Big City: Round Three

Yikes!  I did not realize it had been so long since I had updated this blog. 


My time in Phoenix was very beneficial in allowing me to grow in to the chef that I would like to be.  I had the amazing opportunity to cater some rather important functions, and work with some amazing people.  My business, Sarah's Home Cooking, had bites here and there, and I was really able to figure out what I want to do with my life and my business.


That being said, I have since relocated to St. Louis.  Another big city, another day.  I think this move with be the last for a while, though, and I really want to hit the ground running in reestablishing myself.  With limited resources, I'll be relying on word of mouth to get my name out there, but I am hoping to cater and produce a line of goods to be sold at farmer's markets.


I know I end every post with some promise to keep you updated, and this time I really mean it.  In addition to establishing a career in food, I am still pursuing my interest in journalism, and will use this as a forum for my writing.  I promise I won't bombard you with posts, and I hope you will give me some constructive criticism and opinions of recipes and such that I will be posting.


So, here's to the future, and a new start for this hungry momma!

Influenster: Makeover

Continuing with my usual derail from cooking in the big city, I would like to introduce all of you to Influenster.  It is an online forum in which you earn the opportunity to test and review products.  The more "tasks" you complete, the more points you get.  The more points you have, the more often you will receive products.  I have a friend who has received multiple shipments of products to test, and I have received a box full of lovely goodies that I never would have tried, but absolutely fell in love with.  I have included links to the products that were included in my MomVox for your perusing pleasure...

imPress Press-On Nails

Big City: Round Two

I had originally given up on this blog.  Then, I got to thinking.  I may no longer be in "The Big City," but I have relocated to another rather large city in its own right.  Therefore, Hungry Momma returns!

I've been a busy bee dabbling in all things culinary.  From working as a personal chef, catering, and custom cake design to experimenting with canning and recipe development, I have pretty much covered the gamut.  I have to say, I am really enjoying developing products for Sarah's Home Cooking retail line.  I would have never imagined, but it really isn't that daunting when you just take it a little at a time.

So, I'll leave it at that, for now.  It feels good to be back, and I hope you enjoy keeping up with this hungry momma.

Don't forget to "like" Sarah's Home Cooking on Facebook.

What Would You Like to See?

While I have some free time on my hands, I would love to answer any questions that you might have.  If I don't know the answer, I will find out for you.  Are there certain types of recipes that you would like to see?  Just let me know!

The End of One Chapter, Beginning of Another

Graduation has come and gone.  I miss my classmates.  I actually miss going to class every weekend.  I was pleased with our Grand Buffet (final project), even though I was too nervous to eat.  Then came my internship.  I had a wonderful experience at Good Housekeeping's Test Kitchen.  I learned many invaluable things, and I hope to one day make that my career. 

Things have calmed down quite a bit.  I haven't had as much luck in the job market as I thought I would.  I was mistaken in thinking that having a culinary degree magically gets your foot in the door.  Oh well...  I have enrolled in the local community college, in the meantime, to finish my Journalism degree.  It's actually going really well.  I guess all it took was a major life crisis to kick my butt into taking school seriously.  I wrote an article for the school newspaper which will be published this month.  I'm electing to take Honors courses.  I guess you can say things are going pretty well. 

My social life, on the other hand, is not so well.  Rather, nonexistent.  I know that the choices I have made this last year were absolutely the best.  Ugh, enough of this self-pity party.  It's not like I'm taking the initiative to make friends here. 

As far as continuing to grow in the culinary world, I have been doing a home-study to become a Personal Chef.  Please feel free to check out my website.  In addition to home cooking, I offer recreational cooking classes perfect for bridal showers and dates, and I am available to cater small dinner parties. ==> Sarah's Home Cooking

Moving Onward and Upward

I apologize that it has been so long since my last post.  School, and life in general, has kept me very busy.  Since my last post, we have finished Module 3: French, Italian, and Asian Cooking, and moved onto Baking and Pastry.  Throughout Module 3, we really concentrated on plating.  Always looking for balance, color, and height on the plate.



  As far as Baking and Pastry, I have really enjoyed learning all of the science behind it all.  Bread rises because of a chemical reaction, and Puff Pastry "puffs" because the individual layers of butter melt and release steam.  I find this all fascinating, but I can't say the same for some of my classmates.  It's interesting that there is such a divide between Culinary and Pastry classes.  Those who chose Culinary have no desire to bake.  I wonder why one can't do both.  I mean, I'm certainly glad that I chose Culinary, but it's nice to get a taste of the Pastry program.

On a completely different note, I have started a new book.  "Will Write for Food," by Dianne Jacob is a tool for anyone looking to break into, or brush up on skills, in the food writing business.  She in no way sugar-coated the work that will need to be put forth, but in a way makes it seem attainable.  Each chapter ends with suggested writing assignments, which I will post on here.  As I am just beginning, I would love any feedback that you are willing to give.  Be brutally honest, as I am in the process of developing my voice and tone.  I promise that I'll be posting more frequently, and I really look forward to your comments.  Also, I would like to start answering any culinary questions that you might have.  I'm not saying that I have all the answers, but I think this would be a fun activity.  I'll be able to research what interests you, and practice my writing.

Stretching a Buck

I'm going to diverge from my usual path of posting about culinary school to talk about something that has been very near to my heart lately.  I'm sure that everyone out there has been affected in some way by the poor economy.  I, myself, am on food stamps right now.  So, I have decided that while I am not working, (and hopefully even after I am) to make my grocery budget stretch as far as possible.  This would not be possible without the wonderful information provided by fellow bloggers that I follow.  Someone out there does all the work of scouring store circulars and matcing sale prices with coupons.  And they are so gracious to provide all of that information to all of us.

I recently posted this picture on Facebook of my first attempt at "Extreme Couponing."  As I am fairly new to this whole world, I was a little apprehensive as I approached the check-out line with my folder full of coupons.  I was so nervous that some of the coupons wouldn't go through, or that I had gotten the wrong product.  Low and behold, they all went through.  The hour or so that I spent clipping coupons and making sure everything was in order really paid off.  I ended up getting over $100 worth of groceries for $16.  Ka-ching! 

Some people might think that this is cheating the system, or that they are too good for couponing.  I have always bought generic items, so I didn't think that I could possibly save money buying name-brand products with coupons.  For those nay-sayers, I ask who is too good to save money?  And why would companies spend millions of dollars on coupons if they didn't want people to use them?  As far as coupons over generic, you really do have to compare.  I have been converted, though.  Sure, I still buy generic items that I do not have coupons for, or if the generic price is still cheaper.  But I have to ask, what is better than free?  Because I have been getting an awful lot of free groceries lately.  And you can, too.  I've added links to some of my favorite blogs.  These are based out of New Jersey and Indiana, so there are stores and deals for everyone.  I hope that this helps you as much as it has helped me.

Money Saving Mom

Living Rich with Coupons

Free Sample Freak