Cloudy with a Chance of Cinnamon Buns.

     So we all know what happens when it rains right? Well, the most obvious indication is everything gets wet. OK, here is a quick lesson in meteorology. What happens when a cold front and warm front meet?  The cold air rises above the warm air, which then create moisture to rise. Which then condenses into water droplets, which then form into clouds, those clouds will then form into thunderstorms. Basically in a nut shell, a cold front meeting a warm front creates thunderstorms, if the atmosphere is unstable, it is the recipe for wicked weather.

     The other day, it was humid as hell you could cut the air with a knife. The forecast was a not so good start, midday sunshine and get ready for the thunderstorms in the evening. In the summer where I work, you can't see out of the two windows we have, because they have air conditioners in them(I am not complaining, mind you). However, it is difficult to see what kinda weather you are going to have unless, you walk outside. Either way, I think I might have become a weather aficionado because, when it gets dark up in the sky, that means rain is coming, and soon maybe even thunder.

Doh!!!!! Double Rainbow!!!!Make a Wish!!!!!!

     So I get ready to go home, and no dice, not a rumble not a flicker. Just a bust. That happens when you live in a valley. The mountains wreck all your fun. I am not saying that I want a twister, but a wicked thunderstorm would be exciting. I should be ashamed of myself, because the folks in Springfield, Massachusetts, would certainly, disagree with me.

     When it rains and gets dark, my first instinct is to start cooking. Like cooking somehow, will stop the storm dead in its tracks. I found this recipe, which I altered a "wee bit" for ginormous cinnamon buns. A perfect food for a dark, stormy night.  By the way, the storm produced rainbows, two of them in fact. Which I captured.. Ha!!! take that Ghost Hunters!

Ginormous Cinnamon Buns

1 tablespoon dry active yeast

4 tablespoons melted butter
3 tablespoons really hot water (110-115F)
1 1/2 cups of really warm water, combined with 1/4 cup instant mashed potatoes
2 tsps vanilla extract
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup dry non-fat milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
5 cups all-purpose flour

The Cinnamon Bun Guts

2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp almond extract

Glaze
3 tablespoons butter, melted
pip-squirt of vanilla extract
1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
2 or 3 tablespoons milk

In a bowl combine the flour, the dry non-fat milk, salt and sugar and whisk to combine. In another bowl
dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Let it sit there until it foams. Then add the melted butter, potato water,  and extract. In a standing mixer pour the yeast mixture in, and with a dough hook add the dry ingredients. Mix until the dough comes together. If it looks wet add a wee bit more flour. Turn out on a clean surface and knead for 5 minutes, until the dough becomes elastic and shiny. Place in a greased bowl and cover for about 1 to 2 hours, or until it is double in size. When it has risen, turn out on to a floured surface and roll into a rectangle, a 1/2in thick all the way around. In a bowl combine the softened butter, sugars, extract and cinnamon, brush ALL of it(till there is nothing left) on the dough, then roll up like a jelly roll. Cut into a equal 6 parts and place in a pre-greased 13x9 pan and let rise and additional 45 minutes in a warm place. In a 350 oven bake the rolls 45 minutes to and hour.  As the rolls cool, make the glaze. Beat the melted butter with the milk and powdered sugar and add the extract. Spoon the glaze on till it gone and serve.

Rainbows apologize for angry skies. ~Sylvia Voirol

The Daily Grind

     Worked a full day at the Doctor's office yesterday, what a difference from kitchen work. I think paperwork satisfies my need for order. I also love the smell of freshly copied paper. Remember mimeographed paper, I am speaking to the 40 to 50 yr olds. The ink was purple on the paper, and you turned the crank, which fed the papers through the ink. God, what a smell, I loved it.

     Speaking of office product smells, remember those permanent markers you shook to get the ink flowing, the bottoms were metal and there was a little ball that agitated the ink. I LOVED that smell. Don't even get me started on rubber cement!

     Looking back, I should probably have been the manager of Staples, because I have had unnatural addiction to office products. In fact, when it is time for the annual pilgrimage to Staples, for school supplies, I am thrilled because, I can peruse the aisles and look at all the cool stuff they have created. I know I am pathetic sad. But hey, you never know when you will be in a pinch with no white out. By the way, they have graduated from the little white out bottles(that could have easily been mistaken for liquid eyeliner, on a bad day) to a wicked cool little pen type thingy that I got to put away on Tuesday. Such fun!!

     The whole point of me being at the Doc's office, was because I needed to fine tune myself. The medical world is a much different world. Precision is much more paramount than shucking a oyster in my world. If you bumble a phone number(which I did on numerous occasions, wow did I mention they are patient) you could inadvertently bill the wrong person, which opens up a whole new monstrous can of worms, do I need to mention insurance companies?

     The best part of my whole experience was Linda (bless her heart) she for some reason, felt that she was being "hard" on me, and would explain that it was communicating. I am surprised, that at the first sign of my ineptitude, she did not drive down and smack me up aside the head. Because in my world (the chef world) he/she would strip me of all my dignity in front of my peers, and snicker on the way out. I have been there a time or two.

     Gerry, what can I say about her. She speaks my language and I speak hers. She is a natural born teacher. But, I think she is unaware of her talent. She gives me the valuable nuggets of information that speak volumes at the end of the day. Example: date and time of message: important, clean exam rooms, charts to dictation. Linda, I will always remember, make a copy of everything. When you are at the office, on a Monday (when technically the office is closed, however emergencies can happen whenever) you can panic, and I have. Because the Doc (love you for nudging me in the right direction)will fire jobs at me, unaware that I am medically developmentally delayed.

     The best part of the whole week, is that I felt useful. I connected faces, to people I spoke to over the phone. I did things that I would never otherwise do, if I had not took that leap of faith. But beyond my leap, these people took a leap of faith of their own (a gamble, if you will). They believed in me, they were patient, understanding and considerate. Wow, that is best part of my whole year, they allowed me into their world.

     I am no stranger to work, work in my opinion is all relative, it is what it is. Whether you are a surgeon or a chef, at the end of the day it is work, and it still tires you the same. You still can't wait to get home and put on yourself, that you left at the door when you went to work. The person that is you, that no one else sees but your family. Naked and you. Been there a time or two too.

     When I first started out in the food service world, in Ketchikan Alaska.  I worked for Charley's Restaurant, which was a sister company of Waterfall Resort Ltd. I was such a fry in a big pond. I met Johnathan Winters, Bruce Jenner and Steve Garvey, these folks were on vacation, hardly an impact on them, but for me: I am still telling the story.

The one person that had an impact on me was Wilhelm Herff, I was so afraid of him, he slipped in like the night. I appreciated his presence, and I would to this day. Thank you, Bob Koenitzer, Ken Dole and Willy Herff for taking a chance on me, I would not be where I am, if it were not for you guys.

What follows is what I remember as "Joe's Special", not sure why it was called Joe's Special? But we served a lot of them.
 
1 medium sweet onion diced
1 pound ground beef
2 ozs butter
4ozs Parmesan
6 eggs scrambled
1 pound of spinach
salt and pepper to taste

In a saucepan melt butter and saute onions until translucent and sweet smelling, add ground beef and cook until beef is cooked, drain fat add spinach and cook until spinach is wilted. Add eggs and cook until eggs are cooked, season with Parmesan, salt and pepper. Did I mention, that I met the Seattle Sea hawks, in 1989. There thighs were massive. And they ate twice the breakfasts as the normal person. I had to get up at the CRACK of dawn, so much of it was a blur.

Restore a man to his health, his purse lies open to thee. ~Robert Burton