Obey My Mom Food Blog

Hello, friends.  Much has transpired since my portfolio review at school.  To bring you up to speed, my second culinary degree in Baking & Pastry are now in the bag.   I am now employed by a privately held, luxury hotel.  The name of the hotel will remain anonymous to prevent from offending anyone at work in anyway shape or form.

My portfolio review was a success.  Much thanks to my loyal classmates BB & Micuel for assisting me with prep and replenishment of food from my booth.  The English concept went well, and I ended up interviewing with a couple of employers from the review.  The Bacon Butty and Lamb & Beef Pasty were popular items.  My bread for the butty was really fresh due to being baked the same day, and the crust for my pasty was deliciously crusty. If you haven’t made a pastry crust with beef suet, I highly recommend it.  Your crust will be super crisp with a rich mouth feel.

Photo of my booth taken by my 8 year old son, Harrison

The best thing I ever did at school was take advantage of all the volunteering opportunities at school. Yes, it’s free work, but it’a a great way to build confidence, network, and get noticed for your hard work.  If you are starting your culinary education or are in the midst of one, the best piece of advice I can give you is to check your attitude and constantly humble yourself.  This is needed in situations such as taking out the garbage (the vileness is incomparable to household garbage), getting on all fours to scrape a crappy paint job off the floor, and clearing out the walk-in refrigderator by sniffing out whether product is useable to name a few.  All character builders, trust me.

First Quarter at School Circa 2008

My college career has been bittersweet with many sacrifices along the way.  It’s been like a volleyball game with a long rally, but ignoring the fatigue and fear of losing… just to get that final, glorious point.  Out of the four years of higher education, the captain was away for two years.  At one point, correction a couple of points, I was working full-time along with rearing the younglings.  There were times when I questioned whether going to school was best for my family, and I can honestly say I’m glad I pushed forward and carried on.  Everything worked out.  Thank goodness!  There were so many people who supported and believed in me.  Much thanks to my friends, family, faculty at The Art Institute of Seattle, co-workers and chefs that have guided and inspired me.  A special thanks to Harrison & Ben for making me smile and appreciating the simple things in life.  Now on to the next adventure…

The Pastry Crew

February and March offer great holidays such as Valentine’s, President’s, and St. Patrick’s Day. However, these months are special because it is when my children entered my life.  Ben was born in February and Harrison in March.  My thoughts on motherhood, prior to having children were completely blown away.  Sorry to announce, it was much tougher than I expected and the sleep deprivation is unexplainable.  However, the rewards of being a mother outweigh everything else.  A friend asked me, “What made you want to have kids?”  Before kids I wouldn’t have been able to explain it.  Today, I would say, it’s the deep connection I have with them.  The love I feel between my children is unlike anything I have shared with anyone else before.  Who cares, Jan.  What does motherhood have to do with your food blog?  Well, my blog is heavily impacted by my kids.  The meals I cook at home are driven by their requests.  They drive me to do better and inspire me on a daily basis.  I learn from them everyday and they make me smile.

This Photo Makes Me Smile

Ben is my tiny dancer.  He will spontaneously dance even when there is no music and loves to make silly noises.  Harrison is my perfectionist and is silently trying to be the best at everything.  A slight over achiever, just like his mom.  Even at a young age children give great advice.  It may be simple, but oh so true.  My favorite is, “just be nice.”  If I could, I would spend every second with the boys and watch them interact.  Harrison and Ben remind me of two old men sometimes, because of the way they bicker, but eventually get along.

My favorite part of school was being able to bring in goodies for my class during my birthdays, so I really get into it when their special day comes around.  Benny brought mini chocolate and vanilla cupcakes.  Harrison brought chocolate covered strawberries. Their personalities are very different.  Ben chose to stay in for his day and eat pasta.  Harrison requested Red Lobster, and ordered two items off the kids menu and put everything away.  We had to drive all the way to Lynwood for his request.  Darn TV commercials.  Here’s to February & March.

Try This Chocolate

I spoke with Danielle today, she heads the promotion of this search.  Good luck!

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So, I have put a big dent into my business plan and have finalized the logistics of my big portfolio day.  I am excited to share with you a rough draft of my tasting menu:

Supposedly, I am only allowed to invite a total of ten people.  Minus my family, that means I only have two tickets left.  If you would like to taste my food and check out my booth just leave me a comment.  The Portfolio Review takes place on March 22, 2012 @12PM.  Hope to see you there!

March is a big month.  School will be completely out of my sight.  Unless, I decide to purse my MBA.   That’s a crazy thought!  A whole hearted job search will begin.  Volleyball games and practices will be in full swing.  We are 1-0, and are only 4 games away from being in the playoffs.  I’m throwing a dual birthday party for the boys in two weeks.  Their birthdays are four days apart.  Phew!  My children are growing way too fast.  After six months of rehabilitating my 2nd ACL, I will be able to play volleyball & go back to dancing at the end of the month.  Lastly, my younger brother will be arriving today from Hawaii, and we will be able to do some considerable catching up.  March will be just like any other month.  Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.  If you can guess this reference you are the lucky winner of being my taste tester for my portfolio menu.  End of rant.

