The Little Black Book of Pies

Monday, July 28, 2008

A few months ago I self-published a cookbook titled Little Black Book of Pies. I am someone who is passionate about food and people learning to cook good food. I am a dying breed, a good old fashioned cook who wants folks to know that anyone can be a good cook and baker.

Years ago, when I was a child I took piano lessons from a woman who I later learned was not a great piano teacher, but a good piano teacher. There are folks who are great at what they do and folks who are good at what they do. What really sets them apart is their passion for what they do. My piano teacher was not about fluff, pomp or pageantry; she was about teaching, she was a piano teacher. She wanted me to learn and learn well and greatness would come. I suppose a bit of that rubbed off on me. I am not about being a Paula Deen, or Rachael Ray. I want the students in my cooking class to walk away with the meat and potatoes and not just the marshmallow fluff.

I had a woman edit my book and the most she could come up with is the fact I put old fashion instead of old fashioned and that the book could stand to have color photographs and an index; besides that she thought is was pretty good and would sell well to anyone who enjoyed baking pies. I have really tough skin and to a certain degree I agreed with her. The book did need an index and it would have been great to have color photographs of the pies. Unfortunately that was not in my budget and if that will prevent the book from selling, well all my work was done in vain.

It is my desire to write a number of other books for novice and not so novice cooks and bakers before I leave this earth and some may have photographs and some will not. I am of the school of thought that when a book does not have fancy photos it leaves more to the imagination of the cook. You can decide how you want the dish to look, and you can learn to trust your own ability and creativity. This is something we just don’t allow folks to do anymore. People are eager to say, show me this, or show me that, as opposed to try it and let’s see what you come up with. Trust and believe you will know it when it is right and if you cook and bake long enough you will know how to enhance your masterpiece.

There are not a lot of pie cookbooks out there today and mine is not for the gourmet baker. The Little Black Book of Pies is for the simple cook, the novice who just wants to have a few deliciously divine pie recipes under his or her belt to woo friends and family. My little book is the kind you will pull out to impress and tuck away for your grand daughter. No, people don’t write these kinds of books anymore, it’s just a little black book of pies, filled with deliciously simple recipes for the pie lover in your life.

Human error is here to stay!

Monday, July 21, 2008

Recently I was on Blog Talk Radio’s The Recipe Box with Barbara Howard and although we were talking about back to school lunch ideas, she mentioned that on an upcoming program she would be discussing the issues associated with the recent wave of food-related headlines questioning the safety of our food source. While there will always be areas that need improvement, our food supply is safer than it has ever been in years; so why are we seeing news stories on food-borne illnesses, especially among commercial producers.

Well, to answer this I had to do a little research for myself and what I discovered did not shock me. The answer is as old as time itself. Remember a few months ago, October 2007 when ConAgra’s Banquet chicken and turkey pot pies were making folks sick? The U.S. Department of Agriculture tracked down the issue as one of two things: the plant did not prepare the product properly or the consumers using the product did not understand how to cook the product properly.

Look, any way you twist it someone just doesn’t know how to cook. It is not rocket science and both explanations can be summed up to “human error.” I have been a huge proponent of getting rid of processed food for years. I do not purchase it and when I have the need for a pot pie or hot pocket, I make my own. I know that does not answer the need of millions who will not or cannot do that, but I say this because in life you have options. You can decide to cook for yourself and learn to cook well or you can leave that responsibility to someone else; your choice.

I will continue to shout it from the highest table top, learn to cook, learn to cook, please learn to cook. Cooking is like breathing, it is something you should do without effort or forethought since you must eat to live. I often say parents are the child’s first teacher, but if the parent does not know, what is a child to do? What is a parent to do?

Learning to cook is just not a priority in America. It is too easy to go and get a $0.99 hamburger or $0.89 taco with a soda and call it a day. We are a give it to me quick and now society. I never thought I would say this but Americans don’t care what they eat, they just want to eat, anything, anyplace, just stuff that mouth! Just think about it, if you are what you eat, what are you? I have even had people say to me; well I’m going to die anyway so why prolong the inevitable? Why, because of the inadvertent chance that you do not die, but have to live a life anguishing with a terminal illness or debilitating disease; forcing your family and friends to suffer with you all because you didn’t care. Look, I am not saying this about everyone who is seriously ill, but at some point we have to realize that taking control of our food source, what we prepare and how we prepare it is important and vital to our health and the health of our family.

The next time you see a cooking class being offered, take it. Step outside your comfort zone and try something different. This fall I am offering a canning class. There are only a few people signed up, but I suspect more will come calling the sooner we reach the class date. I may be surprised however, and not have more than a handful of students. We rarely understand the need to educate ourselves until it is way too late, as with credit card debt and mortgage debacles. Hummm!

Work me 4 days a week…please!

