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A new blog has been started. Fresh new starts are always fantastic. Enjoy!

No Yellow Brick Road

Alive...now that is an understatement!

And I am telling you the truth. Glacier is an adventure. An immense, wonderful, exhilarating, challenging adventure. I do not have internet access, except when I want to pay for it at the store in town. But I have news!

I am engaged! Stephen proposed on Saturday!

He proposed at Iceberg Lake during an amazing hike. 5 miles in as boyfriend and girlfriend and 5 miles out ENGAGED!!

Just wanted to share the news.

I will be back periodically, but permanently in October.

Send hellos and emails please!

Back...for now!

I am back!! Actually, I was back...but Blogger ate a post. Sad.

Following your dreams is important. What they don't tell you is that there is no definitive end to any road we choose to take. Life is a huge adventure. With a bunch of mini journeys, each different from the other. Each challenging. You can't expect life to change and become "easier" or even to make more sense when you make a certain decision.

Now that I have become a professional chef and am ready to move on in my career, I am going to take the memories and lessons learned in beautiful Boulder, Colorado with me.

Lesson 1: Always take the time to appreciate the beauty around you. The view you see from anywhere in Boulder is gorgeous. Yet it is very easy to become immune to it when stressed and absorbed in every day stress. When I actually took the minute to take in the scenery, stress immediately dissipated. Nature is magically healing, but you need to let it in first.

Lesson 2: People are important. Yes, I was in a gorgeous place. Yes, I was cooking everyday and learning so much. But I was away from the most important people (and animals) to me. A place instantly becomes more beautiful when surrounded by people you love. When Stephen was in Boulder, we went for a walk and the mountains seemed even more majestic and the air felt even more fresh. Friends and loved ones are necessary, and new ones are always welcomed!

Lesson 3: Don't compare yourself to others. I have a tendency to feel instantly dejected when faced with someone who is so successful and far along in their career. I think that I can never make it to that point. There were many people in my class who were already successful chefs. I felt that I lacked something...and that I could never find it. abaut that type of thinking gets you no where. Very quickly. I have my own talents and strengths. And I adore creating food. I cook from my heart and I know that will get me where I want to go.

Now I have moved on from preparing meals in the professional classroom setting to preparing meals in my own home for myself and Stephen.

No more fancy garnishes and proper plating.

No more extravagant meals.

But wait...this is me we are talking about. I have been thoroughly enjoying cooking for myself and Stephen again. It is so much fun to put together kind of simple and tasty meals for us. For me, at home, it is about cooking ordinary things in an extraordinary way. Talking simple comfort foods and taking them a step or two further.

It is crazy what can be deemed impressive. I created a Shrimp Parfait using a salsa (tomato, cucumber, avocado, pickled red onions, roasted garlic), greek yogurt, and shrimp.

And here we have meatballs made from ground pork and turkey stuffed with mozzarella cheese.

And of course cookies for dessert. I am quite the cookie monster, and will always be.

Hopefully I will not turn into an actual monster!

Note: This is going to be my last week of writing my blog for a long time. I will be living in Glacier National Park in Montana and will not have internet access (and maybe not even a computer). It will be a much needed escape from the world of extreme technology, but I will miss writing and reading blogs.

Beginnings, Ends, and Cupcakes

Happy first day of May.

Somehow I only have 3 more weeks of Chef Track and then I will be a professional chef. This scares me. The beginning of a new journey is always the easiest for me. It is easy to jump into something new.

There is nothing to lose. Yet. You don't have to prove yourself. Yet.

There is a nice, blank slate, and you can only get better from your starting point. But at the end? I am not sure there ever is an end, yet I always find myself searching an searching for it. I always wish tat someone will slap a gold star on my forehead, give me a treasure map that leads me through my life, and push me down my path. But that is never going to happen.

I will graduate culinary school and I will move on to do...what, exactly?

I was offered a job near Glacier National Park working as a line cook in a cafe called Two Sisters. I will be living in a log cabin on the property an I will be surrounded by gorgeous wilderness for 4 months. Although this job seems like a dream come true (I have always wanted to work at a national park and live in a log cabin), I can't help but be terrified that I am making the wrong choice. Then again, if there is any time to do something like this, now is it.

The upsides to taking the job:

I can spend about 10 straight days with Stephen before I take off

The money is decent and housing is super cheap (5 bucks a day!)

The Boulder mountains pale in comparison to the ones in Glacier

I get a solid 4 months of line cook experience

It will be a great personal retreat with the added bonus of "being productive"

Being pretty much unplugged (very minimal, if any, internet connection, no tv, and minimal cell phone coverage, if any) will give me time to read, write, hike, meditate, hike, knit, stare at the stars, etc.

It feels refreshing to finally have a goal for after I graduate. Something concrete that I can do. A huge part of me has felt extremely hungry lately. And although I know exactly what I am hungry for, I am having difficulties feeling sated.

And all of the cupcakes in the world will never satisfy.

But working the Cupcake Bash, one of Culinary School of the Rockies classes for home cooks is so much fun that it makes me forget about everything else.

I love being around people who are excited about their food.

Who have fun creating gorgeous masteripieces out of flour, sugar, and fat.

I love how fearless people can be in the kitchen.

And I love the smells that permeate the air.

Seriouly, how can you be anything but happy when faced with dozens upon dozens of cute cupcakes.

I wish I could share the glorious desserts with you.

The cupcakes created during this workshop:

Luscious lemon curd cupcakes with lemon cream icing

Carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and caramel

Coconut dream cupcakes with coconut buttercream

Devil's food chocolate mousse cupcakes with chocolate gaze

Red Velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

If you want the recipe to any of these cupcakes, let me know and I will send it to you. Feel free to email: arodriguez913@gmail.com.

And I will also leave you with a delicious vegan pesto recipe that you will love. You won't even miss the cheese in this dish, I promise you!

Edamame Pesto

3 cups edemame, fresh or frozen shelled

2 tbsp minced garlic

2.5cups cilantro leaves, packed

1 cup walnuts, toasted

2 limes, juiced

1 cup olive oil

Enough for 2 lbs pasta

Cook edamame for 10 minutes, until soft. Drain.

Process garlic and cilantro to make a paste. Add edamame, walnuts, and lime juice. While the machine is running, add the olive oil. Add up to 1 cup of hot pasta water. Season with salt and pepper.

One thing that I have loved about Boulder and culinary school is a renewed appreciation of quality ingredients. There is something to be said about cooking with ingredients that are in season. When you combine beautiful, fresh foods, passionate people, and a little bit of heat (or good knife skills), magic will be created.

A question for you: What things do you do for yourself to feel emotionally satisfied and sated?

A fun question: What is your ultimate cupcake?