Culinary Quips

I didn't make these stories up. They either happened to me, or I overheard them.

~*~

Student: Where can I get an elastic band?

Teacher: Follow me, I'll show you.

Teacher leads student to the very back freezer.

Teacher: How much?

Student: How much what?

Teacher: Glace de Viande!

They claim after working in industrial kitchens for so many years, their hearing is effected.

~*~

Male Student overheard during class:

"Girls in the culinary course look totally different than other girls. Say, like, if a girl is doing like...sciences...or something...she will have her make-up perfect, be like...totally skinny...whereas in our course, the girls look like they really enjoy food, and like to eat, ya know?"

Flattered, I'm sure!

~*~

Student to teacher:

"Should I cut the cheese to order?"

~*~

Teacher 1 to Female Student: And when you line the lamb bones in the pan like this...there, you have a nice little rack.

Teacher 2: (chuckling) well that's a nice little compliment for you.

Female Student: OH MY.

Welcome to the world of culinary humor!

Chillaxin' vs. Challengin'

Today I kind of realized that I don't like to be challenged.
It makes me nervous.
(Both the fact that I don't like it, and the being challenged part)
I was moaning to a friend of mine at school about how boring the Meat-Cutting section is, and one of my instructors, Sully, overheard me. Sully is a very wise man, and he asked me why I thought it was boring. I told him we are doing the exact same stuff as we did last semester, and even the written study-guide material is almost identical. I did all the self-tests without studying, and got most of them right because they are the same questions as last semester.
"Have you told Toby that its not challenging enough for you?" He asked.
Umm...no.
As I mumbled excuses, he said he smelled bullshit, grinned, and left.
Now my feelings are hurt. Mostly because I know its true that it is my own fault that I'm not being challenged in this section. I'm content to sit around, fold my arms and lean back, and let the day pass as it will. I'm comfortable at the level I know I can achieve, and I don't go beyond.
But when I think about it, I'm really the only one I'm letting down. Its my time, my money, and my effort that I'm wasting. If I'm not pushing myself to learn more, I'm holding myself back.
I'm also a huge wuss. I'm scared that if I DID ask to have a little more challenge thrown my way, I wouldn't be able to cope. I'd flub it and fail, and then people would laugh at me because I had been cocky. Sometimes I think that would be worse.
So did I triumph over my wimpy ways, and talk to Toby about it?
Umm...no.
Maybe tomorrow.
Did I mention that I'm also a huge procrastinator?
I'll save that for another post.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

Yesterday afternoon 6 good friends of mine and I went up to Robbins Range hills and spent a couple hours "tobogganing" in the snow! Thing is...we had two GTs between us.
It didn't take long for us to ditch the GTs, and step into the new latest thing: Garbage bags!
We poked holes in the bottom for legs and wore them like diapers! It was seriously the best! However we were slightly ashamed of our garb, especially in front of the large groups of snowboarders/snowmobilers gathered around fires at the bottom, so we found a great spot up behind the first hill, where we were mostly hidden from view. It was great. The most fun was when we would all join up in a train...the speed we picked up was amazing!
Whenever the odd snowmobile or snowboarder would come by, we would all flop to the ground and laugh SO hard, hoping they wouldn't notice our, erm, unorthodox sleds.
Later on we became more creative with our bags. Soon it turned into a full-out fashion show! We had tube-top, halter, and off-the-shoulder styles that were so hot the snow was melting...
After much fun and laughter, it started to get dark and we decided to head on back home. We decided on a grand finale: we would make a train slide down the big main hill in front of everyone.
We would prove to the world that we were not ashamed of our garbage bags; they are obviously a superior method of sledding. Ok, maybe SOME of us were ashamed, but we were peer pressured into it.
It would seem that our embarrassment was meant to be. Our train would NOT slide. We inched down the hill, laughing SO hard. When we finally reached the bottom and were packing stuff into the car, Rebekah couldn't get her backpack off-- her clip had frozen shut! Then, as we were about to drive away, a girl knocked on the car window and offered us a glove that had been dropped. And THEN we almost got stuck in the snowbank trying to get onto the road again!!!

Nevertheless is was a lot of fun, and a great memory!
Moral of the story: Garbage bag sleds are awesome. You should try it sometime!

Entry Level One

Today the NEW Level Ones entered the kitchen for the first time.
I am no longer among their number, for I have entered that prestigious elevation of LEVEL TWO!
In case you didn't know.
As a Level Two my role has changed in the kitchen. I must take more responsibility and initiative, and get more things done, and ask far fewer "Level One" questions.
My dishes have to be on time, I must know my cooking methods, and I must use my recipes less.
This has all been strictly implemented and enforced these past 2 weeks. "No more excuses" has become the instructors' (and bossy/arrogant students') mantra.

As the newbies trundled into the kitchen this morning, wandering around looking for aprons, setting out their cutting boards and pans in the way you are taught but nobody actually uses, and staring at recipes with glazed-over expressions, I fondly remembered my own first days.
Or not so fondly.
The confusion, the chaos, and general mayhem were definitely memorable though.
My first week in Veg Station was a nightmare.
I was terrified of my instructor, Sully, I didn't understand the service system, and since the Level One class outnumbered the Level Two class by nearly 3/1, it seemed like NO ONE knew what they were doing. We were yelled at, we burnt things, and we were never on time.
(By the second week, many of the wrinkles had been ironed out, and Sully quickly became my very favoritist instructor ever)

Watching the new recruits today was interesting because they asked many of the same questions I did, and made the same mistakes, and now I can see how my work habits have changed, and my knowledge has increased in the past semester. Its encouraging. It makes me believe that MAYBE...just MAYBE I might be capable of Level Three when the time comes.

