Food, Flavors, Life & Passion

Ingredients:
1 large head of Napa cabbage
1 bag of julienne or matchsticks carrots
1 red pepper, julienne thin
1 yellow pepper, julienne thin
1/2 red onion, julienne thin
1 cup Hellmann’s mayonnaise
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon cilantro
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup Jicama, julienne thin-optional
1 cup granny smith apple, julienne thin-optional

Procedure:
Combine the cabbage, carrots, red and yellow peppers, red onion in a large bowl.
Whisk together the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl. Pour over the cabbage mixture, toss lightly, cover and chill. Best when made at least 1 hour in advance.

Organic Quinoa!
Quinoa 101: The Quick Skinny By MindBodyGreen

What is organic quinoa? What are the health benefits?

…Called “the mother of all grains” by the Incas (they considered quinoa to be a sacred food) and a “super-crop” by the United Nations because of its protein content, quinoa (pronounced “KEE-nwah”) is definitely a favorite of many.

It’s considered a grain but is part of the leafy family of vegetables. It’s crunchy and chewy and makes for a great nutty snack.

Are there health benefits? Quinoa is a great source of protein and is a “complete protein” — i.e., it has all nine essential amino acids. It’s also gluten-free.

While agave (pronounced ah-GAH-vay) is best recognized as the plant from which tequila is made, it has also been used for thousands of years as an ingredient in food. The nectar made from the plant is known in Mexico as aguamiel, or “honey water.”

The Aztecs prized the agave as a gift from the gods and used the liquid from its core to flavor foods and drinks. Now, due to increasing awareness of agave nectar’s many beneficial properties, it is becoming the preferred sweetener of health conscious consumers, doctors, and natural foods cooks alike.

Thomas Keller’s “ad hoc at home”. is one of the finest cook books I have
come across. A great book that is not very complicated, fine recipes,
and great ideas to make any home cook feel like a pro.

AKINA SUSHI BAR & ASIAN FUSION BISTRO in Clermont, Fla.
Family and I enjoyed a great dinner here tonight.

Earth Balance Butter: Oh by the way – this is a vegan product, but don’t let that scare you.
I first became aware of Earth Balance from Chef Tal Ronnen, considered one of the best vegan/vegetarian chefs in the country, by Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres. I believe Earth Balance to be a fabulou…s product and well worth adding it to your refrigerator. It doesn’t taste exactly like butter, but it’s really close, and it has a similar texture and melting temperature (exception to high heat, use extra virgin organic olive instead- which I will talk about another day) which means it, bakes much like butter in recipes.
Full of unsaturated and omega-3 fats, Earth Balance spread has lots of good ingredients, and no bad ones. With no downside, and lots of upside (carbon footprint, health, etc.), there’s no reason not to make the permanent switch.

Rating food from 1 to 5 with 5 the highest. I would give it a 5.

A great hamburger with chili fries

Our family vacations are based around food. We plan our trip around places to eat. Culvers made our list. This was in Gaylord, Michigan. The staff is incredible, the food excellent and I never order chili fries, but what the heck, I’m on vacation. Well after a long day in the hot sun, a long drive from Mackinaw City, we were seriouosly looking for a great meal. We had our first Culvers in Wisconsin and we would never have stopped if not for my best friends recommedation. We fell in love at the first bite. So when I found out that they had built one in Michigan, we hit it and were not disappointed. I have no pictures of White Castles, but we only stopped there like three times while in Chicago. I guess we were too busy eating and couldnt worry about picture taking. Yes, great fast food is what we crave on family trips. We are seriously lacking good food in Orlando, Florida. By the way, we hit the last Culvers in the Midwest in Indiana on our way back home from Chicago.

Cobb Salad

We had lunch at one of my favorite restaurants/gourmet food stores in the country~Fox & Obel. From the very first day I walked into this store I fell in love with it. They have added two hour parking across the street which really helps, because I always seem to take longer in there then I had originally planned. I highly recommend this great store for breakfast or lunch. In fact, Travis, my youngest son remembered it from three years ago and it was not a disappointment as you can see. I did notice a dramtic reduction in the wine selection and some of the other products. Obviously, due to the economic times. I noticed, but the average shopper would not. The products they  carry are still excellent and of top quality. We love stopping here and I always recommend it to all of my clients.

