Author: chickletmarketing

Are you doing something you love? As in a career or job? I am.

Travel with me back in time to 2004, I started working a part-time job, really volunteering, at Sur La Table helping chefs get ready for the evening’s cooking class. I’d leave a miserable job at 5:00, and head to SLT and go home at 10:00 so happy.

Then in 2005, I am on a treadmill at the Y, reading an article titled “Finding Your Dream Job Making Money Do Something You Love”…. Well this intrigued me to say the least.

Up until then, I’d always thought your 9-5 Monday through Friday paid the bills and “hobbies” or things you loved most were done after work and on the weekends. Suffice it to say, that article changed my life (and not walking on the treadmill, LOL).

So, after some soul-searching my thoughts kept coming back to working with food. I’d always loved to entertain and cook, but never thought about a career in food.

This soul-searching exercise turned into going to culinary school at age 44 AND graduating with honors 3 years later, though there were times in those 3 years, I cried and wanted to quit. The many projects and papers due – go figure, it wasn’t about just learning to cook!

Everything since 2004 has propelled me to today, and never happier have I been.

The Green Kitchen continues to grow, and more rapidly since the beginning of this year. Big things are on the horizon so stay tuned!

In the meantime, call The Green Kitchen to help you with any sort of cooking needs!

From weekly meals, cooked fresh and delivered – think about how much time you would be able to save by taking menu planning, grocery shopping and cooking out of your daily equation? To catering your holiday parties – why not let someone else do the work while you enjoy your guests?

Or has someone you love just had an operation? Wouldn’t a gift of a few meals be appreciated more than flowers or a plant? What about the new baby just welcomed into this world? Wouldn’t it ease the parents’ minds to have meals already covered?

Check us out at www.greenkitchenrichmond.com or give us a call at 804-687-7099 today and see how we can make your life easier and more delicious!

Do you know what today is? Well, 3 months from today is December 27, two days after Christmas! 3 months, as in 90 days… just sayin’…

We all think it seems forever away and we can’t believe how much Pumpkin Spice we are seeing EVERYWHERE, or that Costco already has pre-lit Christmas trees for sale! That really bugs me, to be honest. The community associations haven’t even covered the pools from closing Labor Day weekend and already the onslaught of the holiday season as begun.

Time started passing much faster for me, at least, once my kids were born. I remember my daughter’s first birthday party and watching her wondering where the year had gone.

I, for one, love the holiday itself, family and friends and good food and the world basically stops. Why can’t it be like that more often and not just one day a year? But the 3 months leading up to it is enough to drive one mad.

With the season fast approaching, let’s try not to lose sight of what is important. Peace with our loved ones, and counting our blessings.

2017 has thus far, been a fantastic year for The Green Kitchen and it continues to be so, and I am fortunate enough to be doing something I love. I hope you are as well.

Continuing from my recent one-statement survey, I asked my Facebook followers what their dinnertime challenges were. Answers varied but a few mentioned “time”. Aaaahhh yes, the epitome of our busy lives today!

When did we become so busy? Remember the commercial from a couple of years ago, the one where someone ordered a latte and the cashier turns around to prepare the order and the customer immediately asks “where’s my latte?”

With the ever-growing presence of social media, we have truly become a nation of immediate gratification. We try to fit as much as we can into the few precious hours we have. Careers, family, social life, etc…. Something’s inevitably going to suffer, and unfortunately, that is usually quality time with our families, including dinner around the table, a lost tradition.

So how can we take that tradition back? Menu planning for the week can be helpful. On the weekend, plan the upcoming week’s menus, perhaps even going so far as a calendar with each evening’s menu written upon it. Then go grocery shopping armed with a list of needed ingredients. And, if time allows, prep as much as possible ahead. Imagine leaving work, not having to go to the grocery store, knowing you have a plan in mind for when you arrive at home.

And when having enough time to menu plan, grocery shop, prep and cook is just not possible, another option is to bring in help! I have helped many families with bringing back that tradition and regaining their quality family time.

Give The Green Kitchen a call today at 804-687-7099 to see how we can help!

In a recent one-statement survey, I asked my Facebook followers what their dinnertime challenges were. Answers varied but one consistency I saw was “what to make”. Been there, done that.

In the past, I have spent much time walking around the grocery store, searching for inspiration. Walking through the various departments, seeing what would grab my attention.

I am asked all the time “what is my specialty”, or what is my favorite thing to cook and for me, the answer is always the same – food. I LOVE to cook and have always found it meditative. I can’t tell you how many times I have put on music, and wound up “in my zone” – oh and yes, some times wine is involved. “I love wine and some times I even cook with it”, as one of my mentors, Julia Child, said.

Creating a meal, particularly for those you love, can be a most satisfying experience. But I know it’s just not the same for some of you out there. It’s stressful. I’m here to help.

You likely have a few standards or go-to meals, but some times you’d just like to try something different, or more exciting. So how do you do this? The key lies within your own imagination.

Now as you can imagine, I have a “few” cookbooks to refer to, but I don’t use them as often as one might think. Sure, I will open certain ones now and then, but overall, I cook from inspiration, and inspiration can come from anywhere. Cookbooks, cooking shows, cooking magazines, even the newspaper. You could be inspired by the current weather – if it’s raining, may be a pot of soup and a good crusty bread? Or if time is a challenge, a simple grilled meat and roasted veggies?

With a little forethought and imagination, dinnertime doesn’t have to be a challenge. More helpful hints from The Green Kitchen are on the way.