It has been a couple months since my last post. Whoops. Well, all that matters is that I'm here, writing, now. The past few weeks I have especially been fired up in my kitchen. Maybe it's that summer fruit and veggie availability, I don't know. Last night I made a flan. The night before it was Vietnamese soft spring rolls with shrimp and tofu. I woke up this morning and started preparing to make some more strawberry preserves and then thought of throwing in some lychees with it. We'll see what happens. I'm going to start using Eric's nice Cannon camera to photograph my creations instead of the one of my iPhone, so stay tuned for nicer pics.
I've been thinking more seriously about starting a business (with food, of course). I am in the process of writing down all my favorite recipes and over the next year I want to perfect them, tweak them, and make them in large quantities to see how they hold up. I go back and forth between baking and having some type of cookie company and an actual cafe that serves only breakfast and lunch. We'll see what the future holds. Over the next few months I should have plenty of time to more experimenting since I've decided to give up on finishing Culinary school. Mind you, I only needed this one class to finish. But today was my registration date, and that one class I need is not only completely full, but the wait list is full too. Blah. This is the class I have been waiting all year (literally since last year when it was full) to just get over with. But now I'm just over it, and you don't need an actual degree or certificate or other form of paper to get you along in the food industry, unless you take it somewhere else other than the kitchen, in which you probably need a Bachelor's (i.e. Food Writing, styling, etc). So I have decided that I'm done!
My generous husband yesterday bought for us...me mostly...a Kitchenaid stand mixer. Folks, it's a thing of beauty. We got the professional one too, so it's got more juice and a bigger bowl. I'm ecstatic and can't wait to use it...Photos to come.
So happy to see you blogging again! Those spring rolls sound SO good ,,, and I'm really hungry right now. How did the strawberry/lychee jam turn out?
ReplyDeleteyay welcome back Natalie! I want to see pics from your road trip adventure. Will you share your Vietnamese spring roll recipe? I am making them for a client. I'm using my family's recipe but I would love to try yours!
ReplyDeleteThanks! @Mitch the jam is cooking as we speak! I've been so busy the past couple days that I didn't have time to cook it until tonight! Our kitchen smells sweet. @Burnt here's what I stuffed the spring rolls with:
ReplyDeletePoached Shrimp
Soy Marinated Seared High Protein Extra Firm Tofu
Shredded Iceberg Lettuce
Picked Herbs - Basil, Mint, Cilantro
Scallions
Vermicelli Noodles
I made a peanut dipping sauce to go with them. I sauteed garlic and shallots really quickly in vegetable oil, then added rice vinegar and a dash of fish sauce to reduce for another minute. Then I added that to some peanut butter, and whisked in hoisin, sriracha, a dash of soy and lime juice, and some water to dilute the intense flavors. Yummy! Especially with some Sambal Chili Sauce!