Category Archives: Events

2010 Alouette Cheese Bowl

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The people from Alouette cheese sent me another box o’ cheese so I had to get to work. Unfortunately, I have my entire kitchen packed up so I had to ask a friend to donate her kitchen for the evening while I tried to prepare a few things with one hand tied behind my back (not really, just massive cuts and band-aids still).  I had two other things planned but I packed up the essential items so I will be revisiting those next week.  Anyway, thanks Jayne for letting me borrow your kitchen and thanks Alouette Cheese for sending me another box o’ cheese!

Here it is, my 2010 Alouette Cheese Bowl

Fondue Try This At Home

I don’t like fondue, there I said it.  I hate how every 3-5 years it becomes fashionable and people go out and buy those little fondue sets then they use them once or twice and wait another 3-5 years to be told it’s fashionable again.  Why do all that when all you want it melted cheese with something to dip it in?

If you’re having a party and there is a table in front of the t.v. then you might take a chance of getting your precious burning bowl of fail in the way.  Here’s what you do.  Get a large rectangular plate and place it in the oven at 250-300F.   Melt 2 wedges of Alouette Hickory Smoked Baby Brie Wedges with 1/2 cup of heavy cream in a small sauce pan on low to medium heat (don’t let the cheese get above 165-170F or the cheese will separate).

While that’s going on you can cook some steak (Angus aged 20 days, New York Cut cooked medium rare),  skewer some celery, carrots, tomatoes, hearts of palm, roasted red bell pepper, and then the steak.

You will want to season the cheese once it’s melted with crushed black pepper and himalayan pink salt.

Take the plate out of the oven and pour the cheese in the middle then place your skewered items on top with a little bit of fresh dill as a garnish.   Nobody has to touch the hot plate and everyone can enjoy melted cheese and dipping items without all the trendy crap that fondue brings.

Grilled Sweet Pepper Medley Sandwiches with Bacon and Meyer Lemon Oil

I love grilled cheese sandwiches….I love bacon……I love meyer lemons so I put them all together with Alouette’s pepper medley spreadable cheese.

I used an oatnut bread for this to give the sandwich another level of texture; it compliments the chunks of bacon inside.  I zested a meyer lemon and took half the zest and placed it inside the sandwich then I took the juice of the lemon and remaining zest and mixed it with extra virgin olive oil.

1 container of Alouettte sweet pepper medley will be enough to make three sandwiches. You will also need 3 strips of bacon that will be chopped up to place inside the sandwiches (it’s a good idea to chop them so you won’t have problems cutting the sandwich later).

Cook the sandwiches off on a hibachi grill with a bit of clarified butter on it and wait until the sandwiches turn golden brown…..you’ve done this before!  When you’re all done quarter the sandwiches and pour a bit of meyer lemon oil on top.

Steak and Cheese Please!!!

But, I don’t see any cheese!  Good things come to those who wait.

Take some of that fine Angus steak and cook it up with a little salt and pepper on each side.  Sautee some baby portabello mushrooms in clarified butter, salt, and pepper then place them on the rolls.  Oh yes, there will be cheese!

Melt two containers of Alouette’s Regular Garlic and Herb Spreadable cheese with 1/2 cup heavy cream on low to medium heat (remember the warning I gave you earlier).  When the cheese is melted pour it over the top of the steak and mushrooms, like so.

Cheese Dip? Yes, Cheese Dip

Indulgent, that’s all it is.  This is my version of a fancy cheese dip.  I take two Alouette Baby Brie wedges then melt them with 1/2 cup of heavy cream and finish it with Murray River Pink Salt and a very small amount of crushed white pepper.

The egg yolk is poached in water that is at 120F for about 4 minutes.  I was going to poach it in butter but the whole being at someone else’s house didn’t allow me for clarifying the amount of butter I would need.

Place the yolk in the bowl then pour the cheese on top and place bacon and diced roasted red pepper on top with a little thyme. Ta-da, cheese dip!

Thanks again to Jayne for letting me terrorize her kitchen for an evening and a huge thanks to Alouette Cheese for letting me mess with their awesome cheese :)

Eric

United Way of King County’s Hunger Action Week: Hello Seattle Times!

