To the New Year

Well, it's 2012. I spent my first day of this year spending time with the woman I love and relaxing from the chaos we've had to deal with at work this holiday season. 2011 was a good year. It had it's ups and downs with the biggest down happening through the beginning of October, with many ups throughout the rest of the year. But that's all history. What's gonna happen this year? Well a few things are already going on. I'll finish culinary school this year and me and Brooke are deciding what to do and where to go next. On the list of possibilities there's been London, back home to Utah, Portland or Arizona for more schooling, and a few more. We'll just see what happens. I've been thinking recently about new years resolutions. Basically they are things that we hope to achieve to make our lives easier, happier, healthier, and...well...better. Some try to make life better for others. Others just wanna get by. As for me I want to make this year better than the last. I want to see myself and my family progress and move up and forward. I'm a little nervous to make some of the decisions that will need to be made this year but I know I won't have to make them alone. I'm excited for all the adventures I'm going to have this year and the new experiences that will hopefully help me and my family grow. When you really think about it, it's nice to not know what's going to happen ahead. We can hope and plan a few things along the way but life will happen as it's supposed to happen. All we can really do is be the absolute best we can, working hard and doing what we know is right, then leaving the rest to God. I don't know exactly the purpose for writing this particular post other than to get some thoughts and feelings out of my head and into the world. To close I just wanna say I love you, to all of you that should know I love you, particularly my wife and all of my family and friends both here and at home. You all have made me who I am today and I'm thankful to have you all in my life. I wish you all the best and hope that everything you would like to accomplish this year can happen for you. To a happy new year!

The Day Off

We all love a good day off, whether it be a day off from school, work, or being stressed out about life. There's something about not having anything to do or really worry about for a day that's refreshing and rejuvenating. A few things that I like to on my day off include

• Being horizontal for as long as possible. You don't necessarily have to be laying down but sitting and relaxing is key.
• Munchies. Hang out with your favorite snack and/or beverage while being horizontal. 
• Cooking. This is a personal one. I love to cook when I'm at home hanging out. Usually Brooke is working when I have a day off so it's nice to cook something good for her to come home to.
• Watch something good. It's been awesome to catch up on my shows and hang out with a good movie.

Here's a couple links to some old school disney cartoons about days off for your enjoyment : )

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78_3VBST-4w This one is a goofy cartoon and is the exact opposite of what I enjoy doing on my day off. In fact it's a nightmare day off but entertaining none the less.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdEwNOz-P50 A classic donald duck cartoon. Gotta love it!

Well this is a short post. I mean, it is my day off  : ) Take it easy everybody!

Culinary Chronicles #3

Well, another week has gone by and life in culinary school is as good as ever! We are learning the basic cooking methods like roast, braise, fry, grill, saute, poach. We did some great recipes that I'll post on damnthelemonade so you can check them out. They were super easy and delicious! I'm still in my safety and sanitation class and it's going good. We finished parasites so here's a link to a video we watched about cryptosporidium. It was pretty gnarly to see how tough some bugs are! We also learned about cockroaches and other creepy crawlies that can infect a kitchen and how to get rid of them. Pretty mellow week, and culinary foundations 1 is almost over! Then a 3 week break and I start foundations 2 where we actually get to start doing some cooking! Sorry this post is so short. NOW this up coming week is going to be a little crazy! I have almost nothing but tests everyday! Thank goodness it's on knife cuts, recipes, herbs, spices, and who wrote the first cookbook instead of useless imaginary math questions. Thank goodness for easy math questions in the form of cooking measurements! We learned a bit about lobsters this week when we made lobster bisque and I thought this clip of Julia Child talking about lobsters was kinda funny but actually really informative.
Here's the link Julia Child and Lobster! Have a good week everybody!

sick!

So once again I have a cold...I'm in Florida and I have a cold...it's crazy. So this post is going to be about what I like to do when I'm sick.

#1. Do as little as possible- It's never fun to do a lot while you're sick! I wasn't going to go to school today but I really like school so I guess I'll suffer through it. On the other hand, I don't want to go into work today so I'm praying they call me and say that I don't have to come in.

