wow food truck menu

pulled pork arepa - wow food truck

WOW food truck atlanta

wonderlicious on wheels

tamale queen food truck

jus' loaf'n food truck

sweet auburn bbq food truck

the mobile marlay

mobile marlay menu

fish and chips from the mobile marlay

fish and chips - the mobile marlay

slider u food truck

buen provecho food truck

just good food now

ibiza bites

Life is Food. Taste Life. Ibiza Bites

ibiza bites menu

signature bite - ibiza bites

cake pops - ibiza bites

honeysuckle food truck

yumbii truck

cheers,

k

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A practitioner is only as good as the tools he uses to produce his work. Since I fancy myself a kitchen witch, I thought I’d share some of my favorite tools of the craft that help make cooking easier, faster, and more enjoyable.

My Essential Kitchen Tools

1. Non-stick cookware w/matching lids – Non-stick cookware makes cleanup easy, and because of that, my set of non-stick pots and pans are my everyday go-to cooking tools. While it isn’t necessary to have a full set (you might even come out better with mix-and-match pieces), it is advised to spend a little extra for quality non-stick cookware that won’t chip and peel as soon as you start using them. For the basics, I recommend a large pot (suitable for pasta and soups), a medium-sized saucepan and a large skillet.
2. Rubber spatula – A must-have for cooking on non-stick cookware so you don’t damage the non-stick coating.
3. Stainless steel skillet or saucepan – To make a quality sauce, you have to get some caramelization on the bottom of the pan. Same goes for searing meats. This simply cannot be achieved with non-stick cookware. A single 12-inch saute or fry pan should be enough for most kitchens.
4. Metal spatula – A must-have for scraping the caramelized bits (or fond) from the bottom of stainless steel pans. Never, ever use it on non-stick cookware.
5. Baking sheet – I prefer metal baking sheets which help caramelize roasted vegetables and meats. For easier cleanup or non-stick baking, I line the sheet with foil or parchment paper. If you only have one, I’d recommend one with a lip or raised edge to keep food or juices from sliding off into the oven.
6. Rectangular baking dish – Perfect for casseroles and cobblers. 
7. Tongs – Like having a heatproof pair of hands. Ideal for handling items in hot oil or water and for turning meats without piercing the skin and letting precious juices escape.
8. Peeler – Why torture yourself trying to peel fruits and vegetables by hand? A peeler makes quick work of the task.
9. Mandolin – While this isn’t an everyday tool, it comes in handy when I need thin, evenly-sliced veggies for salads. Works like a charm when making homemade potato chips.
10. Mini chopper – While I do own a large food processor, I rarely use it because it’s so big and I’m not usually chopping huge amounts of food at once. My 4-cup mini-chopper is more practical for finely chopping fresh herbs and veggies when making sauces, salad dressings, salsas, soups and stews.
11. Chinese skimmer – This handy tool is great for removing fried items from oil and for removing pastas (like ravioli, farfalle, etc.) or vegetables from boiling water.
12. Latex gloves – I keep a supply on hand for messy manually-intensive tasks like forming meatballs, and for dealing with raw meats and poultry. Be sure to use the non-powdered variety.
13. Mortar and pestle – Some folks swear by their spice grinder. For me, a good stone mortar and pestle are all I need to grind up a small amount of dried herbs or spices.
14. Wok – Honestly, if I could only have one piece of cookware, it would be a wok. It’s versatile enough to use for boiling, stewing, frying, steaming, and even for popping corn. I have 3 in my cabinet, but prefer the hand-hammered steel one to the 2 non-stick ones.
15. 2-3 good knives – Nothing makes prep more enjoyable than a good quality, sharp knife. There’s no need to get that variety set that comes in the wooden knife block, since you won’t use half of them. An 8-inch chef’s knife and 1-2 smaller knives (a 6-inch and/or a paring knife)  are more than adequate for most kitchen tasks. Henckel’s or Wusthoff are recommended brands. The quality is well worth the price. You’ll have these forever.
16. 2 cutting boards – I recommend at least 2 cutting boards – 1 for raw meats and 1 for veggies and other cutting tasks. Wood or plastic is up to you, but glass cutting boards can dull your knives faster.
17. Knife sharpener – Your knives will get dull over time. To save the hassle of having someone else sharpen them and to protect your investment, get yourself a simple sharpener.
18. Utility scissors – Couldn’t spatchcock a chicken without ‘em! They also come in handy for clipping fresh herbs.
19. Whisk – How else are you going to whip cream or make stiff peaks out of egg whites? A standard wire balloon whisk should be sufficient.
20. Stick / hand blender – I mostly use mine for making smoothies, but it’s a godsend when I need to puree a soup.
21. Wire colander/strainer – A must-have for draining pasta, beans and other items. Can also do double-duty as a sifter.
22. Measuring cups / spoons – I hardly follow exact measurements when cooking my own recipes. But when following someone else’s or on the rare occasions when I bake, measuring cups/spoons are absolutely necessary.
23. Parchment paper – As I mentioned before, I don’t bake often, but baking cookies and brownies on parchment reduces the risk of burnt-bottom (I mean, unless you’re into that) and makes cleanup much, much easier.
24. Aluminum foil – See #5 and #23.
25. Set of kitchen towels – When cooking, my hands are constantly getting dirty and constantly getting rinsed or washed between steps in the cooking process. One of the first things I do before cooking is make sure I’ve got at least one towel on hand. Most times I tuck it into my back pocket or toss it over my shoulder, so I have easy access to wipe or dry my hands or whip it out for more heavy-duty uses. In a pinch, I also use my kitchen towel to handle hot pans or lids.

photo 1: Auxillary home kitchen tools. by Special*Dark, on Flickr
photo 2: Baking Dish 2/14/11 by esimpraim, on Flickr
photo 3: mortar & pestle by ani!, on Flickr
photo 4: my fancy new measuring cups by knittygurl, on Flickr

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Continuing the series of posts entitled, ‘you might be a bon vivant if…’, here are 4 more ways for you to tell if you or someone you know is a bon vivant.

