Late last night I got a call that one of the other hostesses was sick and asking if I could cover her shift today. Desperate for money, I said of course! So, this morning I woke up at 7:45, ate half a HUGE banana with a tsp of peanut butter, and hit the gym for a quick 30 minute workout (15 minutes on elliptical and 15 minutes lifting weights). When I got home I had a bowl of Ezekiel cereal with almond milk and the other half of my banana.
My class last night was hard. Because its not an introduction class, the Chef just assumes you know how to do certain things and expects them at a much faster pace than before. It was stressful and I was sweating! We don’t work in groups either–everything is individual so if you mess up….you mess up. Haha. Last night I made two different types of puff pastry as well as an almond cream and a pastry cream. Tonight I am baking off the puff pastry so hopefully it will be an easier night. I was expecting a low-key first night of class–boy, was I wrong! I snacked on 3 vegan oreos (Late July brand) while I cranked out dough after dough.
I’m off to work now–have packed a good, but somewhat boring lunch and will report back this afternoon! Have a great Tuesday everyone!
VeggieGirl
March 11, 2008 at 1:07 pmOh Jenna, I’m so sorry that you had such a hectic evening!! :0( But hey, today is another day; and tonight you will get to bake the puff pastry! Can’t wait to see photographs!! :0)
Best of luck with work today, and with your class tonight!!
Betsy
March 11, 2008 at 1:22 pmwhoa-sounds crazy stressful. I baked at a bakery/gourmet food shop in Cleveland my last year of high school, and was the only baker (still not sure why they hired me…) and it was so stressful! I also felt like I was making dough after dough after dough. I bet you’re stuff will end up delish though and your family will love it!!
Dorothy
March 11, 2008 at 1:28 pmGood luck with your class! Sounds like it will be a tough one, but I look forward to seeing all of your new creations!
By the way, I tried the Chickpea cutlets from Veganomicon and they were delish! I’m not vegan, or vegetarian, but I love trying new things, so I figured I’d get the book and try some of the wonderful things I’ve seen on your, and other blogs! I can’t wait to try more. Thanks for the recommendation!
Romina
March 11, 2008 at 1:31 pmSorry to hear your class was harder than usual. You’ve got the skills, so I wouldn’t sweat. =)
jenn
March 11, 2008 at 1:44 pmWow your curriculum is intense!! I can’t wait to see the end products tonight though. Have a good day at work!
I just posted this on KERF too so I’m sorry if this is a repeat… but does anybody have any ideas on what to do with buttermilk?? I used some to marinate some tilapia yesterday (before dredging and baking!) but now I’m stuck with almost a whole quart leftover. I tried some plain– it tasted kind of like kefir– but I don’t think I could drink it straight up. Most of the recipes I found are for pancakes or biscuits, neither of which I’m in the mood for, so I’m open to suggestions…! Thanks in advance. 🙂
Cara
March 11, 2008 at 1:46 pmSounds like a busy day ahead for you! Good luck in class tonight. I am sure it will get easier soon 🙂
Elizabeth
March 11, 2008 at 2:24 pmJenn – Buttermilk is used in a lot of lowfat baked goods. Check Food Network for some ideas. I think Ellie Krieger has several. Also, there is a great buttermilk panna cotta on Cooking Light’s website.
Liz
March 11, 2008 at 3:11 pmJenn! Check out the recipe I posted on Kath’s page….it’s devine!
Jessica
March 11, 2008 at 3:16 pmOoh Jenna, you know what would be good with vegan oreos?? A cup of hempmilk to dip them in! 😉
blueberrybabe
March 11, 2008 at 3:42 pmGood morning ladies! I have a question for those of you that own food scales… Jenna I think you mentioned you own one?!
What do you use them for and do you really feel it is necessary to be so exact? what types of foods do you weigh? Also what brand or kind do you use? Would you recommend buying one? Thanks!
erica
March 11, 2008 at 3:50 pmblueberrybabe-
i have a food scale, and it totally changed my life! it makes baking that much easier (it’s best to be exact w/ baking), and also helps with getting exact measurements for recipes. i use mine all the time, and i love it. it’s also just fun to see how much things weigh as silly as that sounds. sometimes those energy bars (such as clif, etc.) and other foods weigh so much more than the package says, therefore upping the calorie count of the product. i’m a perfectionist, so i guess it’s my nature to like everything to be fairly accurate/exact. 😉
Susan
March 11, 2008 at 4:09 pmThat sounds tough………but Le Courdon Bleu is supposed to be a really rigorous school, it’s got a great reputation! And I am not a foodie, so for me to know, means it really does 🙂
How do you typically go to class and not snack at all during the night? You mentioned the snack this time, so I am assuming you don’t typically snack. Night time is my downfall. Any tips?
blueberrybabe
March 11, 2008 at 4:09 pmerica- thanks for your input! i look forward to hearing from others. i was thinking of getting one bc lately i have noticed that many of the things i buy have a different number of servings in them than the label says (therefore upping the calorie count- somtimes drastically!) last week i posted about this issue with the Kashi Go Lean Crunch Cereal because it says the box has 8 cups when it really only has at the most 5. I called Kashi and they said that indeed the way to figure out the calories is figure out the total calories per box and then divide that by how many servings you get out of it. It makes sense to me, but I feel like a lot of people aren’t aware of this…
Follow up question: I have a bag of frozen raspberries and it says 3/4 cup is 60 calories and the bag has 2 servings. I measured out 1 cup of the berries and realized there was way more than 1.5 cups in the bag. Does anyone know if the nutrition facts are for the berries ONCE they are thawed?! Thanks! Sorry for the lengthy post…
erica
March 11, 2008 at 4:23 pmhmm, i was always under the impression that the amount of grams listed on the package was an exact serving; regardless of the yield of the entire box, that amount of grams is still equal to the calories listed.
