I have been working on a lot of different recipes lately. I have to say it's been a lot of fun. This past week alone I have made vegan cupcakes with AWESOME vegan icing, a wonderful cranberry onion chutney to go on the chicken or turkey wrap, a cream of potato and broccoli soup, and a pumpkin soup.
I'm getting ready to start vegan oatmeal cookies!
All of the recipes I came up with are vegetarian and most are vegan. I have to say that I am really enjoying this cooking style and think if I could cut out the dairy in my diet I would make a great vegetarian/ almost vegan. I just really like cheese, dammit!
Looking forward to an awesome good weekend what with the early 90's dance party and Brian Chandler and whatnot.
Also, looking forward to 3 whole days off next week! Can't wait to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family. My mom has been diligently working on vegan recipes all month. So cute that she's trying so hard.
After that I have my second art gallery with the Brooms, Jeremy Anderson, and the Cinnamon Band.
November has shaped up to be not that bad after all.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Saturday, November 1, 2008
I've got a Halloween head/ Head full of tricks and treats/ It leads me thru the nighttime streets
Yesterday was one of those amazing days that make me remember why I opened a restaurant. I had a really bu
sy lunch and an insanely busy night. It was my second best day since I opened.
During lunch I had a group of women who came in and ordered a wide variety of teas, appetizers and entrees. They were very complementary of the decor and the teas. When I brought them their lunch, one of them looked at me and said, "You have turned food into an art form." And, according to them it tasted great too. That was one of the biggest compliments I have gotten since I opened.
Having had no formal training in culinary arts (though I did get into Johnson and Wales), for most of my life I have been happy to slap stuff on a plate and call it food. I still do when I get in a hurry. If it tastes good who cares what it looks like, right? But now I think about the arrangement of my salads, the colors I use for garnishes, and texture of my soups. I have even told customers that I was not happy with the quality of something and made them wait or told them that their meal was on the ho
use, because I will not serve something that I feel is sub par. I feel like that is the mark of a true cook and of someone who takes pride in what they do.
Speaking of taking pride in what you do, I also take pride in the fact that I have in the words of one of my dearest friends, "Created a place to drink in Staunton that doesn
't suck."
So, on that note, here are some pics from the first Darjeeling Cafe Halloween party.
Elliot Downs art show was a smashing success. All but a couple of his pieces sold. There are only three left, so if anyone is looking for reasonably priced, yet incredibly striking art stop by. All proceeds go to a good cause-- helping a talented starving young artist.
The Smell of Death kicked off the evening with some amazing feats of metaldom and showmanship that are rarely paralleled by bands with so few shows under thei
r belts.
The gentlemen/ lovely ladies of Pablo and the Dregs of course rocked the house. The shoulder to shoulder crowd of fans of all ages seemed to have a fantastic time. I know I did. There's nothing like I a bunch of hairy dudes in drag to get my feet tapping. Especially when they play some of the best music in town.
392 beers, 100 people, and one tired proprietor later, the Darjeeling shut down for the night, but I have to say, yesterday was unequivocally the reason that I made this my dream in life.
sy lunch and an insanely busy night. It was my second best day since I opened.During lunch I had a group of women who came in and ordered a wide variety of teas, appetizers and entrees. They were very complementary of the decor and the teas. When I brought them their lunch, one of them looked at me and said, "You have turned food into an art form." And, according to them it tasted great too. That was one of the biggest compliments I have gotten since I opened.
Having had no formal training in culinary arts (though I did get into Johnson and Wales), for most of my life I have been happy to slap stuff on a plate and call it food. I still do when I get in a hurry. If it tastes good who cares what it looks like, right? But now I think about the arrangement of my salads, the colors I use for garnishes, and texture of my soups. I have even told customers that I was not happy with the quality of something and made them wait or told them that their meal was on the ho
use, because I will not serve something that I feel is sub par. I feel like that is the mark of a true cook and of someone who takes pride in what they do.Speaking of taking pride in what you do, I also take pride in the fact that I have in the words of one of my dearest friends, "Created a place to drink in Staunton that doesn
't suck."
So, on that note, here are some pics from the first Darjeeling Cafe Halloween party.
Elliot Downs art show was a smashing success. All but a couple of his pieces sold. There are only three left, so if anyone is looking for reasonably priced, yet incredibly striking art stop by. All proceeds go to a good cause-- helping a talented starving young artist.
The Smell of Death kicked off the evening with some amazing feats of metaldom and showmanship that are rarely paralleled by bands with so few shows under thei
r belts.
The gentlemen/ lovely ladies of Pablo and the Dregs of course rocked the house. The shoulder to shoulder crowd of fans of all ages seemed to have a fantastic time. I know I did. There's nothing like I a bunch of hairy dudes in drag to get my feet tapping. Especially when they play some of the best music in town.
392 beers, 100 people, and one tired proprietor later, the Darjeeling shut down for the night, but I have to say, yesterday was unequivocally the reason that I made this my dream in life.
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