Monday, April 18, 2011

Cooking for 6 or 16... Part I

There isn't THAT much of a difference in cooking for more people. Okay, there is, but it's really only quantity.  You're doing the same thing TIMES three (or more) is all.

I love cooking for other people.  If it were a love language that would be mine.  (I guess it falls into the category of giving, but I don't give gifts, just food.)  Now that doesn't mean I love to cook all the time.  I have many days I need a break and some kind of major inspiration.  That's why I love to peruse other people's blogs and magazines for ideas.  Ideas inspire creativity.

About 2 years ago I started to do some catering for my husband. He's a financial advisor and often provides lunches or teaches classes about Financial Wellness. (It's a fantastic class. Let me know if you're interested!)

He asked me if I was interested in catering his client lunches (I was, after all, already making his everyday.) After trying it out for a while, with a lovely positive response from his clients, I decided to pursue it a bit more seriously.  I don't advertise so it's word of mouth only.  I'm okay with that.  I don't want to be busy every day with catering for others. I have enough little people to cater to every day of my life.  But I do enjoy making large quantities of food.  There's just something about large platters of food.  I serve everything family style.  To me, it hearkens back to sharing a meal together.  It's a lost art in today's America. 

I'm so looking forward to Easter. Our table will be full of friends and family.  That reminds me, I still need to plan the menu.

I toyed with hanging up my catering hat over the holidays and was pleasantly surprised with a call for two lunches recently.  I had forgotten how much I enjoy it. 

I snapped some pictures with my IPhone.  Actually, I guess you can't snap pictures anymore with digital technology.  I clicked some my pictures with my IPhone? I recently upgraded to the 4 model and I'm delighted with the picture quality.  I was also delighted with the under $20 upgrade price. The camera in the IPhone 4 offers HDR quality and I'm very impressed.  Sometimes it takes clearer pictures than my Fuji film s700 does.  My other camera lacks that fine focus. Of course, I'm sure that I don't know all the fine tuning features of that camera yet.  I'm going to have to reread the manual. Again.



Here's an example of a typical lunch set up.

Enough food for 16.




Organic Romaine with English Cucumber, Red Bell Pepper, Organic Carrots, and Grape Tomatoes with a homemade White Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing (recipe here.)




Pasta Insalata.  Wholegrain Penne Pasta with Organic Baby Spinach, Organic Basil, Organic Spinach Pesto, Baby Grape Tomatoes, and Fresh Mozzarella.



Oma's Chocolate Chip Cookies.  Recipe. Made with wholegrain flour and organic sugars.





Part of me just wants to decorate with a HUGE bunch of flowers or something but then I have to remember it's not a house, it's an office.

Next up...How to actually triple what you make. Part II.

Just in time for Easter,
The Lunch Lady

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