Lindsay
March 11, 2008 at 5:03 pmGood luck with the tough class, I have had many teachers like that and it is not fun!
blueberrybabe
March 11, 2008 at 5:22 pmerica i thought the same but according to kashi, it is done by weight not volume…
arimcg
March 11, 2008 at 5:29 pmBlueberry, a cup of fresh raspberries has about 60 – 70. I would imagine the frozen ones are more compact/broken up and that’s why the calorie count is a little different. Unless they’re sweetened or something.
On scales....
March 11, 2008 at 5:33 pmBlueberrybabe- In regards to buying a scale. Unless you have a problem with portion sizes and have weight to lose I would advise against getting a scale. Correct me if I’m wrong but you have said in past posts that you are trying to put on weight and have struggled with restrictive eating in the past. This is strictly my opinion but I don’t think a scale would be conducive to getting over these behaviors. Scales tend to spark perfectionism in food and eating and this can lead to unhealthy behaviors. Now, I’m not saying that scales are bad for everyone because clearly somepeople have no idea that a serving of steak shouldn’t be 10 oz. but for most it’s not necessary. If you are listening to your body and eating when you are hungry, stopping when you are full and feedling yourself nutritious foods and treats in moderation you are being healthy and doing the right thing. I’m strictly speaking from experience. I used a scale once and got hooked on the thing. It was not healthy. Finally, I took it outside and threw it on the ground and stepped on it until it shattered. It was quite freeing. Put the time you would spending weihging things into other more beneficial activies.
Please don’t take this personally. I am just expressing my opinion.
Laurie
March 11, 2008 at 5:44 pmOh no, that’s bad news about Kashi! I always just trusted the serving size.
blueberrybabe
March 11, 2008 at 5:49 pmi know i practically trust my life with that damn kashi company!!! hehe 🙂
blueberrybabe
March 11, 2008 at 5:51 pmarimcg-
the raspberries aren’t sweetened but i know like a huge amount frozen looks really small once it thaws out. thanks.
ummmm sorry for the wall domination girls.
melissa-little runner
March 11, 2008 at 5:55 pmHang in there Jenna! I feel your pain. I am in my first semester of grad school and it is so intense. I was always such a nerd and now I feel like I am never prepared enough!
Nadia
March 11, 2008 at 6:20 pmwait, i’m confused…if the actual # of servings in a box of Go Lean Crunch is 5 let’s say, then wouldn’t the calorie count be 125 a serving? i.e. 200 calories per serving times 5 = 1000 and if you were to divide it by 8 that would be 125. I’m probably making a silly mistake here though…
Nadia
March 11, 2008 at 6:22 pmoh wait never mind i get it…it’s actually like 320 cals a serving…and to think I double majored in math in undergrad 😛
Becky in MD
March 11, 2008 at 6:36 pmAbout the weighing of foods toget nutrition info: If you look at the serving size it says 1/2 cup (39g), for example that is what is on my oatmeal. Just out of curiosity, I weighed a 1/2 cup, and it was more like 52 grams…almost every time I weigh it. I still eat that amount, but I multiply the info for the amount I acutally eat. Like 52/39=1.33 servings, so I just multiply everything by 1.33(or my online food diary does!) Its a pretty big difference, so I just thought I would let everyone know! Also, I get more Kashi TLC crackers for 30g than the box says I should-so sometimes it works in your favor!
Amy
March 11, 2008 at 7:53 pmHmm, this discussion is making me consider the benefits of buying a food scale. Perhaps some of the confusion has to do with the measuring cups being used. I bought new measuring cups recently, and I’ve realized that, due to the shape of the cups, it is near impossible to get an exact measurement with them. (the cups are short with very wide openings, allowing for greater imprecision.)
I would trust the weight of a serving more than a self-measured cup. The package of cereal should contain as much cereal by weight; whether or not a measured cup equals the serving size amount in grams is up for debate.
jenna
March 11, 2008 at 8:32 pmBlueberrybabe,
I do own a food scale…it was one of the things I had to buy for my school because thats how things in the culinary world are really measured..especially now that I do baking/pastry! I don’t use it unless to measure my pasta though…I just have gotten used to eyeballing things. Its nice to have but not a necessity. I don’t use mine enough for the 50 dollars I spent on it!
Susan,
I’m sorry! I ALWAYS bring a snack to school. I guess I just never mention it because 1) its boring because its the same old thing–either a Kashi cookie or half a clif bar and 2) I always forget about it the next morning and instead tell you all what I made the night before. I could never go the 6 hours without eating. I usually eat my snack around 8:00 and that gets me through just fine usually. I will try to remember to mention it from now on if you want…I always bring hot tea also to school to sip on , which helps! And..of course I taste my product (usually just take a tiny taste of the bread crust or something!)
KristinS
March 11, 2008 at 9:10 pmHey Jenna! After reading your “Date Night” post, I had a major craving for Pei Wei!! Last night I went and had the Miso Soba Bowl, with veggies & tofu, of courses. It was DELICIOUS! This was my first time having soba noodles, and they are great! You def should get this next time you go!! I hope your class goes better tonight!