#2. Drink lots of tea!- As a matter of fact I have a thermos of tea right next to me at this very moment. It's a tension relief tea with peppermint, lemon and ginger that my dear sweet wife bought for me! And I spiked it with a good glob of honey and a few drops of fresh lemon juice. Sure feels great!

#3. Eat something hearty and flavorful- For a lot of people, I don't think eating is on their list. Eating wouldn't be on my list if I was nauseous of course but when I have a cold I'm always looking for a real hearty satisfying meal. Oh yeah, and it needs to be packed with flavor! Why? Because one major cold symptom of a cold is congestion, and you won't be able to taste anything if the food doesn't have loads of delicious flavors.

#4. Watch movies, and catch up on favorite T.V. shows- It's always good to be entertained when you're sick. Nothing better than hanging on the comfortable couch with a snack and getting your mind off how crappy you feel.

#5. Sleep- Last but not least, sleep is great. It's nice to take some awesome cold medicine and crash in a comfy bed. Plus, everyone knows that sleep is one of the best things for you to do while your sick. It's nice to take the day and just relax.

Well, that's my list. It's pretty basic but it's nice to do this stuff to make you feel better! If anyone does anything else that is interesting or "fun" (when I mean fun, I mean it in a make you feel a little less like dying kind of way) leave a comment. And here's some cartoons about being sick I thought were awesome. ENJOY!

Cartoon courtesy of toothpastefordinner.com

Cartoon courtesy of toothpastefordinner.com

Cartoon courtesy  of toothpastefordinner.com

Culinary Chronicles #2

So a couple weeks have gone by in my classes and I've already learned a ton! Right now I'm in Culinary Foundations 1 and Food Safety & Sanitation. The classes alternate every day and it's a lot of info coming really fast. So far in my sanitation class we're learning about the proper handling of food along with proper holding temperatures, receiving and processing of food, and preparation.  It's a good time and I've learned some crazy facts about things like botulism and other food borne illness. Here's a link to a clip we watched in class about ice and how dirty it can be in restaurants. Just click the link Dirty Ice. In Culinary Foundations, we've learned basics like vinaigrette and homemade mayo, as well as how to make "mother sauces" and stocks. We've worked on knife skills with various vegetables and the specific cuts that can accompany a dish. I'll actually be posting recipes on Damnthelemonade if anyone is interested and they'll be stuff that I learn in school as well as random recipes that I try on my own. Well, that's it for this week but there will be much more to come! Here's a little comic that I thought was kinda funny courtesy of toothpastefordinner.com.

Holidays!

Well this post is a couple days late but thanksgiving is really a great holiday if it's done properly. I was worried this year that thanksgiving wouldn't be worth much because me and my wife moved to the opposite side of the country and away from our families. I was worried that I would be home sick and really miss everyone back at home but the truth is I had a wonderful thanksgiving here in Orlando Florida with just me my beautiful wife and our little dog. We went to Disney World for part of the day then went home and made dinner. We had ham, mashed potatoes with jalapeños,bacon, and cheddar cheese, stuffing, sweet potatoes, and gravy. Oh I can't forget pie!!! My wonderful wife made two pumpkin and one pear pie (one of my favorites). We chowed down then went and saw the movie "Tower Heist" with a friend. Later, I went home while my wife went "Black Friday" shopping while I went home and went to bed. What a day! Now it's the holidays and Christmas is coming up quick I'm super excited for all the holiday happenings and I'll Try to post what's going on in the river rats life. Happy holidays everybody!

Culinary chronicles #1

Those of you that read this blog on occasion and that know me personally already know that I just recently moved to sunny Florida with my beautiful wife and our little dog to go to culinary school. It's been a wild ride so far but school has started and it's turning out to be better than I expected! I rafted all summer and wrote about my river adventures. Now I would like to share some of my culinary adventures with all of my friends and family and other curious and more than welcome readers. As for exactly what I'm going to share here opposed to my other blog Damn the lemonade I'm still deciding. I think I'll post recipes on damn the lemonade and talk about things I've learned and what's going on with life at school and the stuff I'm gonna be doing there. This could possibly change based on mood and all the normal random stuff that could happen to change my mind. but either way I hope to share some cool stuff with anyone who reads.