before i went to culinary school, i was your stereotypical foodie. i watched food tv ALL of the time, bought all sorts of crazy ingredients, experimented with recipes, and spent tons of money on kitchen gadgets and cookware. if there was a tool or a pan for it, i thought i needed to have it. so i ended up with a kitchen full of stuff that i very rarely used and had to dig through constantly to find the few tools that were actually useful. when i got to school, i realized that most of cooking/baking rely on a few concentrated techniques and minimal equipment. in reality i could do just about everything i wanted to do with a chef's knife, a vegetable peeler, a scale and a piping bag. i did keep all of my cake decorating equipment as well as my kitchen aid and my food processor, but most things went far far away.
so here's a list of my favorite things to have in the kitchen (equipment only with this post, ingredients will be featured later)
1) a good chef's knife- your knife should fit your hand well and should be kept sharp at all times. a dull knife is actually more dangerous than a sharp knife. spend a little money on your knife. it's an investment in your cooking future. you want solid steel (german or japanese are best) that is single forged, meaning the whole knife is made from one piece of steel. DON'T worry, I'll share knife skills tips soon. i recommend that you take some time to save up and buy a full set of knives that includes a paring knife, a boning knife, a fillet knife, and possibly even your steak knives.
2) a sharpening steel- buy on when you buy your knife and use it every day.
3) a good peeler and can opener- i'm a klutz of monumental proportions so my can opener is one that doesn't leave sharp edges. i like a y-shaped peeler because i think the motion is more natural and it's easier to not peel your finger tips or knuckles, but as long as it is sharp, any peeler will work.
4) a big cutting board- at least 11x14 inches, if not bigger. you need space to work when you are cooking and a tiny cutting board gets dirty, crowded and unsafe very quickly. wooden cutting boards are controversial, but absolutely the best for your knives. composite plastics are good, but NEVER EVER under any circumstances, buy a glass cutting board.
5) many, many, many silicone spatulas in a variety of sizes. i use these for all of my cooking, mixing, prepping, and portioning needs. i really like the cupped version that can be used as a spoon as well, but all varieties are useful. my chef's level OCD requires that i have different colors for sweet foods and savory foods, but you don't have to get that detailed.
6) a great blender- i have the ninja complete system that has interchangeable pieces so you can have a blender and a food processor. it also does the single serve cups for smoothies in the morning. i LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it because i have multiple tools without taking up extra counter space. my blender gets used for smoothies, sauces, fillings, toppings, dough, and lots of quick veggie prep.
7) a food processor- mine is part of my blender, but get one that will fit somewhere between 7 cups and 11 cups of product. anything smaller or larger doesn't really make sense for most families.
8) a pasta roller and cutter- we don't eat a ton of pasta anymore, but fresh made pasta is too easy to not do on your own. plus it's a great activity for kids of all ages.
9) great scissors- most brands of kitchen shears will come apart completely for easier cleaning, which also makes them fairly easy to sharpen. i have 4 pair because i need them in reach wherever i am. (actually if you walk around my house you will find that there are at least 2 pair of scissors in every room because i hate looking for them when i need them)
10) a quality digital scale- this will run you somewhere between $30-$40 and should weigh up to 11 lbs in both English and metric units. it should be accurate to a single gram or 1/10 of an ounce. when you buy your scale, find out what type of batteries that it takes and buy several extras at the same time. it's a really bad day when your scale battery dies in the middle of mise en place.
11) a microplane- that cute little grater on a handle that all of the fancy tv chefs have is actually extremely handy. it works for citrus zest, spices, and for grating parmesan on top of your pasta
12) a good source of tunes- working in the kitchen can be a very zen like experience. especially if you have good music to go along with your tasks. my playlists vary based on what mood i'm in, but there is ALWAYS music in my kitchen.