Burns & Blisters

I resurrect this poor neglected blog to inform you of a most tragic event.
Yesterday, whilst pan-frying a salmon fillet, my left hand was spattered with boiling hot butter. IT HURT. A LOT.
But...the show must go on. I finished the dish, and then rinsed my hand under cold water for a few seconds before completing the rest of the fillets. It stung, but it was bearable.
At the end of the day, as I was putting away my uniform and knives in my locker, I noticed a large, bulbous growth on my hand.
A blister!!
Ouch.
(Please note also the other red grease-burns nearby. They want your pity too)
I was nervous about this blister popping because it hurt a lot to touch. So I treated it gingerly, applying it with vitamin E when I got home (but I took the picture for you first), and being careful not to brush it against anything.
Then...of course...in a moment of forgetfulness, I put my hair up in a ponytail, and the elastic that had been on my wrist snapped across the finger and squeezed the blister ' til it popped!!

At least I didn't have to worry about popping it anymore! It got a little grimy from lint before I covered it with a band-aid, and it still looks pretty sick.
But it gets better: today I had to sear off my chicken ballantyne in hot oil. And guess what...that's right...I burnt myself AGAIN! On my RIGHT hand.
It didn't take long for a blister to rise to the surface. Not as big as the original, but puss-y looking nonetheless. I couldn't wait to get home and take a picture of it for you.
Unfortunately, as I was sweeping the floors during clean up, too much pressure was put on it, and it burst.
So now my hands look like I have a severe case of leprosy or something. Yay!
Just what I always wanted.

Hiatus

I'm not calling it quits with my blog, (It would certainly be a desperate time in order for that to happen!) I'm just taking....another....break.
Reasons?
1. No time. After today all my free time (aka not at school and not working) will be consumed with copious amounts of homework. I have 3 tests to write next Thursday, plus assignments due at the end of this week, and studying for said tests. The study guides are HUGE. ARGH!
2. No inspiration. None.

So unless I find myself driven to a desperate method of procrastination, you will probably not find this blog updated for at LEAST a couple weeks.
BUT...
luckily for you, there are many blogs out there who have taken up the NABLOPOMO challenge, and will have daily updates for you blog cravings.

See ya later :)

Monday

I can hardly believe that I will have to set my alarm for early tomorrow morning.
I will have to don my poofy checkered pants, and black non-slip shoes.
I will brave the morning chill and icy roads.
Tomorrow I begin my second semester at TRU.
I'm not exactly excited...but not really dreading it either. The worst part is the homework, really.
I am kind of nervous about the first couple weeks, because I remember how the chefs made examples of the second level students in front of us newbies...some sort of intimidation tactic, I believe. And now it will be my turn to be yelled at...luckily there are quite a few of us level IIs this time around, so the love will be spread a little thinner than it was for those poor wretches. (Only 2 students graduated from level II this past semester)
I bought myself a little toolbox to replace the annoying soft black case from Bookies. Its shiny and red and beautiful. Its also stocked with a zester, courtesy of eldest brother, Paul. Isn't it fun to start school with new stuff? :)
Unfortunately I went to get my chef knife sharpened on Saturday and they said it won't be ready until tomorrow...so hopefully I won't need it too desperately on my first day!!
Anyway, it will be fun to see everyone again, and learn new things...I'm sure I'll get back into routine in no time.

Back to the Blog

I've never felt so non-Bloggish before.
I actually have no desire to blog right now. I'm only doing it out of a weird sense of guilt and obligation. And a lot of boredom.
Since my first semester ended on December 12 I've been working full time at Erwins Bakery, downtown. The new owner knows my Dad through NL, and I initially got the job because they needed some seasonal help. Now, however, I will be staying on for part-time work during the next semester. That means no more Dominos! Hooray!
I don't even know if you all knew that I started working 3 days a week at Dominos Pizza in November. But I did. It was pretty mindless. But good for after school work, when the last thing I want to do is think.
Anyway, over the break I worked both jobs Mondays and Fridays, and then one or the other on practically every other day. So it was pretty busy, and it was nice to have Christmas & following weekend off completely!
Christmas was a lot of fun. It was great to spend it with the whole family, even if most of it was spent sleeping on the couch!!
I also spent a few days this week house-sitting for the Gedderts, and looking after their little dog Pippa. We're good buddies now, even though I felt like the worst person in the world when I would leave her alone every morning, heading to work. those eyes....
Sunday night was spent with the C&C group which was a lot of fun! Being so busy lately hasn't left a whole whack of time for late nights and socializing, so it was extra special to be able to do that. We playing Apples to Apples, Battleship, and American Idol (on Xbox)!! Good times!
Some other highlights were spending time with friends Liz (who is living in Alberta), and Cort (living in Vancouver) who were in town over the holidays. I didn't get to meet up with other out-of-town friends unfortunately...3 weeks just isn't enough time to do eveything I want to do!
School begins again on Monday. I'm not exactly excited...but I think I'm mentally prepared to head into another semester. Is it bad that I'm already looking forward to the end of April? Or that I'm already freaking out about our Practical Exam?
Anyway, that mostly sums up where I've been, and what I've been doing this past month.
As for New Years...
if you ask me, 2009 doesn't have the same ring as 2008 or 2010. Its such a 'tweeny sounding year. I'm not really looking forward to anything specific this year, which might have something to do with my less-than-enthusiastic attitude. Its full of things that I have to do, but it won't be until this time next year when I will be able to start doing things I want to do. That's when I'll be graduated the culinary program. I hope.

Also, I rang in the new year by plummeting into the ditch on the side of the road this morning, when I lost control of my car on the way up Barnhartvale hill. All I'm saying is-- that this doesn't bode well...

Aren't I so postive and uplifting??? This is why I haven't been blogging, folks.