Granted hospital food does not have a good reputation, but luckily they don't make the employees eat it! I just thought I would update you all about my fast approaching start date. I was all set to start next Monday the 29th, but because all of my paperwork went through faster than expected (we can all breathe a sigh of relief that I don't have TB!) my boss called me today and said that I can start on Wednesday! I am just the slightest bit nervous, but I'm sure once I get there and get oriented I will only be excited.
I'll keep you posted on exactly how bad the food is.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
For the love of shrimp and tofu
I don't like shrimp or tofu, but I have a new found respect for each.
Let's start with tofu. I spent the summer of 2007 working at a Girl Scout Camp in Park City and because I had a few weeks before my new job started I decided to help them out this summer while camp gets set up. I spent a week at a camp in Provo and last week in Park City. When I arrived at each I was informed of the number of vegetarians and vegans I would be cooking for. I had very little experience with tofu, but with some advice (and some experimentation) I think my skills have improved. The creation I am most proud of I called, tofu stir-fry. I started with some sauteed onions and garlic, added 1 package of firm tofu (seasoned with salt and pepper), minced celery and carrots and let it go for 10-15 minutes. Then I added a few handfuls on sliced mushrooms and let those saute for another 10 minutes. This is the weird part. I have always thought it was weird that I didn't like mushrooms, but I love the smell of them cooking. I think I have discovered that I only don't like raw mushrooms because when this stir-fry of sorts was done, it was good! We didn't have rice, but this would have been perfect over rice with a little soy sauce. I know a lot of you think I'm crazy, but the key to tofu is to not mess with it. If you let it cook in the pan without stirring it for 5-10 minutes then the outside will brown similarly to chicken. (If you keep stirring it will keep breaking up and even after 30 minutes will still be soft and mushy)
Next is shrimp. I don't like shrimp either and that hasn't changed, but today I went kayaking on the Great Salt Lake (so fun!) and I learned a lot about the brine shrimp that live there.
1. There are only 2 places in the world that brine shrimp are harvested: Great Salt Lake and the San Francisco Bay
2. The majority of the shrimp you eat in a restaurant come from the orient and those shrimp were fed brine shrimp.
3. Brine shrimp have live young (in the spring) and lay eggs (in the fall). I have never heard of another species that does that.
Unfortunately I forgot my camera on my kayaking adventure, but some of the people I went with will hopefully be emailing me their pictures.
Let's start with tofu. I spent the summer of 2007 working at a Girl Scout Camp in Park City and because I had a few weeks before my new job started I decided to help them out this summer while camp gets set up. I spent a week at a camp in Provo and last week in Park City. When I arrived at each I was informed of the number of vegetarians and vegans I would be cooking for. I had very little experience with tofu, but with some advice (and some experimentation) I think my skills have improved. The creation I am most proud of I called, tofu stir-fry. I started with some sauteed onions and garlic, added 1 package of firm tofu (seasoned with salt and pepper), minced celery and carrots and let it go for 10-15 minutes. Then I added a few handfuls on sliced mushrooms and let those saute for another 10 minutes. This is the weird part. I have always thought it was weird that I didn't like mushrooms, but I love the smell of them cooking. I think I have discovered that I only don't like raw mushrooms because when this stir-fry of sorts was done, it was good! We didn't have rice, but this would have been perfect over rice with a little soy sauce. I know a lot of you think I'm crazy, but the key to tofu is to not mess with it. If you let it cook in the pan without stirring it for 5-10 minutes then the outside will brown similarly to chicken. (If you keep stirring it will keep breaking up and even after 30 minutes will still be soft and mushy)
Next is shrimp. I don't like shrimp either and that hasn't changed, but today I went kayaking on the Great Salt Lake (so fun!) and I learned a lot about the brine shrimp that live there.
1. There are only 2 places in the world that brine shrimp are harvested: Great Salt Lake and the San Francisco Bay
2. The majority of the shrimp you eat in a restaurant come from the orient and those shrimp were fed brine shrimp.
3. Brine shrimp have live young (in the spring) and lay eggs (in the fall). I have never heard of another species that does that.
Unfortunately I forgot my camera on my kayaking adventure, but some of the people I went with will hopefully be emailing me their pictures.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Everybody knows something
It is an interesting thing to know a lot about food, because everybody knows a little about food. I don't know a lot about engineering or physics, so when someone tells me something about those subjects that seems remotely plausible, I tend to believe them.
Food is different.
I constantly find myself observing conversations (or arguments) between people who have heard different things (from unreliable sources) concerning food. And, even more aggravating, I have found that people don't like it when I interrupt and tell them who is right. Not only do they not like it, they tend not to believe me and continue in the argument, convinced that what they read/ heard/or made up is the truth.
Case in point: A few weeks ago I was at FHE and I observed a conversation/ argument about protein and exercise. Neither of the participants knew of my experience in the nutrition field, but another innocent bystander did and we were able to laugh about it together.
Anyway the point is that by the time you are in an argument about whether you should be eating protein before or after you work out you have already decided that your opinion is right. I offer you a solution. Let me know your burning question and I will do some research and offer you my opinion (and maybe some expert opinions as well). That way you will at least be able to site some sources while you are battling it out.
Food is different.
I constantly find myself observing conversations (or arguments) between people who have heard different things (from unreliable sources) concerning food. And, even more aggravating, I have found that people don't like it when I interrupt and tell them who is right. Not only do they not like it, they tend not to believe me and continue in the argument, convinced that what they read/ heard/or made up is the truth.
Case in point: A few weeks ago I was at FHE and I observed a conversation/ argument about protein and exercise. Neither of the participants knew of my experience in the nutrition field, but another innocent bystander did and we were able to laugh about it together.
Anyway the point is that by the time you are in an argument about whether you should be eating protein before or after you work out you have already decided that your opinion is right. I offer you a solution. Let me know your burning question and I will do some research and offer you my opinion (and maybe some expert opinions as well). That way you will at least be able to site some sources while you are battling it out.
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