Sticky Bun Day
22 – Cook a Sweet Potato Day, Margarita Day
23 – Banana Bread Day
24 – Tortilla Chip Day
25 – Chocolate-Covered Peanuts Day, Clam Chowder Day
26 – World Pistachio Day
27 – Strawberry Day, Kahlua Day!
January Foodie Holidays
It’s good to be back after taking a little bit of time off for the holidays. So I do apologize that this is a day late. Hopefully all the hangovers and “bad-decision juice” has been worked out of everyone’s systems. But with all the focus on physical recovery and recuperation, let’s not forget all those National Holidays that are taking place this month (there is another “National Pie Day” this month on the 23rd; the other one was last month). I know when we think of January, New Year’s Day is always on everyone’s mind. It is also National Hot Tea Month, National Oatmeal Month, National Slow Cooking Month, and National Soup Month. Here are some of the National Holidays that we should be celebrating this month:
2 Buffet Day, Cream Puff Day
3 Chocolate Covered Cherry Day
5 Whipped Cream Day
8 English Toffee Day
10 Bittersweet Chocolate Day
12 Marzipan Day
14 Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day
15 Strawberry Ice Cream Day
18 Peking Duck Day (yum!)
20 Buttercrunch Day, Cheese Lover’s Day
26 Peanut Brittle Day
27 Chocolate Cake Day!
29 Cornchip Day
30 Croissant Day
31 Popcorn Day
Jereme's Kitchen 