We got our coats yesterday and now my uniform is almost complete.  My pants should arrive today or tomorrow (we had to order those on our own -  I’m one of those people who has to try on a lot of pants to find a good fit, so having to order these online should be interesting.  However, it’s not a fashion show, so I’ll take what comes!)

If it WAS a fashion show, I’d be in trouble!  How ’bout that sexy cheffer skull cap??  Hahahaha!

The good news is we can wear pretty much any type of hat.  So most days I’ll be rocking a baseball cap of some sort instead:

My friends, family, and clients will all tell you that I feel naked without a baseball hat on!   And this week I realized how much hair I actually have when I tried to contain it all rather than just wear a ponytail – it’s A LOT. Might be time to cut some off…

In addition to the books we had to buy prior to the start of class, on the first day we also received a canvas bag filled with 4 other books, including this gargantuan binder.  I’m really wondering if I can exchange this 15 lb workbook for the Kindle version?

And the workbook we use in the kitchen.

The first few days have been great.  My brain has been so jam packed with new info that both nights after school, I’ve literally fallen asleep on the couch before 7:00 PM while trying to do my reading.

The format for each day is set up like this:

• 90 minutes of lecture time
• followed by a quick healthy snack
• then kitchen skills/cooking time
• then late lunch as a group (eating what was just prepared in the kitchen)
• during which time we are to critique the food
• the last 30-45 minutes of the day, we get busy cleaning up all the messes that were made: scrubbing floors, washing dishes, resetting for the next class.

The time absolutely flies by.

During this first week our instructors are demonstrating all of the cooking for us (recipes from the workbook shown above), until next week when we get to start prepping and cooking.  The recipes typically will correspond with what our lecture covered for that day.

Day 1 recipes included an Heirloom Tomato Soup with Red Miso and a wonderful Latin Quinoa Salad.  In fact that soup was so amazing I had to make a half-batch at home on Tuesday.

Mise en place:

Practicing my knife skills by making my mirepoix (we learned that a traditional mirepoix is 2 parts onion, 1 part celery, 1 part carrot):

The onions were potent:

Will I build up a tolerance to chopping onions or will they always make me cry?

My finished product:

It’s SO good. It took a few hours to make, but it was worth it.  MSP even liked it and ate it for dinner.    I will be putting the rest in the freezer today to save for those cold winter months (or when a guest comes over that I’d like to impress!).

My home batch tasted a little different than the one they made at school but our instructor told us that when we each cook from the same recipe, everyone’s will taste a little different because we’ll each have our own styles and energies.  She said by the end of the program, she can usually put on a blindfold, taste each of our meals and know who made it because she’ll come to learn the uniqueness in each of her student’s cooking.

I can’t share the recipes for what I make at school because they are from our workbooks (and copyrighted).  But by mid-term we’ll be developing our own recipes so I’ll have a lot to share then.  I will tell you that two of the ingredients in this soup (mirin and miso) were used in ways I’ve never used them and the flavor they produced was amazing!  The mirin was used as the deglazing liquid for the mirepoix vegetables, and the miso was stirred in after blending.  And I’m sure that using a homemade stock makes a ton of difference too.

On Day 2, our instructors made us a Millet, Lentil and Chard Cake (in a springform pan) and a Wilted Spinach Salad with a Warm Balsamic Vinaigrette and Toasted Dulse.  You know I’m at the right school when you see that salad had dulse and nutritional yeast on it, right?  Sounds like a lot of salads I’ve made in the past!  Only this was elevated beyond my normal salad (and I may never buy bottled salad dressing again).  It was amazing!  I already know I’ll be making my own version of this salad for lunch or dinner today.  I’ll be massaging the olive oil onto the spinach leaves first, warming my vinegar in a pan with some sort of nut or seed and then enjoying.

As far as the mix of people in our class, three of the seven are from out of state and living here temporarily until the program is done.  One from Maryland, one from Pennsylvania and one from Indiana.  To me that speaks volumes for this school, knowing how far people have come to be a part of this particular program.  I feel so honored to be a part of it.

I haven’t whipped out the camera yet at school – I’m waiting until I get to know everyone a little better and if at some point it feels like it is acceptable to take photos during our kitchen time, I will.