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http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010939945_food31m.html

Click the above link first then click this one next!

https://www.kintera.org/AutoGen/Simple/Donor.asp?ievent=338823&en=otKPJXNMKeLKIZMMJfJKI6PPLnKYJ4PPKpKVI3ORLtL9H

Thank you United Way, Yuri Kim, Nancy Bartley, Dean Rutz, The Art Institute of Seattle, and everyone else that supports this site (Mindy, parents, friends!).   Please donate to the United Way, they do a lot of great things for this community and there are people that need your help.

Eric

United Way of King County’s Hunger Action Week: Braised Short Ribs and Hearts of Romaine Salad

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I had some money left over so on Wednesday morning I made my way over to H-Mart again to pick up some supplies. My intention was to make a beef stock and use it to braise something. I looked around for a few minutes then came up to the decision of doing short ribs.

(Here’s the H-Mart receipt)

I made the beef stock on Wednesday and while you’re expecting a recipe now for it let me just me just say that I have a surprise for you and it’s going to be huge. Until you see what I’m talking about here is a recipe for beef stock (click)

I like inexpensive cuts of meat. When you know what to do with them they can develop flavors that an expensive piece of Wagyu won’t.  So let’s braise  (such high praise for the braise!

First you will want to tie the meat so that it stays attached to the bone as you cook it.  This will help with structure when you go to plate it up. I’m sure you could not tie it but I’m a little dramatic so tie them up!

As you can see, I used a butcher’s knot to tie this up, it’s easy to do and quick when you’re doing more than one.

Ok, so here is where things start to become awesome. Take a rather large cast-iron pan and sear each side of the meat……on high heat, don’t be afraid….add a little bit of clarified butter to help the searing process.

While the meat is searing, you will want to prep some onions, celery, carrots, roma tomato (quartered) and those mushroom stems that came from the tomato duxelle from the previous day.  I’m going to use a hint of those mushrooms now then finish the sauce with mushrooms because there is nothing better than beef and mushrooms!

Throw the onions and carrots in to lightly caramelize them. Then throw in the celery, tomato, some thyme, parsley, salt, pepper, and finally the beef stock then take the whole pan and place it in the oven for over 3 hours at 250F. You will want to make sure the liquid is just covering the meat at all times so you will have to pour more beef stock in as the meat cooks.

(add more beef stock….ok ok ok, I will….)

Huh, this is going to be a while. I think I’ll make a salad. Hmmm, not much left or exciting to work with. Wait, I can make some croutons out of that oatnut bread and use some of the romaine to do a………….

Croutons tossed in melted butter, salt, pepper, and thyme then placed in the oven at 250F for 25 minutes.

Tomatoes (diced nice!), with the croutons, hearts of romaine, white wine vinaigrette (70% canola 30% white wine vinegar then salt and pepper).

Alright, the meat is ready.  Strain the sauce from the meat then place the strained sauce in a small sauce pot then reduce by half…make sure you skim the fat from the sauce, there will be a lot of it. When the sauce it about 50% reduced then toss in some sliced mushrooms and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes.  You’re ready to plate up now (see picture above)

Now it’s time for a little message from the United Way of King County.

There are so many simple things you and your family can do to take action to end hunger in our community. You can:

  • Invite friends to a “virtual lunch.” Estimate the cost, and donate that amount to your favorite hunger-relief organization.
  • Energize your book group around a book that focuses on the issues of hunger.
  • Plan a food drive with your school, neighborhood, place of worship or after-school group.
  • Donate the free items from “buy one, get one free” grocery store campaigns.
  • Grow a vegetable garden with your family and donate extra vegetables to a local soup kitchen.

Taking the Hunger Challenge?

  • Did you stay within your budget all week?
  • Will this change how you shop for food or plan meals in the future? Share your thoughts on our blog.
  • Share your ideas on creative ways to get involved and read what others are saying on our blog.

Did you know?
Nearly one in five Americans said they lacked the money to buy the food they needed at some point in the last year, according to a survey co-sponsored by the Gallup organization and released Tuesday by an anti-hunger group.

United Way of King County’s Hunger Action Week: Potato and Leek Chicken Stock Soup

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(knife cuts are awful when you can’t use your left hand….ahhhhhhhhh)

This is the 4th item made from the whole chicken.  Granted, it’s really 3 things because the chicken stock became this soup but I like to make it seem like I did a lot more than I actually did….story of my life.