Goodbye February, welcome March.  I’m already fantisizing about the great spring ingredients to come my way.

Jan Z. Parker

Hello, readers.  This month has been a doozy.  It’s like the fast forward button on the VHS got stuck.  Slow down, I want to relish this month of love.  Most of my time has been filled with scholarly activity for my last and final quarter.  My final project is creating a restaurant from start to finish.  What does this entail?  Well I  have to create a business plan, budget, menu, create the space, make sure there is sufficient staff, equipment, and so on and so on.  Things a kitchen professional would have to deal with in a real restaurant.  My concept is inspired by England and the name of my restaurant is The Abbey.  A booth and scrumptious appetizers are required for prospective employers to decide whether or not one is worthy.  No pressure at all.  I’m still attending my artisanal bread class and advance baking and pastry class as well. In addition to my major project, I have to create a fabulous three tiered cake for my final in pastry class.  My cake is going to have lace made from sugar and double as a receptacle for my scones for The Abbey booth.  The focal point will be an abbey made of nougatine.  Nougatine is caramel mixed with almonds.  It’s no fun to work with when it cools.

Mid-February, another season of volleyball started for the 8th grade girls I’ve been coaching for two years.  Sadly, they will be moving on to high school after this season.  Aside from what I’ve mentioned, it’s business as usual with the younglings and volunteering at their school.  I’ve decided to wait until March to pursue my new career, so I can have more breathing room.

If this sounds very busy, it is, but I feel lucky to be able to do what I do.  This is a great segue into my latest.

Make something great out of a piece of fruit that has gone south.  A great example is this asian pear. This pear has over ripened, but is so perfect for my rendition of the Korean staple bulgogi.

Don't throw this Shriveled Asian Pear Away

Heavily Trim All the Brown Away

Process the Marinade

Marinate for 1 hour

This Wok is 35 Years Old

Woks are supposed to look dirty, don’t wash your wok, it will take the seasoning away.  It would be like giving a human a lobotomy and wiping their memory away.  If you start with a new wok, you will notice how the age of the wok will affect the flavor of your food.

The fruit, soy sauce, and brown sugar will turn in to Caramelized GoodnePork Bulgogi

Eaten Best with a Quick Pickle

Pickled Carrots, Cucumber, Onions, and Cabbage

Pork Bulgogi

Blueberry Panna Cotta on a White Chocolate Cereal Crispy

Sometimes you get lucky and someone says,”Hey do you want two flats of blueberries?  You may need to pick through them.”  I yielded a flat and a half after sorting.  I’ve just been on an awesome free fruit streak.  Thank you and thank you.  Needless to say, I have had some interesting blueberry projects.  Here is what is coming down the blueberry project pipe: a blueberry buttermilk tart, panna cotta with a white chocolate cereal crispy and blueberry gelee and caramelized blueberry napoleon.   Of course, jam is going to be made.  Here is a peek at my most recent project an Upside Down Blueberry Polenta Cake.

Snow is not conducive to work, school, or blogging.  I hope you enjoyed time due to the extreme winter weather as much as I did.  The boys and I had three days off.  Living in Colorado for 2 years prepared us for this brutal weather minus the hills.  Fortunately, we were able to cruise around town in the SUV and witness all of the snowy beauty.  All of the sledding, playing, and trudging in the snow has drained all of us.  Today, I’m energized and motivated by the lovely sunshine.

Snow Day 1:

A Great Source of Energy for the Snow-Pancakes

A Walk to Broadcast Coffee

Sipping on Latte

Let Me In

The Trek Back Home

Snow Day II

My greengrocers gift, a trade of extra blood oranges for a dessert.

Prep for the Dessert

Lunch Time

One of Life's Most Simplest Pleasures: Grilled Cheese

Thank you greengrocer.

Dark Chocolate and Blood Orange Tart

Snow Day III

Welcome to the new week.

Well, we are still in the “new” year.  Some of you are still clinging to your resolutions like a pair of sprung high schoolers.  Good for you.  Others, not so much.  Oh well, it was worth a try. Keep your head up.  As for I, the new year was void of any plot to change my life severely.  The only newish change for the interim- is listening to the 80-90′s station instead of The Heat on XM radio.  Depeche Mode, U2, Snoop, and Technotronic are a few  groups I put deep in the memory banks.  How did I forget these songs?  This music takes me back to my defiant high school years.

Another new for me this week was starting winter quarter.  Everything counts in large amounts, and it’s the last push to force this 18 credit quarter out.  My 6:30AM artisanal bread class was taught by a new instructor, Chef Holland.  He is one of the main bakers at Grand Central.  Chef Holland handles bread bakery with finesse.  Years of experience come through when he preforms the dough.  Each touch is like the first one,  precise and methodical, regardless of the tons of bread he’s had to deal with.

It's A Beautiful Day from The Bake Shop

Wave the couche up in the air, and wave like you just don't care

750g of Baguette

Sticky Icky Buns

A friend stopped by and gave me some eggs from her own chickens.  If this isn’t a symbol of new, I don’t know what is.

Thank You, Deb!