You Might Be a Bon Vivant If…

4. You have an extensive and varied social network

Bon vivants love to surround themselves with interesting people. Especially those with unusual occupations, intriguing conversations or personality traits that the bon vivant finds entertaining in some way.

5. You have above average intelligence

Bon vivants tend to not only be well-educated, but also well-learned. They are perpetual students, always seeking to learn new ideas, languages, skills, and concepts. But unlike academicians or scholars, bon vivants often get bored with classroom learning, and prefer to learn by experience. Bon vivants are likely to opt for apprenticeships and self-directed learning to sharpen their intelligence instead of rigorous classroom instruction and advanced degrees.

6. You’re a Jack or Jill of all trades

The bon vivant’s love of novelty inspires him to cultivate many interests and skills, and he’s usually experienced enough in all of them to be dangerous. As a result, bon vivants thrive in careers or professions where they can be generalists or universal adapters versus specializing in one well-defined area of practice.

7. You’re equally philosophical, spiritual, and religious 

Because of their unconventional ways of thinking and living, bon vivants aren’t likely to be strictly religious. They may even have their own sense of morality or spirituality that is a hybrid of several religions or philosophical traditions. Yet even professed atheist bon vivants will usually have a strong sense of right and wrong that guides their behavior and is reflected in the behaviors and philosophies of their friends and associates.

cheers,

k

photo: the good life is closer than you think! by fabi_k, on Flickr

photo: Twilight zone by patries71, on Flickr

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• you might be a bon vivant if… (part 1)
• a bon vivant is as a bon vivant does

A little while ago, I mentioned that I would be delving deeper into defining – in my own terms, based on my own observations – what it means to be a bon vivant. Unfortunately, the term bon vivant is one that is not well understood or is often misconstrued to be an individual who puts on airs or enjoys a excessively lavish, high-priced lifestyle.

Of course, I couldn’t disagree more. So in an effort to clear up any confusion, I’ve penned what I hope will be an informative series of clues that will more clearly define what it means to be a bon vivant and help you decide if you are one of that illustrious ilk known as bon vivants.

Let’s get started, shall we?

You Might Be a Bon Vivant If…

1. You enjoy and actively seek out experiences involving food, drink, and travel

Bon vivants are sensualists at heart, and anything that stimulates the senses is right up their alley. It’s no surprise that the bon vivant’s greatest passion is food and drink, since dining is one of life’s activities that involves all five senses at once. Travel is generally a close second, since it offers the bon vivant the opportunity for new culinary experiences.  The thorough enjoyment and passionate pursuit of good food, good drink, and good company is a tell-tale sign of a bon vivant.

2. You like work, but only if you can have fun doing it.

Living the good life doesn’t usually conjure up images of workday drudgery. So, many bon vivants  will only pursue professions that they truly enjoy. But not every bon vivant has a cool job, nor is everyone with a cool job a bon vivant. Many bon vivants have fairly traditional jobs, but very non-traditional career paths or working schedules. One bon vivant I know literally works to travel, and spends up to 2 months a year away from his high-profile corporate job. Another I know has no job to speak of, and lives modestly (but well) off income from past investments. And yet another bon vivant friend has taken a 2-year-on, 1-year-off approach to employment. She works in her chosen field for about 2 years, then takes every 3^rd year to do whatever she likes, whether it be travel, volunteer work, or work on her never-quite-finished novel.

3. You enjoy having money only because it enables your lifestyle

For bon vivants, the amount of money they have is secondary to the type of lifestyle they lead. In fact, many bon vivants aren’t anywhere near wealthy, and aren’t driven by financial gain. But since they value high quality experiences, bon vivants usually have the financial means to indulge their tastes. As previously revealed, many bon vivants choose non-traditional jobs to earn money. Some bon vivants were simply born into money. Others, unfortunately, may resort to less scrupulous methods to maintain their lifestyles, including cons, marrying for money, or becoming a ‘kept’ man or woman.

Do any of these sound like you or someone you know? Still not sure if you’re a bon vivant? Stay tuned for more clues!

cheers,

k

photo: The Good Life by jasoneppink, on Flickr

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A long time ago I read somewhere that the toast originated during the Middle Ages. During large banquets hosted by feudal lords and kings, each guest would toast by pouring a little bit of their drink into their neighbor’s glass, and by the time the toasting was done, everyone would have what everyone else was having. In a time where hostile takeovers often involved secret poisons, this sort of toast was done to make sure that if there were any poisoners present at the feast, he or she would also get a taste of their own medicine.

Hopefully, Dear Reader, you won’t find the need for such paranoid celebratory rituals, but should you happen to find yourself in mixed company, this handy guide from Matador Nights will help you make a proper toast that everyone will understand.

How to Say Cheers in 50 Languages

A-E

F-M

N-Z

cheers,

k
photo: Cheers! by melalouise, on Flickr

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