After you have made the chicken stock then cube up some potatoes, cut up some leeks (save some to garnish with), add a little thyme, salt, and pepper and there you have it.  I would prefer if you cooked the soup slow so potatoes don’t cause it to get too cloudy, it will take longer but the appearance is great (this is perfect for a crock pot).  For some reason I like clear soups, I have the same problem when I go swimming….if I can’t see the bottom then I won’t go in….hi, I’m twelve!

DONATE NOW TO THE UNITED WAY OF KING COUNTY’S HUNGER ACTION WEEK!! If you have donated then donate again, this time with a smile on your face :)

(click)

United Way of King County’s Hunger Action Week: Check out some of the other bloggers participating!

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Here is a list of other bloggers participating in the Hunger Action Week. If you like what’s going on here then you’ll love what’s going on at these other blogs!!!!

I’ll start the list with one of my favorite bloggers. Alice over at Savorysweetlife.com (click)

Another of my favorites Superchef @ Mirchmasala.me  I’m always drooling when I look at her food. Simply amazing. (click)

Diana at Dianasaur dishes is always great for an awesome home cooked meal. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting her and found out her husband’s name is Eric….that name is always a winner in my book! We still have to make dinner plans to for a couple’s night out with Mindy, the Eric’s, and Diana! (click)

Foodista! The Amazon venture into the food blogger world is also blogging it up. Check them out for sure.  Tons of recipes! (click)

Salty Seattle is a twitter follower of mine and I am always excited to see what she comes up with next.  I’m really jealous of her sous vide machine….I’m still waiting for an invitation to try it out! (click)

These other blogs are new to me and after a few clicks I’m excited to keep reading about them. Check them out for yourself!

Like what’s going on this week? Donate to a great cause.  United Way of King County’s Hunger Action Week:

(click)

United Way of King County’s Hunger Action Week: Sauteed Chicken Breast with Tomato Duxelle, Baked Potato, and Lemon Thyme Aioli

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(Random things on a plate. Very filling but I just had to work with what I had so not too shabby!)

This is the another meal using the same whole chicken from Monday and I don’t normally eat chicken in consecutive days but I just wanted to show you how flexible one chicken could be.  Stretching the dollar is of utmost importance through this whole week so each component I purchased has multiple uses.   I bought a few pounds of potatoes and used them yesterday with the herb potatoes; they will also make their way into a potato leek soup tomorrow for lunch. I reserved the mushroom stems from the tomato duxelle to use in a beef stock and a braised short rib that I will cook on Friday.  The eggs were the base for the aioli and other meals you have seen already like the omelette and E.L.T.

Know how to make multiple meals from one ingredient is very important and while I am receiving amazing training from school and work I realize that a lot of people don’t have access to culinary schools or restaurants  so this is why I’m here, ta-da!  I’m not here to tell you how to do anything specifically but I do want you to get some ideas.  You won’t find perfection here, yet :)

GET TO THE RECIPE AND STOP TALKING!!! :)

I started off by taking the stems off some mushrooms. You can use different kinds of mushrooms but I just went for inexpensive.

Mince the mushrooms then saute them with clarified butter, salt, pepper, parsley, and a little bit of white wine vinegar.

Cut the tops of two roma tomatoes off and remove the guts.

Take that little mushroom mixture, stuff the tomatoes then place them in the oven at 275F for an hour.

While that little guy is in the oven quickly place a potato in some foil with butter, salt, and pepper then throw it in the oven.

Tomato and potato in the oven. Sweet, let’s make some aioli! I put an egg yolk, salt, pepper, and thyme into a mortar and pestle and slowly worked in canola oil. After reaching the desired consistency add a few drops of lemon juice (lemon thyme!!)

Place mortar and pestle in refrigerator and move onto something else.  Oh right, the chicken.  Add some salt, pepper, and thyme to the chicken then cover and place in refrigerator.

When the potatoes are just about to be done flip the heat up on the oven to 375F.  If you want to remove the tomatoes you can.  Place a little clarified butter in the pan then saute the chicken breast skin side down then flip and place entire pan in oven until the chicken is done 155-160F.

That’s it, you’re all done now….go eat but first donate!!!

(Click here to donate to the United Way of King County’s Hunger Action Week)

United Way of King County’s Hunger Action Week: ?.L.T.

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Fried egg with lettuce and tomato, lettuce and tomato, mayonnaise with lettuce and tomato; this sandwich doesn’t quit! Take some bread, add some lettuce and tomato then let your mind go wild with different ways to dress this up.  I’ve eaten this sandwich four times now and it’s getting to the point where it’s routine and I don’t even think about making it anymore.