13) tons of tupperware- ok so i actually don't have any real tupperware in my kitchen, but storage containers are a must. if you can find a place to purchase them, the pint and quart containers that you get from your grocery deli are actually my favorite. they're reusable for quite a while, they stack nicely for storage and when holding food and the lids are 1 size fits all! if you can't find those, go for whatever fits your lifestyle best. i try to have containers in 1 cup, 2 cup, 4 cup, and 8 cup sizes as well as zip top bags in every size possible. when all of your cooking happens on one day you need lots of storage space.
14) plenty of fridge and freezer space- if you have the funds and the space a deep freezer will make a big difference in what you can accomplish in 1 cooking session.
there are obviously many other tools in my kitchen, but this is my must have list for quick and easy food prep. now it's time to go forth and shop for kitchen gadgets! and don't forget to check out this week's menu in the pages section. recipes and shopping list coming very soon.
surviving in a professional kitchen can be tough......surviving in your home kitchen can be even tougher. here's how we do it at the tobeck house. weekly meal plans, shopping lists, recipes, cooking & organization tips and the occassional craft project to make cooking and eating more fun.
15 January 2015
11 January 2015
3 hours plus 30 minutes
the basics of mise en place
as a professional chef and educator, i have spent a great deal of time focused on the concept of mise en place. it is arguably the most important concept in all of cooking. in fact, if you take a poll of all of the tattoos on all of the chefs around the world, it is likely the most common.
the concept itself is not all that difficult; to put in place seems a very easy thing indeed. however, it requires much more than just measuring out ingredients. it involves thinking a process through from beginning to end, finding all of the trouble spots, seeing where your fellow cooks will unintentionally sabotage your work, understanding the rhythm of the kitchen, and understanding your own personal work habits all at the same time. by being truly prepared to cook, we can accomplish great feats, such as getting an entire week's worth of meals prepared, if not fully cooked, in around 3 hours. or preparing enough food to feed a banquet hall full of hungry wedding guests in about the same amount of time if you are on the professional side.
at the end of september 2014, my husband and i determined that we were going to take charge of our lives again. we were going to quit being reactive and attempt to live and eat proactively again. and while that might seem like very strong language when talking about food, it is exactly what is required. when we stop to plan a day and think about what we are going to eat, most of us would say that we are going to make the healthy choice. if asked whether i plan to eat taco bell at 9am, my answer will most definitely be NO. however, when i haven't had time to eat all day and someone is standing there with a taco, my will power will disappear and i will eat the heck out of that taco (and anything else you might have on hand). i maintain that lack of willpower when hungry is part of the human condition. i mean they starve prisoners or war and torture victims to get information out of them, how can you expect me to say no to pizza when it's right there and i'm hungry?
starting a diet again was like starting the same fight that i've been fighting for years. you know the one. it goes something like: 'would you like a piece of cake?' 'no thanks, i'm on a diet'. and then two hours later when you're sitting in a tiny cubicle staring at a screen realizing all you've been thinking about is that stupid piece of cake, there is no conversation you're just devouring the cake (and not just one measly little piece, the whole damn thing). i just don't win under those circumstances and i've finally realized that i never will. if i want to say no to the cake, then i have to not be hungry. week 1 of the diet was very different this round. i gave myself a week to track what i was eating and when. then i set out to come up with a plan that would surround me with a large variety of healthful options at all times of the day so that i wouldn't resort to the not so healthful options.
as a chef, i realized that i was never going to be able to maintain a diet where i had plenty of healthy food around, but it was ALWAYS the same food. no one can eat the same thing over and over again without getting bored and suffering some intense cravings. which meant that i had to have a plan and a good one each week. a large variety of foods and flavors, breakfast, lunch, dinner, sweet snacks, salty snacks, and everything in between. and suddenly my diet was a catering event that i could plan for and a challenge that i could overcome.
