life is funny. here i am, 30 years old, finishing culinary school while also learning to adjust my diet for a disease that i may or may not really have, working as a nanny, a personal chef, a caterer, and trying to help manage a shared use commercial kitchen. i never would have written this scenario for myself. but i've also never felt so right about the path i was on. funny how that happened.

i had the opportunity to cater a wonderfully smooth flowing dinner party for 20 people last weekend with joel, and i realized i've finally gotten to the point of relaxed confident chef. my tummy only fluttered once, as we pulled into the driveway, but the rest was smooth sailing. and we didn't end up with copious amounts of leftovers, we estimated everything just right. the menu was pretty simple: grilled spice rubbed shrimp with cumin cilantro sour cream, irish cheddar twice baked fingerlings with herb creme and prosciutto chips, and tomato and basil goat cheese bruschetta to start. then red hen rolls with herb butter, a filet of beef roulade with herb jus, creamy danish blue mashed potatoes, green beans and fennel with shaved parmesan (from my last post), and a spinach, grapefruit and pomegranate salad with a white balsamic vinaigrette. everything was great, and it was nice working an event that only involved myself and joel. and almost everything (except the bruschetta and rolls) were gluten free, which was reassuring to me as a chef who is redefining her repertoire.

i am going to florida this weekend to visit my husband's grandmother, and my brother in law is meeting us there as well. it's sure to be a teary and huggy weekend, full of jewish grandma kisses and dinners at 5pm. and 70 degrees and sunny. i am really looking forward to all of it, even though our crack of dawn flight home on monday is sure to leave me exhausted. i've been tired recently. i need to learn to sleep better, especially when traveling.

i ordered a selection of various flours from bob's red mill and am expecting them to arrive either today or tomorrow. once they do i'm going to try an altered version of a gluten free chocolate chip recipe i found, and i'll definitely post it here. if it turns out. which i hope it will.

my other site, which used to house my audubon bird painting updates and news, is going to turn into my personal chef and catering site soon. i'm working on some ideas and have enlisted the husband to help me prepare. once i'm live i'll let you know.

in the meantime, i'm going to keep thinking about this new life i'm living and how to keep the good times up and running.