what i've been up to...

In the past few weeks I've been a little distracted. The CaitlynCosm has been on the back burner, because of this:

I've been working hard at revamping my business. I have had such a fun time doing personal chef work under The Ruffled Apron. I wanted to add some other services as well.

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to talk to people. A lot. So, after a fun evening of coaching a friend through how to make a roast chicken dinner, I had an idea. I decided that I love to cook, and love to teach others to cook.

Now, in addition to personal chef services, The Ruffled Apron now offers two new services:

1. Private Cooking Instruction

2. Group Cooking Parties

Private Cooking Instruction:

Much like piano lessons or golf instruction, my cooking instruction will spend one on one time teaching you the basics of cooking. (Based on your existing skill level.) If you've read my blog for long, you understand that I have a definite food philosophy. I believe that people should be able to cook without the burden of recipes. This doesn't mean that I cook with an utter disregard for them. It simply means that I know how to read recipes and look for the techniques used, and can skim for ingredients. It means that I don't panic if I don't have all the ingredients for a dish. I learn what can and cannot be improvised. It's really a freeing way to cook.

I will work with students on a regular basis to teach them these basic skills. For each appointment, I will supply the groceries and give them a hands-on lesson. At the end of our time together. They will have a healthy and delicious dinner to share with their family and friends.

Group Cooking Parties:

Much like the popular "paint parties" going on these days, a cooking party uses the same concept. Gather a group of friends (5-10) and I will bring all of the groceries, tools, recyclable storage containers, and even the aprons. Pour everyone a glass of wine and let's get cookin'! For around 3 hours we will gossip and sauté our way through two complete meals. I'll show you all my tricks and tips to create delicious food.

Then, the best part, at the end of the evening everyone goes home with two complete four serving meals created by them!

Consider hosting a cooking party for your annual holiday party this year. What better way to be productive, and have fun with your friends?

The other BIG thing I've been working on, is my website! The Ruffled Apron FINALLY has a website!!!

theruffledaproncuisine.com

It includes a great listing of all The Ruffled Apron's services and prices. And, it also includes a new feature: seasonal menu selections. Now, personal chef clients can choose the meals they want prepared from this list. Then, I will prepare them to your specifications etc. This new feature allows The Ruffled Apron to serve my clients even more efficiently.

I am so excited for everything that's going on! So you'll all have to forgive me for my recent blogging absence. Thanks for all your support of The Ruffled Apron up to this point. I honestly couldn't have done this without you.

PS- You can now become a fan of The Ruffled Apron on Facebook too. Become a fan and keep up with news and special promotions from The Ruffled Apron.

as cute as these two kids are...

... I'm actually pining away for that chair in the photo.

Last night, someone stole the chairs from our front porch.

Everyone has said since I moved in: "That set is so cute. I can't believe it hasn't been stolen yet."

Well, after a year of enjoying the chairs, they're gone. Just the chairs, the cowards left the table.

Let's talk about this: why did someone feel the need to steal the chairs? They have brought us so much joy over the past year. We had several meals out there. Long conversations with friends while sitting in the chairs. Our first grilled meal was eaten out there. Plenty of cigars smoked (by Brandon and the guys). Our first big party as a married couple (see above photo). And, now that the weather was cooler, we looked forward to many more occasions to use the table and chairs.

I don't understand most crime. But the theft of lawn furniture baffles me the most.

I know I'm not the first person to have lawn furniture stolen. I know it probably won't be the last time something like this happens. It just irritates me to no end. And I really wish it hadn't happened.

That is all.

feelin' crafty

I feel like I should tell you what I've been up to. I promise, I didn't drop off the face of the earth following my birthday. But, I didn't really feel like posting very much. I have been very busy as of late, and a blogging hiatus was on the agenda.

For my birthday I got an iPhone. So, I've done a much better job of documenting my life these days. So, in the future, you will see many more photo posts. (I sometimes only check blogs for the pictures, I'm not going to lie.)

Lately, my creative juices have been flowing. I started thinking about Christmas. And that made me start thinking about how I want to be done with everything by the time the Nativity fast starts. That gives me exactly one and a half month from today. (The fast starts on November 15.)

As I normally do- I have started a running list of everyone who will receive presents. Followed by an idea of what I'd like to give them. This year, both out of necessity and for a personal challenge, I'm attempting to handmake most of the gifts I give.

I want to share them with you, but I won't be able to post photos of everything until after Christmas.

So, I sat down to my dusty sewing machine, and began to work!

And, I can't stop!

It all started with a pita pocket...

I had seen felt play food before, and always thought it was cute. So, I did some idea gathering and came up with this. I give you a whole-wheat pita pocket stuffed with turkey, cheese, spinach, tomatoes and pickles. With a bag of chips and a juice box.