I had some visitors today at my house today so we’ll see how that turns out. If it turns out bad then I’ll blame you ?.L.T. sandwich….yes, you.

If you haven’t donated yet then now is the time.

Now, a message from the United Way of King County (smooth transition, like a pro)

Many local food banks don’t have enough capacity to store all of the fresh and frozen produce they receive and are frequently forced to turn it away. You can help by supporting “Yes We Can,” a project which will help a local cannery save fresh foods that might otherwise perish. The newly canned food will be distributed to local food banks, reducing their need to purchase such items, and helping hungry people access healthy food. The project is a partnership of United Way of King County, the South King County Food Coalition and Northwest Harvest. Click here to give and learn more about this innovative program.

  • Taking the Hunger Challenge? It’s “day three” of the Challenge. How much money do you have left in your budget? Share your experiences on our blog.

Did you know?
United Way is working with community partners to end hunger in King County. Learn about our Hunger Relief Now! Plan.

United Way of King County’s Hunger Action Week: Braised Chicken on Carrot and Leek Bed with Herbed Potatoes

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I had a chance to actually cook something and not just eat a sandwich with tomato and lettuce, and a homemade mayonnaise (1 cup canola oil + 1 egg).  I was excited because I knew I would have leftovers from this meal or so I thought.

Snacking isn’t really a big for me because I normally eat bigger meals through the day.  I’m not on a diet or anything so I don’t really pay attention to what I eat or when I eat it but as this hunger week is going on those little snacks are starting to become necessity and I’m really starting to look forward to when the food is ready.  I take a lot of time when I cook because I want it to turn out right and I pretty much have 60% of the use of my left hand since that injury at work.

When things take longer I notice myself rummaging through the food that was set away from the hunger challenge.  If I eat this celery stick will it be enough for the soup tomorrow? If I eat this carrot will it be enough for the carrot puree the next day? Normally, celery sticks or carrot sticks are indispensable but I actually have to have them planned for something it makes things a little more stressful. I do have money to buy more but I don’t want to just gorge myself and jump away from my plans.

I started this chicken dish by pouring a little clarified butter (click here) into a 10 inch cast iron pan with 4 inch high sides. I set the oven to 250F then dusted a little bit of kosher salt and black pepper on top of the chicken.

I took the chicken and placed it in the hot cast iron pan with butter then proceeded to sear each side until I achieved a golden brown color.  It gives a nice crispy texture and contrary to popular belief it does nothing to “trap in the juices” (don’t sear it then weight it before and after and you will find that you lose the same amount of juices when you sear it).  Searing the meat on the outside is more about texture than juices.

While the meat was searing I did a little chopping, slicing, and a concasse of tomato (click). Below you see the leeks, carrrots, and the tomato concasse. All three give a depth of flavor and will later be served with the dish as the accompanying vegetable.  Normally I will toss the vegetables that were seared with the meat then during the last 30 minutes of cooking add fresh vegetables to the braise but like I said, I want to eliminate waste, if it’s edible then I would rather eat it than throw it in the trash.

The chicken is looking like it’s just about to the color and texture I want so I started placing the vegetables in the pot along with 1 1/2 cups of that chicken stock I made.  The key is the have liquid going about 3/4 of the way up on the meat and making sure the liquid stays at that amount so having a another 1/2 cup to 3/4 of a cup of stock is a must. I made about a gallon of chicken stock from the 1 chicken carcass so using a maximum of 2.25 cups is no big deal.

Vegetables on are on, stock is in, cast-iron pan goes in the oven for 2-3 hours. You can actually cook it longer if you want. This would be great a dish for a crock pot but you can’t sear in a crock pot and having crispy anything is delightful so go with this method instead. After about an hour or two I start prepping the potatoes.

Nothing crazy, just some fresh herbs, a little clarified butter, salt, pepper, and a touch of white wine vinegar.

I cover the potatoes with foil and place them in the oven until they are tender.   At this point I remove the cast -iron pan and strain the juice out of the pan.  I place it in a smaller pan and reduce the juices by 50% then add a little bit of flour to thicken it.  Normally I would add wine to the mix to give the sauce more flavor but that’s not an option.