my plan has been to do the bulk of my cooking and prep work for the entire week on sunday afternoon. (it can be any day that you want, but sunday afternoon generally means waiting on laundry to dry and avoidance of all televised sports for me) i would create a meal plan for the week along with a master shopping list and a production schedule for my preparations and then i would put myself in the kitchen and make magic happen. then i could spend just a few minutes making breakfast and packing my lunch before i leave the house in the morning and not be scrambling. with most of the prep work done, dinner can happen sometimes in as little as 10 minutes when i get home (but no more than 30). meaning it is much easier to eat what you planned and not resort to take-out. saying no to pizza or chinese food is easier when dinner is already in the fridge. as not everyone in the world is a professional chef, i realize that it will take some of you a bit longer than 3 hours to get your mise en place finished, but i will give you the tools you need to make it go as fast as possible and be fun at the same time.
i do my cooking on sundays, so each week i will post a meal plan along with a shopping list by wednesday. by saturday i will post a production schedule and recipes as well as some general cooking tips to get you started on your weekly mise en place. in order to make this happen, you all will be eating a week behind us here at casa tobeck. it's much easier to post when i've already done the shopping and the cooking. you'll get pictures and also have the benefit of knowing that we liked it enough to post, which means you should be happy too.
all of the meal plans, shopping lists, and production schedules will be in a printable format so that you can utilize them digitally or physically depending on your preference. comments, questions and concerns are always appreciated and i'll do my best to respond as quickly as possible. and i'm always on the lookout for healthy recipes or recipes that i can find a way to make healthy, so if you have suggestions or cravings i'm happy to oblige. now i guess all that's left is to say 'go forth and mise en place'.
as a professional chef and educator, i have spent a great deal of time focused on the concept of mise en place. it is arguably the most important concept in all of cooking. in fact, if you take a poll of all of the tattoos on all of the chefs around the world, it is likely the most common.
the concept itself is not all that difficult; to put in place seems a very easy thing indeed. however, it requires much more than just measuring out ingredients. it involves thinking a process through from beginning to end, finding all of the trouble spots, seeing where your fellow cooks will unintentionally sabotage your work, understanding the rhythm of the kitchen, and understanding your own personal work habits all at the same time. by being truly prepared to cook, we can accomplish great feats, such as getting an entire week's worth of meals prepared, if not fully cooked, in around 3 hours. or preparing enough food to feed a banquet hall full of hungry wedding guests in about the same amount of time if you are on the professional side.
at the end of september 2014, my husband and i determined that we were going to take charge of our lives again. we were going to quit being reactive and attempt to live and eat proactively again. and while that might seem like very strong language when talking about food, it is exactly what is required. when we stop to plan a day and think about what we are going to eat, most of us would say that we are going to make the healthy choice. if asked whether i plan to eat taco bell at 9am, my answer will most definitely be NO. however, when i haven't had time to eat all day and someone is standing there with a taco, my will power will disappear and i will eat the heck out of that taco (and anything else you might have on hand). i maintain that lack of willpower when hungry is part of the human condition. i mean they starve prisoners or war and torture victims to get information out of them, how can you expect me to say no to pizza when it's right there and i'm hungry?
starting a diet again was like starting the same fight that i've been fighting for years. you know the one. it goes something like: 'would you like a piece of cake?' 'no thanks, i'm on a diet'. and then two hours later when you're sitting in a tiny cubicle staring at a screen realizing all you've been thinking about is that stupid piece of cake, there is no conversation you're just devouring the cake (and not just one measly little piece, the whole damn thing). i just don't win under those circumstances and i've finally realized that i never will. if i want to say no to the cake, then i have to not be hungry. week 1 of the diet was very different this round. i gave myself a week to track what i was eating and when. then i set out to come up with a plan that would surround me with a large variety of healthful options at all times of the day so that i wouldn't resort to the not so healthful options.
as a chef, i realized that i was never going to be able to maintain a diet where i had plenty of healthy food around, but it was ALWAYS the same food. no one can eat the same thing over and over again without getting bored and suffering some intense cravings. which meant that i had to have a plan and a good one each week. a large variety of foods and flavors, breakfast, lunch, dinner, sweet snacks, salty snacks, and everything in between. and suddenly my diet was a catering event that i could plan for and a challenge that i could overcome.
