Homemade Lunchbox Salad Kit

Last weekend, my husband and I took 40 minutes out of our Sunday to make croutons, cook bacon and rip lettuce to build enough Caesar salad kits to fill a week’s worth of lunchboxes. This was in an effort to keep me out of expensive school cafeterias and to keep my husband away from the ease of unhealthy lunches.

Homemade Salad Kit

Hostess Gift Ideas

Hostess gifts are rarely seen outside of the holiday season among my generation. Come to think of it, they are rarely seen inside the holiday season as well. Our grandmothers would cringe to see that young women these days attend a party at a friend’s home and show up with nothing but a bottle of wine for themselves. Maybe you occasionally bring an appetiser or a dessert to share, but I say that’s not enough. Our grandmothers would bring gifts for their hostess to thank her for inviting them, for decorating and creating a relaxing atmosphere, for food, wine and the occasional party favour and, most importantly, for letting them have a fun evening without all the pesky cleaning up to do afterwards. I think it’s high time to bring back the hostess gift! At least at the bigger Christmas parties ladies.

Continue reading

Home Kitchen Management Skills You Can Only Learn Working in a Restaurant

Both my husband and I have spent many years throughout high school and college working in professional kitchens, so neither of us bats an eye when the other opens a jar of homemade turkey stock and writes the date on the lid, pulls out a knife steel and swings a giant knife around it or scrubs every surface of the kitchen every time the dishes are done (at least once a day when you don’t own a dishwasher, or invite one over for dinner). However, we do get strange looks when we do these things in front of friends who have never worked in real restaurants. To help all home cooks run a cleaner, safer, more organized kitchen, my husband and I have compiled a list of skills and knowledge only learned working in a restaurant that every home cook should be using in their own kitchen.

Nothing strange about this at all.

Continue reading