The sauce is to the right consistency so I take some whole butter and slowly work it into the sauce to finish it off. I know what you’re thinking, “sounds like you use a lot of butter through this whole recipe”.  It sounds like it but I have only used about 2-3 tbsp. total….for everything.

I plate ti all up and pour some of that sauce over the chicken then ta-da!  Worth the wait, inexpensive, and definitely not a lame tomato and lettuce sandwich.

I make this dish completely different when I can use whatever I want.  To compare check this out (click).

Here are a few words from the United Way of King County about hunger.




Many local food banks don’t have enough capacity to store all of the fresh and frozen produce they receive and are frequently forced to turn it away. You can help by supporting “Yes We Can,” a project which will help a local cannery save fresh foods that might otherwise perish. The newly canned food will be distributed to local food banks, reducing their need to purchase such items, and helping hungry people access healthy food. The project is a partnership of United Way of King County, the South King County Food Coalition and Northwest Harvest. Click here to give and learn more about this innovative program.

  • Taking the Hunger Challenge? It’s “day three” of the Challenge. How much money do you have left in your budget? Share your experiences on our blog.

Did you know?
United Way is working with community partners to end hunger in King County. Learn about our Hunger Relief Now! Plan.

United Way of King County’s Hunger Action Week: Knowing Where to Shop

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Over the past year I have spent countless hours sourcing foods, trying new products, and eating at restaurants (from The Herbfarm to random taco trucks). When I taste something excellent or there is a product that peaks my interest I start asking a lot of questions.  This has lead me to driving to Shelton to pick up crab and oysters at Taylor Shellfish. I have been to Longbeach, WA to feed my crab habit.  I have been to Visalia, CA to visit Pom Wonderful’s Pomegranate and Pistachio orchards.  The trips continue into Washington’s Yakima Valley for wine, grape seed oil, emmer flour, spelt flour, and beans.  Don’t forget the farmers markets……I worked at almost every market during last season (Proctor, West Seattle, Ballard, Queen Anne, Bellevue, Capitol Hill, and many more).  I could keep going but I won’t.

My point is that when you want/need something you need to know where to buy it .When you need something and you’re on a budget you need to know where you can consistently find a great price.  The circulars, manufacturer’s coupons, and commercials are all great for telling you where the deals are but what they won’t tell you is which store will  save you the most amount of money everytime.  Plus, when you’re working, commuting, and have a billion errands to run do you really have time to sift through a newspaper to find pork chops for 15 cents less per pound at a store across town?  You need gas to get there is it really worth it? Probably not.

What stores should I shop at? Walmart? No thanks. Whole Foods, PCC, Metropolitan Market? Hahahaha.  Albertson’s, Safeway, QFC??? Nope. The three places I have found that help you save the most money are Winco, Grocery Outlet, and my favorite, H-Mart.   I don’t have anything against Whole Foods, PCC, or any of those other stores that I feel are more expensive because I do shop at all of them. Whole Foods, Met. Market, and PCC focus on the great quality organic style of life and frankly, that’s expensive (price is what you pay and value is what you get…I think I learned that in the auto sales business). I said this last year, I believe everyone should have access to organic food….everything should be grown that way but there is a price to pay obviously.  High quality food costs more, duh, and growing enough of it for an entire population is another issue to deal with (this where you come in urban farmer)

When I go to a Farmers market I know I’m going to pay a lot more because there is a superior product being served plus I can actually shake the hands of the person growing the product….that doesn’t happen at Safeway.  I remember when I worked at the markets there were a few of them that accepted food stamps but the traffic wasn’t really that high compared to the more affluent customers shopping at the markets.  Should the producer’s change their prices? No. Should the affluent feel guilty? No.  Does $12 per day in food cost allow two people to eat organic food all the time? No. Everyone deserves to eat healthy food.

As you can see in the picture above I tried to buy as much healthy stuff as I could.  Vegetables,  fresh herbs, a whole chicken, etc…. None of that stuff is organic but it’s the least expensive group of items I could buy together and only found at stores like H-Mart, Winco, and Grocery Outlet.  These three stores truly are thrifty when it comes right down to it and you can consistently find great deals.   A great deal is important when you have a $12 per day maximum to spend for two people.   I spent $29.76 there and another $5.25 at another store for butter, vinegar, and canola oil. I still have money left over in order to cook some meals.