my plan has been to do the bulk of my cooking and prep work for the entire week on sunday afternoon. (it can be any day that you want, but sunday afternoon generally means waiting on laundry to dry and avoidance of all televised sports for me) i would create a meal plan for the week along with a master shopping list and a production schedule for my preparations and then i would put myself in the kitchen and make magic happen. then i could spend just a few minutes making breakfast and packing my lunch before i leave the house in the morning and not be scrambling. with most of the prep work done, dinner can happen sometimes in as little as 10 minutes when i get home (but no more than 30). meaning it is much easier to eat what you planned and not resort to take-out. saying no to pizza or chinese food is easier when dinner is already in the fridge. as not everyone in the world is a professional chef, i realize that it will take some of you a bit longer than 3 hours to get your mise en place finished, but i will give you the tools you need to make it go as fast as possible and be fun at the same time.
i do my cooking on sundays, so each week i will post a meal plan along with a shopping list by wednesday. by saturday i will post a production schedule and recipes as well as some general cooking tips to get you started on your weekly mise en place. in order to make this happen, you all will be eating a week behind us here at casa tobeck. it's much easier to post when i've already done the shopping and the cooking. you'll get pictures and also have the benefit of knowing that we liked it enough to post, which means you should be happy too.
all of the meal plans, shopping lists, and production schedules will be in a printable format so that you can utilize them digitally or physically depending on your preference. comments, questions and concerns are always appreciated and i'll do my best to respond as quickly as possible. and i'm always on the lookout for healthy recipes or recipes that i can find a way to make healthy, so if you have suggestions or cravings i'm happy to oblige. now i guess all that's left is to say 'go forth and mise en place'.
04 January 2015
welcome to my kitchen
i've always loved food. ALWAYS. when i was a kid, i remember watching my mom bake cookies, cakes, and other yummy goodies. and every day when i got home from school, i would sit on the kitchen counter and watch my dad cook dinner. it wasn't until i was feeding myself every day that i realized what a feat that was for a family of 6 on a small budget in a town without a grocery store. my relationship with food hasn't always been positive, but i can honestly say that no matter where i have been in life, food has been my safety net, my blankie, my best friend. and no matter the kitchen, i've always felt at home with a knife in hand and a pot on the fire.
i started experimenting with food at a fairly young age, though sadly all will tell you that those first experiments were EPIC failures. if you run into my mom or dad or my non-biological sister Emily, they can all recount the failed pancakes, the gallon of orange icing, the melted spatulas and burnt grilled cheese, the truly awful food we created as kids. as i reached high school and started to eat around my crazy extra-curricular schedule (i.e. feeding myself because everyone else was already asleep), i found that trying new foods and cooking techniques was amazing. testing flavor profiles and trying out new spices was a late night pastime. and i learned pretty quickly that i had a truly remarkable sense of taste and smell. you know the scene in 'Ratatouille' where Remi tastes all of the foods and there's this remarkable burst of fireworks and music. well that's me. i LOVE food: the history, the chemistry, the artistry, the flavors, the smells, the sounds, the sights, and of course the actual eating of said food! are you starting to understand the very simple point i'm making? FOOD=GOOD
in college, the US Army made me run lots of miles and do lots of push-ups and sit-ups every morning, so food became fuel and i searched for better ways to feed my body. but all of the exercise meant that calories were expendable and i could pretty much eat whatever i wanted. i got really good at making pasta and sauce from whatever ingredients happened to be on hand. and living with Erin meant that there was always a food experiment going on. we had lots of yeastie beastie type pets over the years. during the really poor times, we ate cereal stolen from the dining hall, frozen peas with yellow mustard, yogurt, and salsa or marinara sauce by the bowlful. during the less lean times, we ate many a boneless skinless chicken breast. of course once we hit that magic number 21, we lived mainly on oatmeal for breakfast and beer and pretzels for lunch and dinner. while we played in the kitchen and learned all sorts of fun techniques and flavor profiles (ask Erin about the great pumpkin pie escapade of 2005 the next time you see her), most of the time we ate what we could afford.