I made this for our 2 year old goddaughter Lillian. I also plan to give a set to our (almost born) goddaughter, Luci when she arrives. These toys are quiet and give the kids something silent to play with during church services.

And please- check out that pickle. It makes me giggle each time I see it!

My next project was a gift for our goddaughter Cailyn's 11th birthday. She cooks with me on a weekly basis. And, she wears an apron with a matryoshka doll on it. So, for her birthday, I made her one to wear at home.

The apron was a simple style with a hand embroidered matryoshka doll that I attached.

For Cailyn's party, we went to Muddy's for some delicious goodness. I wanted something new to wear. So, I channeled Marissa from New Dress a Day and went to work with an old dress of mine. It didn't fit the same way it used to, and was a bit too clingy. So, I chopped it off at the hips. Then, I added these layered yellow flowers (fabric provided by a shirt I wasn't really loving). I did all of this in the time between getting off work and Brandon coming home from work last night! (Did I mention I made a pot of lentil stew in the process, I didn't? Well, you should know I have a domestic diva streak in me!)

PS- I've got a few other NDaD creations to share- but I need a better photo of each.

Close up of the flowers. They are layered fabric with a pearl in the center. I'm pretty proud of this one! Total cost= $0.

Then, after coming home from the party, I had some energy. (Maybe because Muddy's ran out of decaf coffee and I drank regular!) So, I sat down with some Ikea fabric at my trusty machine again. And started making a bag. I've been wanting to see if I could sew a messenger bag, for the longest time. So, I read a few tutorials, and set to work. I think it turned out cute. I think I might give it as a diaper bag to a friend. I'm thinking it's cute for someone having a girl. Seeing that it isn't all pink!

See friends? I haven't been ignoring you. I've just had some serious crafting going on. Now, If you'll excuse me, I have about a million strings and fabric scraps to vacuum!

...

this about sums it up.

my brand of summer reading...

This is an ultimate.

There are different ultimate cookbooks out there. Those great "sink your teeth into it", super full, amazing cookbooks.

I think some people feel that way about "The Joy of Cooking" or Julia Child's masterpiece, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking". I'm personally a big fan of her "The Way to Cook". It taught me how to make my Coq au Vin, Brandon's favorite. But, to be honest. Julia's writing style wasn't my favorite. Many of her recipes involved referring back to other recipes and it can be a nightmare if you want to follow one recipe verbatim.

OK, this sounds like I'm not a Julia fan. I really am. I promise. I've taken to watching reruns of her show on the new "Cooking Channel" every day. I'm impressed daily by the leaps and bounds we've taken in cooking shows! 1970s food photography was pretty disgusting. And, don't even get me started on hygeine. Hello cross-contamination!?!?

But, I love to learn her classical techniques. There's a lack of classic technique being taught today. Everyone is so focused on 10 minute dinners, or super frugal cooking. What they fail to mention is that, a good basis of the tried and true techniques allows a cook to prepare faster. And, knowing what to buy store-bought and what to make yourself can save a cook hundreds of dollars a year! But, I guess that style isn't very vogue these days.

This all brings me to this book. Darina Allen (also known as "The Julia Child of Ireland") has compiled these skills into a book: "The Forgotten Skills of Cooking". Her theory is that the skills taught by her grandmother's generation are being lost generation through generation.

Brandon surprised me with this. Just because. Single girls (heck- non single girls) take note, settle for nothing less.

I have loved her approach. I have learned so much from reading already. The woman makes her own pruscuitto. You have no idea how badly I want to try that!

I highly recommend this book. I think you'd like it. If you are a little more than the average casserole chef, and want to delve deeper.

Recipe review:

I made Allen's basic cupcake recipe. I think it is definitely a more Irish style cupcake.

By this I mean, the cupcake was very dense and sturdy. I made an equally hearty nutella icing to top the cupcakes. Delicious, but not a great match. They were delicious, but made a good coffee dunking cupcake. Kind of like a pound cake. Not one I'll be using a lot. I think it might taste great soaked with irish cream, or some other liquid. Maybe espresso. But, it's just not the type of cupcake an American gal is used to.

I'm still enjoying the book, and hope to share some recipes soon!

back to the land of the living...

After having spent about a month sick with various ailments, I'm back. Back to the land of the living.

Things had been terribly out of wack. I wasn't at church as much as I usually was. I wasn't cooking. I wasn't cleaning. Laundry was only getting done when Brandon needed work clothes, or we ran out of underwear.

Out of wack!

I'm back now. I feel great, and I was itching to get this house back in order. I got it clean. And I even cooked, baked actually! (More the first baking in a later post.) I haven't kept up with my menu boards lately, and it has shown in our quality of eating and in the budget! I plan to return to it next week.

Yesterday, a friend from church sent me a message asking if we'd like some produce from his garden. I said MOST DEFINITELY!!! So, he brought it to us last night.