This year I told myself I wouldn’t deep fry anything which I did 3-4 times last year. I grew up in a home where it was very common to fry just about everything so it was something comfortable for me to do when I thought about simplifying my food.  As I have made my way through culinary school I am figuring out that deep frying is quick, easy, and still awesome, but there are different ways to cook food to make it taste great so this gave me more options which allowed me to expand my menu for the week with healthier options.  I really do hope that someone out there struggling with hungers sees my blog and can figure out a way to cook easier for themselves but I know that if someone is truly struggling with hunger then I’m sure they’re not perusing the interwebs to read a cooking blog. This is where you come in.

Donate to the United Way of King County’s Hunger Action Week Campaign.

CLICK HERE TO DONATE

Eric

It’s nice not to have sponsors for this blog sometimes because I can actually say what I want. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

United Way of King County’s Hunger Action Week: 3+ meals in 1

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Chicken, it’s inexpensive, filling, and is an easily manipulated item in the kitchen.

One of the things I looked forward to in culinary school was learning how to butcher my own food.  I didn’t go out and kill the chicken myself but I do know how to break it down so I can save myself some money and use every part of the chicken order to eliminate waste.

I cut up this chicken into 5 pieces so I can have a 2 breasts, a leg and thigh connected, and finally the carcass with remaining meat for a flavorful stock.  Instead of buying smaller pieces of chicken like I did last year I can now control what I want to eat and how I want to eat it while saving the maximum amount of money.  There are more ways to break down a chicken but I felt for two adults this way will allow us to eat a few substantial meals while on a slim budget for the week.

There will be lots more coming up on this blog throughout the week for Hunger Action Week so stay tuned. If you like what’s going on here or even if you don’t and you hate me then just forget about that and donate to the United Way of King County.  My words, pictures, and recipes don’t matter. Making sure someone has something to eat for their next meal is important, you can help.

United Way of King County (click here)

Here is a little more information about how hunger from the United Way of King County:

Hunger is on an alarming rise in our state. The number of households that are financially stretched to the point where they can’t be certain that everyone will have enough to eat has increased by 13%

In Washington state, 112,000 households now meet the definition for hunger—”very low food security”? and rates of hunger are higher in households with children.

Read the new report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and join us as we take action against hunger.

How you can help:

Did you know?
Chronic hunger in adults weakens bones and muscles, increases the risk of illness, worsens existing health problems, and contributes to depression and lack of energy.

United Way of King County’s Hunger Action Week (Day 1, morning)

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Naked omelette with thyme, salt, pepper, toast, and banana.  Nothing inside…..not even bacon :(

It’s been a year already?  Last year I participated in the United Way of King County’s Hunger Action Week and after the week was over I had a lot of confidence with my cooking abilities.  They were really rough and looking back at the recipes I can honestly say I had no idea what I was doing at the time. I probably don’t know what I’m doing now but ignorance is bliss!! (click here for last year’s posts)

I started culinary school last July and since then I have been moving at the speed of light in this whole cooking world. I’m not making much of an impact in the cooking world but I am learning how to make good to great food with limited resources. So three quarters into $50,000 worth of culinary school for two years I can probably be a little less stressed about making $50 last for a week of food for myself and Mindy, right?  Absolutely not.

I am always trying to one up myself when I cook so taking a major step back to stay within a fixed budget is going to be tough. I don’t spend money on going out or other hobbies anymore (I didn’t attend a single Mariners game last year when the year before I attended over 20).  I’m in school, I work, and I have this crazy blog.  Even with all of this stuff I have going on I am fortunate.

There are people out there that work and can only dream of going to culinary school.  I know tons of people that would love to have a blog. There are people out there that can only dream of having something as simple as a job…..doing anything….just a job! So I’m not going to get too preachy and whiney over the week because as I sit here with my laptop, nice camera, and high speed internet telling you about my experience I know there are people out there that have much less than I do.

This is 5 days and $50 for food for two people. I think about situations in Haiti and other parts of the world am I feel ridiculous to think that $50 for a week of food is going to be hard to do.  I was listening to the radio and I heard a doctor that was in Haiti saying that he saw people selling mud cakes (made of mud….not chocolate) to others just to give them something to eat.  Check out the picture above of the omelette, egg, and toast….I’m complaining about bacon….nice, Eric.

There will be lots more coming up on this blog throughout the week for Hunger Action Week so stay tuned. If you like what’s going on here or even if you don’t and you hate me then just forget about that and donate to the United Way of King County.  My words, pictures, and recipes don’t matter. Making sure someone has something to eat for their next meal is important, you can help.

