Chick Peas

By: Christopher Cruz

A healthy food source and very high in dietary fiber, carbohydrates and contains Calcium, Folate, Protein and Zinc. Chick peas are also called Garbanzos in Spanish speaking countries, although it originated in the Middle East and travelled all the way through the Mediterranean, Western Asia, and the Americas. To this extent, Chick pea is the most consumed légume in the world. And if when you decided to try some chick peas, there are different ways to cook them. Soak them for 24 hours (yes-i know it takes a long time), then boil them for about two to three hours in medium heat (i know, another few hours). But there's always an easy button, canned chick peas (thank goodness!), this is the most convenient way of purchasing chick peas nowadays. They are as good as the ones you will be cooking from scratch (trust me, when you have a two year old kid, you won't have that much time). Fortunately, my son helps out in making our favorite dish called, Hummus. There are many things that you could do with Chick Peas, you could mix it with salads, ground it into a flour, batter, etc. So, if you want to boost a little more healthy ingredients to your meals, add some chick peas into your diet! Try my son's recipe for this Hummus.

Savoury, Sweet, Earthy & Fruity......

By: Christopher Cruz

What is it? A very basic ingredient in Japan called Miso, a popular and widely consumed staple by the Japanese people and gaining popularity in the western world, because it is so easy to prepare and you could top it off with anything you want. Miso is a fermented soy bean, when ground the consistency is very thick, and it is characterized with salty flavor and sometimes fruity or sweet flavor. There are different kinds of Miso, from white, red, dark varities - all of which depends on which regions in Japan they are being produced. Although, the most common form of Miso you could find in North America is the salty flavored miso, the light and red ones. Rich in vitamins and minerals and very high in protein, and a versatile ingredient in flavoring stocks, vegetables, sauces, marinades, etc. Try my Japanese Miso Soup recipe.

Sinful Chocolate Pâté

By: Christopher Cruz

I had an opportunity to snapped a photo of an elegant looking chocolate pâté, drizzled with chocolate sauce, raspberry coulis with a sensational taste of Creme Anglais. Made by Chef Kelly Andreas of the Blaze Bistro in downtown Winnipeg.

10,000 Pieces of Silverwares and Everything

By: Christopher Cruz

About 10,000 pieces of silverwares, plates, cups, and almost about everything, that I shoved into that massive machine I finally became an apprentice cook. I was fortunate enough to be a steward for only two months, other than that probably i would have quit long time ago. It's just labor intensive to be a steward. The only reason i took the job was to put my foot in the door kind of way. Part of this story is in my previous post called,"My Long Road to Chefdom".

Eggs, Sugar & Cream

By: Christopher Cruz


Had a spare time during the Labour Day weekend and played with these three basic ingredients that could easily be found anywhere in your local grocery stores or probably you already have it in your pantry. Very cost effective and simple to make, yet it looks elegant to serve for a formal dinner, the base ingredients are eggs, sugar and cream. Although, you need to make it a little bit ahead of time for your occasion, preferably 24 hours and you could store the flan and the crème brûlée in your fridge for up to a week.

My Long Road To Chefdom........(continuation)

The first day of work was exciting, I was a little bit skittish, I didn't know what I am going to be doing. It is a big change from restaurant to a 4 star hotel. I assumed that working in the hotel industry has less screw up immunity, and the chef is likely similar to my drill sergeant. Although, I was wrong with my perception about the chef, he wasn't the way I thought he was but making a lot of mistakes are not strongly tolerated, so you have to be attentive.

So it was my lucky day, our chef told me that I will be wearing my whites for that night and help them plate for 75 persons (my ears were flapping when I heard that). Plating food for seventy-five people is somewhat easy, not to mentions that all the cooking are done, all we have to do is get the food out of the kitchen and let the servers do their job. What I have learned from that night was, communication and timing are always a crucial part of plating food. You have to interact with the banquet staffs, they are the one that signals the kitchen that on this given time, guests are ready to be served. Timing is crucial, the food has to be served at their right temperature, from the hors d'ouvres to soups and more importantly the entrees. When we're down with the last course (guess what?), desserts was actually easy getting it done. So synchronization with everyone will help speed up the delivery.

I never thought it was 10 pm already, I was having fun doing it. There were extra meals prepared just in case for some mishaps, fortunately everything went well, so everyone got a treat for the night.

Back to: My Long Road To Chefdom

My Long Road To Chefdom

A blessing in disguise one Wednesday afternoon while I was having a coffee break under the sun, an executive chef from the delta hotel came up to me and asked if I am still interested to get into the hospitality industry. I thought he was joking or just wanted to have a conversation, so I said "I'll think about it", he flicked his cigarette butt then said, "think about it, if your interested give me your resume tomorrow". Well I guess he was serious about the job offer. Although, the job was not really my ideal position to get into, but I guess I have to start somewhere from the very bottom of the realm of the cuisine, just to put my foot in the door kind of way. The next morning, I handed in my resume for the stewardship position, again swallowing my pride to do all the dirty work of the cooks. I got interviewed, and got the job. I was relieved when he told me that I won't be spending most of my time doing stewardship and I could actually participate with them in terms of plating food because of my experiences from different restaurants and catering events from the past. Whew!, that's fine with me. If this is what's going to take to reach my goal to become a chef, I am more than willing to accept this position and to be an apprentice and work my way up to be in one of those ranks. From this point, I will be blogging my everyday shift, from my rants to raves in my journey to the culinary world. So keep me company and feel free to send me some insights of your own. Read more: My Long Road To Chefdom........(continuation)

Our Daily Fix

What completes my day should you ask, Nothing beats the day when you get off work and see your family at home .

As I was told, my son wakes up the exact time from his afternoon nap and starts asking for everyone. Around two o' clock in the afternoon, Kaden would be up and knows I'm coming home soon. By the time he hears the sound of my keys while opening the door, I could sense him running towards the door and hear him say "daddy".

As soon as he see me, he'll say "gofee" which is "coffee" and he won't stop till' you actually make one. What amuses me is he knows the actual procedure of brewing, from rinsing the carafe and pouring it in a cup. It's really flattering seeing my son at 19 months old, knows how to make a good cup of joe.
Another part of our daily doze is showing him our collection of photos from the laptop with "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" by AC/DC on the background (don't ask why), while drinking his milk. After that, we move on to his nursery jam, do a little dance then grab his favorite book called, "Green Eggs & Ham - Dr. Seus". Which I remember, I made breakfast for him one saturday morning with my own impression of green eggs and ham, but I called it "egg omelette & ham", I couldn't use spinach when I made it that day because of E.coli scarce. Gladly, as much as he enjoyed listening and looking at the cartoons from the book, he finished his meal without any resistance