in january of 2006, there was a boy that needed to be impressed swiftly and fully. so i did what i knew best at the time: i cooked a tremendously huge meal and blew my month's grocery budget in one night. and amazingly enough that boy, he stuck around. nine years and counting and he stills eats my food every night. must have been some really tasty stuffed shells all those years ago :)
after college, there was no more Army and i was still trying to impress said boy, so i cooked a lot and became a foodie to the best of my small-town, no access to real ingredients ability. as time went on i gained a reputation for being a good cook. and of course with this reputation, i gained the pounds that come from lots of cooking and eating without as much exercising. throughout the years since college, my love for food has far outweighed my love for exercise and therefore at the end of every year i have outweighed the previous year. this phenomenon was not helped by a blown out knee, attending culinary school, or running a pizzeria and multiple pastry kitchens for several years. from may of 2006 until about october of this year, i had convinced myself that it was better to be fat and happy than to be skinny and hungry all of the time. and it WORKED!!!!! there were a few moments in life where i thought about how much bigger my jeans had gotten, but for the most part i was content to be the chubby chef because no one ever trusts a skinny chef.
2014 was a BAD year at casa tobeck. and by bad, i mean really bad. bryan and i both let go of any restraint that we had been holding on to and got thoroughly engrossed in our work. this meant take out or pizza every night and at least 30 extra pounds a piece. in september when bryan left for training, i caught my reflection one morning on my way out of the house and was appalled. what had i let happen to myself??? i needed to make a change and it needed to be drastic. and i realized that the only way i was going to get myself back to a better place was to get organized. though i hate to admit it, i have absolutely NO self-control and will eat anything that presents itself when i get hungry. so i cleaned out my cabinets, stocked the house with good for me foods, and created a meal plan each week so that i knew what i was going to eat. i also started to spend about 3 hours every sunday doing some food prep to ensure that i had food available whenever i needed it. coupled with starting a very basic workout regimen, well really a walking around the park for about 30 minutes a day regimen, i have lost 36 pounds since october 1st. my final goal is 70 pounds, so i have a LONG way to go, but i feel like as long as i stick to the plan i will get there.
here's a few photos of the progress:
AND why not share my plan with the masses. keeping yourself and your family fed and happy are a major challenge no matter what your diet or your lifestyle. so hopefully i can make that easier for you by providing some insight, some recipes, and some organizing tips each week. the tobeck family goal of the moment is weight loss so that will be the focus of meal plans and recipes, but the general focus of organizing your meals and shopping, preparing in advance to ensure speedy meals throughout the week and easier mornings getting lunches packed and feeding everyone before you need to leave the house. i've found this system even buys me about 10 more minutes of sleep each morning :) here's what my fridge looks like after i prepped my meals for the week!
i started experimenting with food at a fairly young age, though sadly all will tell you that those first experiments were EPIC failures. if you run into my mom or dad or my non-biological sister Emily, they can all recount the failed pancakes, the gallon of orange icing, the melted spatulas and burnt grilled cheese, the truly awful food we created as kids. as i reached high school and started to eat around my crazy extra-curricular schedule (i.e. feeding myself because everyone else was already asleep), i found that trying new foods and cooking techniques was amazing. testing flavor profiles and trying out new spices was a late night pastime. and i learned pretty quickly that i had a truly remarkable sense of taste and smell. you know the scene in 'Ratatouille' where Remi tastes all of the foods and there's this remarkable burst of fireworks and music. well that's me. i LOVE food: the history, the chemistry, the artistry, the flavors, the smells, the sounds, the sights, and of course the actual eating of said food! are you starting to understand the very simple point i'm making? FOOD=GOOD
in college, the US Army made me run lots of miles and do lots of push-ups and sit-ups every morning, so food became fuel and i searched for better ways to feed my body. but all of the exercise meant that calories were expendable and i could pretty much eat whatever i wanted. i got really good at making pasta and sauce from whatever ingredients happened to be on hand. and living with Erin meant that there was always a food experiment going on. we had lots of yeastie beastie type pets over the years. during the really poor times, we ate cereal stolen from the dining hall, frozen peas with yellow mustard, yogurt, and salsa or marinara sauce by the bowlful. during the less lean times, we ate many a boneless skinless chicken breast. of course once we hit that magic number 21, we lived mainly on oatmeal for breakfast and beer and pretzels for lunch and dinner. while we played in the kitchen and learned all sorts of fun techniques and flavor profiles (ask Erin about the great pumpkin pie escapade of 2005 the next time you see her), most of the time we ate what we could afford.