United Way of King County (click here)

Eric

A Message from The United Way of King County: Hunger Action Week Campaign

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There is still time to participate in the United Way of King County’s Hunger Action Week.  Here is more information from them so you can be part of this.  I will be all about this next week so come back and check it out.

Hunger Action Week Overview

Why focus on hunger?

United Way of King County has always been dedicated to making sure families and individuals have enough to eat.  However, within the last two years, the landscape of hunger has changed dramatically.  The recession has led to more people needing help getting enough to eat.  And people who were already relying on food stamps and food banks were put in even more precarious situations.

Statistics that have been coming out have reflected the dire state of hunger in our local community and throughout the US:

  • In King County, there has been a 17% increase in food bank visits between Q3 2008 and Q3 2009 (those are our latest numbers).  That an increase of over 31,000 people who had to use food banks for food.  (Source)
  • A December 20th article in the Seattle Times reported the following:
    “In the past two years… the number of people in Washington state receiving food stamps has soared by nearly 60 percent, about twice the national increase…. In October, a record 12.8 percent of the state’s population — about 855,000 people — were on food stamps”.  (    Source)
    While we think Basic Food (Washington’s name for food stamps) is a great program to combat hunger, it devastating to see how many people need to rely on it.
  • A 2009 USDA report showed that 47 million Americans are “food insecure” – that’s the most ever.  That means that about 1 in every 7 Americans don’t have enough to eat. (Source)

What do we hope to accomplish with HAW?

The purpose of Hunger Action Week is to raise awareness around hunger.  Most people don’t realize how many people are struggling.  For most of us, it’s so easy to forget that many in America don’t know where their next meal will come from.  Or that many have to choose between having enough food to eat and paying for rent.

We want to get people thinking about, talking about, and taking around hunger.

For us at United Way, one our biggest metrics of success is how many people sign up for the Hunger Challenge.  The reason being, simply, that by signing up, people write their names and emails so we can actually measure how many people we’ve reached.  Further, we will be sending emails during Hunger Action Week letting people know how to get involved.

We want people to sign up for the Hunger Challenge even if they see it as a daunting task because failure speaks a lot to the challenge.  Personally, I couldn’t get through the week that opened my eyes to how difficult living solely on Basic Food would be.

What does United Way of King County do around hunger issues?

When most people hear “United Way”, they know we’re a charitable organization but they don’t know what we actually do.  Big campaigns like this help us clarify our role in the community.

So what do we do?  Basically, we raise funds and make strategic investments in order to bring significant change in the community.  Instead of looking at individual nonprofits, we look at the whole community and figure out how best use the money we raise.

For us, hunger is a big issue and we have put our money where our mouth is.  Every year, we invest nearly about $1million into 15 food organizations.  Due to the recession, we raised even more money for food programs through our Response for Basic Needs.  Last year, we gave $1.7million to 45 different food programs in King County.

Along with that, we created a volunteer program called Bridge to Basics where volunteers go out in the community to help people sign up for benefits such as food stamps, utility assistance, and low-cost health care.

We are trying to cover all the bases and make sure nobody in King County has to go hungry.

Hunger Challenge

What we want from you in terms of the Hunger Challenge.

We are asking you to take the hunger challenge, post regularly throughout the week, and post a reflection of HAW at the end of the week.

Also, we would like it if you encouraged your readers to take part in the Hunger Challenge and other ways in order to make a difference around hunger.

Of course, all of that is very flexible.  You can take the challenge and write about it however you like.

What are the rules?

First, I’d like to emphasize that the rules are made to be guidelines.  The point is to get people thinking about the challenge of hunger in everyday life, not necessarily to mimic hunger.  Please feel free to use these rules but also feel free to modify them as you think is best

Individuals can spend $7 a day for the challenge.  We chose that amount because it is the maximum food benefits a single person can get on Basic Food.  And while Basic Food is designed to be a supplement to food budgets, the reality is that many rely solely on their benefits for food because they don’t have enough money to handle food as well as all the other expenses that they need to take care of.

This table shows how much allowance you’re allowed depending on family size:

Household Size Hunger Challenge Budget (for 5 days)
1 $33.00
2 $61.00
3 $88.00
4 $111.00
5 $132.00
6 $158.00

Other Tidbits

Our Donation Project – “Yes We Can!”