Artisan Bread, Roast Beef, Bleu Brie, Carmalized Onions,

Took the family out for lunch the other day and decided to try someplace new. I have to admit, we are always on the look out for a good place to eat in the Lake Eola Area. We were going to try Anthony’s Pizza, but our clients suggested the fillin station. I have always heard of them, but we are never in that part of town. So opportunity arised and we ventured in. Amanda, our food server was very nice and was quite accommodating. We told her we were first timers and she quickly referred to us her favorites on the menu.

My clients recommended the fried pickles, which Cindy and I quickly gobbled up. Of course the boys ordered fried mac and cheese . Tater tots are a family favorite, so when you douse them with cheese and real bacon bits, you cant go wrong.

The music is loud, I must be getting old, however, varied with country for the dad, hip -hop for the boys and lots of flat screens. How can you go wrong? College basketball, goofy movies, CNN and local new, a regular buffet of television.

The burgers were excellent. We ordered our favorites with Cindy ordering a patty melt. Where have all the patty melts gone? I ordered my burger with Texas Toast- perfectly toasted, I might add. The boys their usual. But in todays restaurant scene, the usual often becomes the unusual. Hot, flavorful and on time. Simple. No wonder they have been winning best burger since 1998, based on the old Foodie Award on the wall.

A solid bar, restaurant and staff, witnessed by the constant flow of customers on a beautiful Orlando afternoon. Next time, we’ll try alfresco.

The family verdict was that we will be back again. That’s saying alot!

Trends that will be popular this year~ I picked One, Comfort Food.

Comfort food is the stimulus package for today’s economy.

I’ve experienced a variety of turbulent times in my thirty year career. Some financial, some weather related, one even terrorist. A few things this old chef has learned is that the sun always rises from the east and sets in the west. We only have one life to live and you better live it right. There’s no turning back, only moving forward and nothing smells better than BBQ cooking over mesquite wood. However, the one fact that I have learned in the years that I have been cooking, reading and writing about food is that it is a never ending story. The characters change. Trends and fads come and go, but one staple seems to weather the storm consistently through the decades, and that’s the word comfortability.

What is comfort food? Comfort food is what makes you close yours eyes, take a deep breath and smell and taste a flavor that brings back a moment, an instant particle in your life and makes it delicious. Delicious in the way that no matter how old you are or how old you get, that one instance in time stopped and created a moment of joy that no one can take from you. Webster explains it to impart strength and hope. To encourage; to relieve; to console; to cheer. We need comforting in hard times. We need to comfort our family, friends, clients, and colleagues and sometimes complete strangers. We can accomplish this though food. Food is universal. Food has no boundaries. Food is shared internationally and accepted everywhere, some more than others.

I’ve always found it curious that food can spark such vivid memories of our childhood. Our memories can transport us back to a day when the air was clean, times were good and fun always seemed to be right around the next corner. We are often sent back in time to when food gave us the comfort we needed when times were challenging.

Food has a tremendous influence on how you shop, live and prepare your meals. Comfort food comes in many forms, shapes, sizes and flavors. All distinct upon how and where you were raised. These influences molded you into the person you are today. I know this by the experiences offered to me when I’m allowed to take a few moments and venture into my clients lives. I am permitted to gain knowledge of my client’s intricacies and understand how their upbringing influenced them and their way at looking upon food.

Comfort food goes way beyond simple Mac and Cheese. The intricacies of comfort food lie deep in the roots of Americans rich diversity and unique regional character that’s the foundation of this country.

Comfortability will never go out of style. We desire and crave the food that feeds our soul and senses. Those building blocks have been meticulously laid brick by brick into are DNA and form the nucleolus to our soul. Our affection to our favorite comfort food will be drawn out and displayed as long as the economic unrest continues.

Food and comfort are simultaneous and radiates from us when we teach our children the joy and happiness that we once remembered. We want our children to feel, taste and grab a hold of the same energy that we cherished that one summer, fall or winter day that keeps us remembering when the sky was blue, the grass was green and I couldn’t wait to get home to have…………