HUGE, I mean MONSTER sized zucchini! Eggplant! White eggplant! Tomatoes! Cucumbers! Banana peppers! Yellow squash!

Who needs to join a CSA when you've got sweet friends like that?

We've been inundated with gifts of food since we got married. We were well stocked with cheese for over a month, because my wedding caterer forgot to put it into the grits. (That's a problem Southerners have- forgetting to cheese their grits.)

My parents gave us tons of the leftover food from the reception. Our friend Mary recently gave us vegetables and some fresh eggs from her chickens. And, my sweet friend Robert, gave us some tomatoes. (Robert is the kindest most precious cashier at SuperLo, the one off of Spotswood. He gave me some huge tomatoes from his garden a few weeks back. Love him!)

I can't wait to work our menus around this great food. We love eating vegetables. Love them. But, we aren't gardeners. So, we have to buy them. I can't afford to always shop the farmer's market. So, we end up buying them at the grocery. Still expensive, but I do keep up with the discounted produce carts at Easy Way and Superlo.

Anyway, I now have 5 large cucumbers sitting on my dining room table. I started thinking about ways to cook with them. I love roasted vegetables, so that's one way. A rattatouille is definitely in our future. I'm thinking of shredding some up to add to a meatloaf I'm making tomorrow, to stretch it and add some extra veggies.

And zucchini bread! How could I forget about zucchini bread!

My mom always made us the fabulous bread when we were kids. And, I still love it. I feel good about eating my vegetables in a sweet quick bread. Makes me feel much better about eating dessert for breakfast.

Mom gave me the recipe, my Grammy's recipe. I thought you'd like it:

Zucchini Nut Bread: By my Grammy.

3 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup oil

2 cups grated zucchini

3 cups flour

1 tsp. soda

3 tsp. cinamon

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1 cup chopped nuts

2 tsp. vanilla

Beat eggs and add sugar. Beat until fluffy, then add oil. Continue beating. Add zucchini and mix. Add all dry ingredients, vanilla and nuts. Pour into 2 greased and floured loaf pans. Bake at 350* for 1 hour or until done. Batter will be thin. Store in refrigerator or freeze.

(I also put mine into some muffin tins (in lightly sprayed papers) and baked them for 30 minutes.)

My Grandaddy and Grammy, this past Thanksgiving. Grammy now lives in a nursing home due to Alzheimer's disease. I love them both so much!

you've got to start somewhere.

Well, it's been a really long time. I hate it when that happens. But, in order to blog again, you've gotta start somewhere!

Due to me being sick for about a whole month, extremely busy, and a newlywed, I haven't blogged or cooked very much. (I don't quite get the newlywed excuse, because life is pretty wonderful, but whenever I can't get something done people say: "It's OK, you're a newlywed." So, I'll embrace it.)

I must, must, MUST tell you about the most exciting thing to happen to us in the past week.

WE GOT A DOG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've been begging for a long time. But, before we were married Brandon didn't like the idea of me walking a pup at night by myself. And, since he didn't yet live here, he wasn't always able to assist me. So, he told me to wait until after the wedding.

I waited.

Until we were in the car on our honeymoon. I started begging again, but he said he didn't really want to get a dog.

I stopped begging, and moved to simply asking occasionally.

About two weeks ago I got it out of him. He told me he was working on my birthday gift. And, in a moment of weakness, he told me what it was! A PUPPY!

Some of our friends foster dachshunds for Coast to Coast Dachshund Rescue. He had been talking with them. We then went and visited to choose our new pup. We fell in love with a "mostly dachshund" named Vera. We were able to have a two day sleepover with her to see if she liked it here. She did, and so this past Monday, we adopted her.

We changed her name, because Brandon doesn't like people names for pets. And, there's a wonderful Saint by the name of Vera. So we started thinking of new names.

Since I work as a chef, and the dog is black, we came up with Peppercorn. Plus, she's tiny, and pretty spicy- like a little peppercorn.

Dear friends meet Miss Peppercorn:

She's a little over a year old. And just plain adorable. She weighs only 12 pounds, and looks like a puppy. She is such a cuddle-bug. I'm quite taken with her. (And I think Brandon is too.)

We had a little bit of an open house to welcome her Monday evening. My friends Abby and Michele along with her fiance, Josh came to visit. And then Chase, Gigi, and their pup, Piper came later. We all had fun with the meet and greet. (You know me, any excuse for a party!) Tonight we're having a play-date with Marjo and Billy's dog, Mabel. (And getting to hang out with new baby Joseph John!)

Please feel free to stop by anytime to meet Peppercorn anytime! You know I'll feed you if you visit. (I've even got homemade puppy treats that I made with Cailyn and Jake this week for the 4 legged friends.)

Talk to you soon!