While raising money is not the number one component of this campaign, it is definitely a part of it.  For Hunger Action Week, we are raising money for a very cool project that I’m excited about.

The “Yes We Can!” project is a partnership with United Way of King County, the South King County Food Coalition, Northwest Harvest, and a local cannery.

We are trying to raise $10,000 so that we can rent out time at the cannery to benefit local food banks.  By having access to this cannery, fresh fruit and produce that would normally be thrown away due to their short shelf-life will get canned, preserved, and sent out to area food banks!  That way, nutritious produce isn’t wasted and food banks will have fuller shelves.  It’s a great project that we are proud to be part of.

Links

Our Homepage: http://www.uwkc.org

Our Hunger Action Week page: http://www.uwkc.org/hunger

Our blog: http://www.uwkc.org/blog

Our Twitter account: http://www.twitter.com/HomelessKC / http://www.twitter.com/VolunteerKC

Hunger Action Week Hashtag: #HungerAction

Our Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#/pages/United-Way-of-King-County/151932322263?ref=ts

Hunger Action Week: January 25-29, 2010

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Last year I worked on this campaign with the United Way of King County so when Yuri e-mailed me and asked me if I would participate I didn’t hesitate for a second. The United Way of King County is a tremendous organization that does a lot of great things for our community.  I had the pleasure of speaking about my experience to the board of director’s and they were extremely receptive to what I had to say….I was nervous as hell.

This year I want to try and do something a little different with this campaign. I realize there are people that don’t have a blog but do read this blog and maybe there are some of you that want to participate in this.  My solution, use my blog. If you want to participate in this year’s Hunger Action Week and you don’t have a blog then I’ll make you an author or you can just send me your pictures and stories and I will post them along with my stories and pictures.

The goal is to raise awareness and hopefully some money at the same time to help out King County residents that are facing hunger problems.  I have a special place in my heart for things like this because I don’t feel that anyone living in this country should go hungry…..ever.  Take away all the political garbage, opinions, and judgements of people in this situation and just realize that we live in a first world country that prides itself on being the best.  I believe that food is the most important thing in anyone’s life. It’s not meant to simply feed a mouth it’s there to create positive experiences and give joy.

The campaign is simple. You and your family will spend a certain amount of money per day for food.  The only things that aren’t part of the budget are salt and pepper. Here is the breakdown for each family and how much they are allowed to spend per day.

Household Size Hunger Challenge Budget For Five Days
1 $7/day
2 $12/day
3 $18/day
4 $22/day
5 $26/day
6 $32/day
7 $35/day
8 $45/day

You can take the daily amount then multiply it by 5 and go shopping once if that’s easier for you.  Those $5 lattes? Gone. Those trips to PCC? Gone.  Whole Foods? Good night.  Once you see what you can actually spend your money on your stress level will be increased and those creature comforts (ice cream, cookies, desserts) will go away but don’t worry, it’s only 5 days.  There are people that live like this everyday.  I just want you to participate for 5 days.

Send an e-mail to, ericriveracooks@gmail.com, and let me know if you want to be an author for those 5 days. If you have ever wanted to be a food blogger then here is your chance. :)   If you just want to submit stories and pictures then let me know.  If you want to send money to support the United Way then visit their site (click) and do so.   Come back on the 25th anyway for all the Hunger Action Week coverage.

Eric.

Weeble Cheese Reduction Sauce for Macrina and Hightower Cellars Bread

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The folks over at Macrina and Hightower Cellars sent me over some of their new bread so of course I decided to make it even more awesome than it is by adding a little cheese with that wine. :) The bread is fantastic and doesn’t need this cheese reduction sauce but if you ever want to add a little something extra to this bread then here it is.

Thanks again Macrina Bakery and Hightower Cellars.

Macrina Bakery (click)   Highland Cellars (click)

Ingredients:

  • Pane Francese Loaf
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup Weebles Cheese.
  • Pinch of nutmeg
  • Pinch of ground white pepper
  • Parsley, minced

Procedure:

  1. Slice bread!
  2. In a small sauce pot place the cheese on low heat and melt….do not let the cheese go over 185F or it will separate
  3. Once the cheese is melted add the heavy cream and reduce to about half then add the nutmeg and pepper
  4. Pour cheese sauce over bread and throw on some parsley

Enjoy,

Eric