Day 3 tomorrow will consist of ALL class time because we’ll be doing Culinary Math all day, so I don’t imagine I’ll have a lot of exciting news to share.  Instead, the next post will include a killer upper body/core/cardio workout that you can try!

Fun tip to share:

GHEE (clarified butter) doesn’t contain the casein or the lactose that you find in regular butter.  We’ll be using this a lot to cook and sauté with because it’s very stable at higher temperatures.  As someone who doesn’t like to eat cow’s dairy specifically because of the casein in it, I was happy to know that GHEE doesn’t contain it (be sure to look for one that says “casein free” and “lactose free”).

OK friends, I have a LOT of homework reading to do and I have to go try & buy my required 8″ chef’s knife today.  I’ll see you next time!  Make it a GREAT day!

– Shari B. =)

Related FitFeat Posts to Check Out:

• Natural Chef Culinary School – Sea Veggies
• Homemade Red Cabbage Kraut
• Natural Chef Culinary School – Week 4 Recap

Ahhh, another Monday behind us.  Hope yours was better than mine. 

I had the kind of Monday that warranted pouring my Kombucha Tea (aka The Bubbly) into a wine glass… because it would at least SEEM like I was drinking wine!  Am I the only cuckoo bird that likes to put everyday non-alcoholic drinks into glasses traditionally reserved for the hard stuff?   Somehow it makes them feel more “fancy” to me.

I enjoyed a splendid rest day on Sunday (from exercise, that is).  I’d planned to do a little yoga, but errands, laundry, housecleaning, blogging, football and book-reading won out.  And Whole Foods shopping, can’t forget that!  I do have a few more fun treasures to share from my weekly visit to Whole Foods though! (Yesterday I shared my joy in finding prewashed and precut KALE!)

Join me in a little SHOW and TELL, won’t you?

First, is this not one of the prettiest heirloom tomatoes you’ve seen?  I haven’t yet been able to bring myself to cut into it.

Next I stumbled upon some Meyer Lemons!

I was looking for Meyer Lemons around New Years Eve when I made that Sweet Cashew Cheese to take to the dinner party.  It was called for in the recipe, but  I wasn’t able to find them at the time.  I ran across them on this particular visit and brought home a small bag.  Upon reading the back of the package I learned something new:  Did you know that Meyer Lemons are a cross between a LEMON and a MANDARIN ORANGE?  I had no idea!

They do have a slightly sweeter taste.  It’s interesting because you first taste the mandarin and think “oh wow, it kind of tastes like a tart orange” and then all of a sudden the ZIP of lemon hits your taste buds and you think, “Oh that is DEFINITELY a lemon!” That’s a tricky little citrus right there!

And of course I had to make more of the Sweet Cashew Cheese so that I could compare between last time (with regular lemons) and this time with the Meyer version.

So I soaked my cashews for a few hours:

And when the batch was done in the food processor, it was time to schmear a cracker:

Looks like ricotta, doesn’t it?  (And actually I like the cashew cheese just fine with either type of lemon, as it turns out.)

Even the crackers were a new find at WF.  Nita’s Spelt.  I have a new favorite cracker.  Mary, I hate to say it but Nita is giving you a run for you money in the Best Cracker Race (and I don’t feel like I’m going to chip a tooth when biting into one!)

They’re even made here in Colorado!  BONUS!  Check me out, buying locally!  (OK, you got me – I’d probably still buy these awesome crackers if they were shipped in from Timbuktu.)

Today’s Question:  What is your favorite healthy cracker?  And what’s your favorite topping to put on that cracker?

***

Monday exercise was the full Physique 57 DVD.  I still cannot get completely through the “Thigh Dancing” section without crying out a string of cuss words and having to stop for a second here and there.  Oh. My. BURN is an understatement.  I thought it might be about time to write the review for it because I’ve had the DVD for about a month now.  But then I added up the number of times per week I’ve actually DONE the DVD and realized I need to give it some more time to do its thing.    In 25 days I’ve P57′d 7 times.  Gosh it feels like I’ve been doing it every other day!  Guess not!  Good thing I had my super simple no-slacker tracker to set me straight!

OK kids, off I go to get ready for some client training!  Make Tuesday TERRIFIC!  See you next time!

–Shari B. =)

Related FitFeat Posts to Check Out:

• The Day of Many Dates
• Too Much White and Not Enough Green
• Out of Practice