in january of 2006, there was a boy that needed to be impressed swiftly and fully. so i did what i knew best at the time: i cooked a tremendously huge meal and blew my month's grocery budget in one night. and amazingly enough that boy, he stuck around. nine years and counting and he stills eats my food every night. must have been some really tasty stuffed shells all those years ago :)
after college, there was no more Army and i was still trying to impress said boy, so i cooked a lot and became a foodie to the best of my small-town, no access to real ingredients ability. as time went on i gained a reputation for being a good cook. and of course with this reputation, i gained the pounds that come from lots of cooking and eating without as much exercising. throughout the years since college, my love for food has far outweighed my love for exercise and therefore at the end of every year i have outweighed the previous year. this phenomenon was not helped by a blown out knee, attending culinary school, or running a pizzeria and multiple pastry kitchens for several years. from may of 2006 until about october of this year, i had convinced myself that it was better to be fat and happy than to be skinny and hungry all of the time. and it WORKED!!!!! there were a few moments in life where i thought about how much bigger my jeans had gotten, but for the most part i was content to be the chubby chef because no one ever trusts a skinny chef.
2014 was a BAD year at casa tobeck. and by bad, i mean really bad. bryan and i both let go of any restraint that we had been holding on to and got thoroughly engrossed in our work. this meant take out or pizza every night and at least 30 extra pounds a piece. in september when bryan left for training, i caught my reflection one morning on my way out of the house and was appalled. what had i let happen to myself??? i needed to make a change and it needed to be drastic. and i realized that the only way i was going to get myself back to a better place was to get organized. though i hate to admit it, i have absolutely NO self-control and will eat anything that presents itself when i get hungry. so i cleaned out my cabinets, stocked the house with good for me foods, and created a meal plan each week so that i knew what i was going to eat. i also started to spend about 3 hours every sunday doing some food prep to ensure that i had food available whenever i needed it. coupled with starting a very basic workout regimen, well really a walking around the park for about 30 minutes a day regimen, i have lost 36 pounds since october 1st. my final goal is 70 pounds, so i have a LONG way to go, but i feel like as long as i stick to the plan i will get there.
here's a few photos of the progress:
 |
| August 2014 205 lbs |
 |
| October 2014 215 lbs |
 |
| October 2014 200 lbs |
 |
| November 2014 190 lbs |
 |
| December 2014 185 lbs |
AND why not share my plan with the masses. keeping yourself and your family fed and happy are a major challenge no matter what your diet or your lifestyle. so hopefully i can make that easier for you by providing some insight, some recipes, and some organizing tips each week. the tobeck family goal of the moment is weight loss so that will be the focus of meal plans and recipes, but the general focus of organizing your meals and shopping, preparing in advance to ensure speedy meals throughout the week and easier mornings getting lunches packed and feeding everyone before you need to leave the house. i've found this system even buys me about 10 more minutes of sleep each morning :) here's what my fridge looks like after i prepped my meals for the week!
 |
| 6 days of breakfast lunch and dinner |
 |
| All of the food going in my lunch box for tomorrow |
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