There’s Something to be Said (file under PURE Joy)

Goethe seems to be my guy these days. He once said; “Who is the happiest of men? He who values the merits of others, and in their pleasure takes joy, even as though t'were his own.” This quote seems to be the greatest explanation of the reawakening that I am having right now.

As a cook it is true that my greatest happiness and joy is the result of others pleasure. Some might even say that my ultimate purpose now is to revel in the pleasure that others receive from my actions. And that, to me, is both thrilling and a massive responsibility. It means that I need to forgo my emotions and feelings in order to ensure the pleasure of my patrons. That in order for me to increase their pleasure I need to allow myself to leave the outside world at the door when I get to work, leave the outside there and concentrate, in the moment, to making the best possible dish that I can. If I do this, I am certain, that I have contributed to someone else’s pleasure which thus ensures my happiness.

As I am rollerblading to work these days I have a lot of time while pushing my body to push my mind and these are some of the thoughts (outline above) that have been running through my mind. Does that sound silly to you?

I love waking up in the morning. Alive, I roll out of bed, and start the process of my day. Vitamins, shower, dress, blades on and out the door. Arrive at work, get changed, punch in, start the set up for my stations and then prep for the day. This includes, as you are all aware, creating the next days specials.

As well today I did two smoothies again and they both were delicious. So much so that I ended up making enough for about twelve people. Calls of yum and ooh and ahhs could be heard throughout the building and all I could do was smile. It would seem that Health in a Glass is making a come back and I think that I might actually start recording all the smoothie recipes too and put out a book of those someday.

Yesterdays specials went very well. Which is above all, supremely satisfying to me. Even my coworkers have noticed how I relish in creating a great special. While I was at work today we sold about four of my pizza specials and three of the pasta. AND it was relatively slow. I am sure that tonight they will sell out of the special.

Today’s specials that I created are a grilled Portobello mushroom, artichoke hearts and crispy double smoked bacon. The pasta is a seafood Carbonara with scallops, crab, shrimp and double smoked bacon. DELICIOUS.

In case any of you could not tell, creating these specials is one of my greatest joys. I get to use the freshest ingredients and can do anything I want. I am building a repertoire of dishes that are distinctly me. And I have started a recipe book. Which at this rate should be pretty full by the end of the summer. Can any one say self publish?

Not only that but I shaved another five minutes off my return trip. Not so bad if you ask me. I think that within a few weeks, perhaps a month, I should be able to get to work in fifteen minutes and back in about twenty. We’ll see and I will keep you posted.

At any rate, Happy Easter or Passover every one. I hope that you feel the same blessings and joy in your lives that I do. It really is a matter of choice you know.

Confucius once said; “Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.”

A la prochaine

SDM

Health in a Glass (file under Redux)

Imagine if you can for a moment walking into a fridge and being punched in the face by the sweetest, stickiest and most appetizing smell. Now, if you can, picture, mangoes, bananas, grapefruits, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, oranges and all manner of exotic fruit. What would you do with those things if you had them?

At Reservation, as many of you will recall, I started the daily treat of Health in a Glass right before service everyday. At The Club, it is not only a once a day ritual but, today for instance, one that was repeated, twice. And then before I left I had a fresh Mango smoothie. Health in a Glass is right.

According to Health Canada we should be eating between 5 and 10 servings of fruits or vegetables every day. I can assure you that for the past seven years but probably closer to ten I have come nowhere close.

As many of you know I am rail thin. I weigh 130 pounds soaking wet with all my clothes on. At 5’10 and that weight you can imagine that for whatever reason my metabolism is quite different than that of most people. I am in incredible health, I have low blood pressure (in a good way), low cholesterol and a fantastic body mass index. However, many people have said that I am too thin. Well, I made myself a promise when I started at the Club that I was going to do my best to eat a little better, live a little better and take care of my body a little better.

As such, it is my absolute pleasure to let you know that today I had approximately 15 servings of fruit and or vegetables. I can feel a difference. Yesterday I only had one Health in a Glass and it is weird because I can actually feel the result (metabolism of course) very, very rapidly.

In that vein I would like to give everyone a couple of my favourites Health in a Glass recipes;

The Pressure Refresher (serves 4)

2 Bananas
Quarter Pint of Raspberries
200 mls of Peach Yoghurt
350 mls of Orange Juice (preferably fresh)
Ice as desired

Put all ingredients into blender and mix. I call this the Pressure Refresher because almost immediately you can feel yourself relax and you get a HUGE jolt of energy.

Pineapple Express (serves 4)

Half a Pineapple (make sure to remove the core)
Quarter Pint of Raspberries
350 mls of Orange Juice
200 mls of Strawberry Yoghurt
Ice as desired

Same as above to make. And yes the name of this Health in a Glass will help if you have seen Pineapple Express and enjoyed some of its wares.

I am tweaking these recipes and have about twenty now that I use. However, because walking into the produce walk in at work is like dying and going to fresh fruit heaven I am sure I will have about fifty by the time September runs around.

I have lots in my life that makes me want to become even healthier. In the past I had thought that I could do what I want and never have to pay a price for it. (Thanks Doc) But now, as I get older I realize that I need to take care of my body and so do you.

Let me know what you think?

An old Spanish Proverb states; “A man too busy to take care of his health is like a mechanic too busy to take care of his tools.”

Are you dreaming big and inspired?

A la prochaine

SDM