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

There has been a lot of discussion in the news and at the water cooler about the introduction of a four day work week. Personally, I think the four day work week would be fabulous. I will take it a bit further and say for those who want and can work from home five days a week and their job would not suffer, that option should be offered too. Today it is imperative that employers and employees think outside the box, way outside the box and figure out how we can not leave our children and grandchildren a planet that is unhealthy, broke and in shambles.

I know there will be arguments that folks cannot get all their work completed in four days, or people who work from home will be slackin’ off. There is only one way to resolve that, fire them. If they are not doing their job, fire them! I know if I were not doing the kind of job I need to do, I would just quit, before being fired, but that’s just me. It’s not that I do not want to do the job or could not do the job, most of the time I just did not care and would rather be in the kitchen creating a dynamic pasta sauce using the best Vodka I could get my hands on or perfecting a chocolate chess pie made with Hot Sex! (The liquor folks, the liquor!)

Okay, so I’m the booziest kitchen foodie, cook, baker, culinary genius on the planet, trust and believe my masterpieces are delicious, and when you visit my home or Bed and Breakfast (my goal in life) you will definitely experience a “divine dine.” Hello!!!

Back to this four day work week deal, yeah it’s a good thing. I was just watching CNN who experimented with three of their employees, putting them on a four day work week schedule and all said they enjoyed it and had more quality time to spend with family. I think that says it all. If you do not want more quality time to spend with family or friends why are you here? Why are you on the planet?

Look there is only one thing in life that is finite, limited and cannot be purchased or battered, it’s time. Fortunately for most of us we do not know when our time is up, so since that question is out their floating in the wind, let’s take advantage of every little opportunity awarded us. If the boss says work four days, go for it. If the boss says work from home, go for it. Life is too short to not take advantage of time spent with the people who mean the most to us, our family and friends.

I have read on forums and chats that folks who work from home feel isolated, alone and often suffer from depression. Oh hell no! Look start a MeetUp for telecommuters, meet at the coffee shop, your favorite Chinese Restaurant and have lunch or invite other tele’s over for lunch, meet at the park for an hour; but let nothing get in the way of your freedom to work outside the traditional brick and mortar.

After viewing the CNN special I decided to seek out all those telecommuters and create a wonderful “cooking parti” for them. Gather your friends and family and for one hour let’s partake in a lunch and learn in the privacy of your own home. Hey, I’ll even show you how to make that Hot Sex Chocolate Chess pie for your significant other who unfortunately is not as lucky as you and must fight that mess on the Interstate. Look, everyone is not going to be as fortunate, but you can at least have something special waiting for them when they walk in the door.

Au Natural

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Recently I listened to a “talk radio” personality discussing a plan he concocted to lose weight. He discovered a new out patient procedure that involved limiting the amount of food intake, thereby preventing weight gain. I have never seen this individual in person (just photographs, yes he is overweight) but he said he is having the procedure as a “preventative measure.” My personal opinion is that if he is having the procedure as a preventative measure and he is already overweight, what exactly is he preventing?

It has been implied by a number of medical authorities that many of the illnesses we suffer are directly related to our diet, lack of exercise and proper rest. The diet part is the focus of this blog. I know I have mentioned this before in my blogs and I cannot say it enough, a good diet starts with understanding the nutritional value in food. If you do not know what nutrients your body needs, then you must learn. Once you are aware however, you must make a commitment to prepare those foods in a healthy manner. Some have chosen the “raw” route, some have chosen to only eat vegetables, fruits and fish while others have chosen to eat meat in moderation and avoid the “white stuff.” What ever your choice you have to learn to cook and prepare the food. It will not jump out of your supermarket cart onto your plate.

I know this sounds simplistic but it is true. If you are to offer variety to your family you need to find creative ways to prepare food. Do you know how to bake, broil, roast, grill,

braise, steam, boil sauté and poach? Good food is all about creative preparation, even if it is nothing more than a simple salad.

Another option to consider involves making your own condiments. Have you ever considered making your own salad dressings, chutney or steak sauce?

What about tasting and enjoying foods in their natural state? Have your taste buds become so accustomed to artificial flavors, additives and preservatives, that certain foods are no longer appealing without “Ranch” dressing or “Ketchup?” I am not saying all foods are deliciously divine without a little assistance, but you really don’t know unless you try them au natural. How often have we served our children fresh sliced carrot sticks without peanut butter assuming they simply will not eat a fresh sweet carrot? We must learn to give foods a try and let them stand alone.

What will it take for us to get “back to the basics” and start fresh? My suggestion to this radio personality is before you go under the knife; attempt to get back to the basics. Eat a salad with no dressing, make a sandwich with real chicken breast and not that awful cold cut salt infused stuff at the deli; and eat fresh fruit instead of a package of cookies from the “cookie isle.” We are a quick fix society and at some point we will have to understand that nothing worthwhile can or will occur using the quick fix method. Everything we need to survive is already provided, we just need to use those foods as nature intended.