Spokane Visit

This past week was filled with all kinds of exciting adventures ... my biggest and best was my trip to Spokane Washington to help my daughter Megan move her things back to Moses Lake. We took some time in the evening to visit Riverside Park in the heart of Spokane ... where the Worlds Fair was held back in 1974.

I vaguely remember it back then ... I had been part of a dance festival at the Seattle Center in 1973 ... a sophomore in High School and then we were asked to participate in the Worlds Fair entertainment event in 1974. I also remember how badly we preformed because it had been so long since we had done our dancing. The cool thing was the trip to the fair.

So after a few years now ... say thirty-eight, it was interesting to return. Quite frankly, I remember nothing of the trip except from a few photos that were still laying around. 
What a cool park! I was most impressed with the river itself! What power! I can't even imagine what that trip would be like to be in a canoe and come upon something like these falls.

There is actually an island in the middle of the falls that is also accessible via bridges. This is such an addition to any large city ... something very European in that many cities there have parks you can go in and completely lose yourself. The peace and serenity that comes from mother nature is sublime.

The raging waters remove the sounds of any existence of human populations. Just a nice place to listen to nature's wonder.


Megan and I enjoyed our time there. She had to show me the garbage eating goat ... you press a button, hold the garbage under the goat's mouth and a vacuum sucks in the refuse ... then compacts it in back. Apparently, not even goats can eat garbage for too long ... this guy is "out of order" at the moment.

Should have gotten a picture of the van when we loaded two pieces of furniture inside ... a full size couch and a love seat. it was pretty tight in there. Fortunately I had some great guys available back home to help me get it all out and stored properly!

Warmest Regards,
- Chef Tom Heintz

The Big Reduction ... Me!

I'm currently working on selectively redesigning my perfectly pear shaped body or at least pushing the larger middle mass back into an acceptable configuration. I figure that with a couple of weddings coming up, the ability to control snoring and gaining more energy is worth the effort to do some work on me. It helps that my wife, Laurel, is also on the program.

Since I work from home, I try to provide a great meal when my wife returns from her place of work. I never wanted her to go without ... so I always provided more than what was actually needed in one meal. This accomplished two things ... it gave her something for lunch the next day and enough for me to pig out on my own food. Since we no longer have kids at our house, it's just up to us to get rid of the leftovers.

My biggest problem was the amount that I consumed, or portion control. In the food industry, this has always been a dilemma, especially when I've worked or offered all you can eat buffets. The food is so good that you don't want to stop eating ... thus the food costs go up and profit margin is reduced.

My body was willing to take that profit margin and add it to my middle margin around my waist.

Now, with us both working together, I have redesigned many of my dishes ... along the guidelines of the Weight Watchers point system. I find that it really gets your creative mind working!

Last night we did an inventory of the refrigerator and realized that we need to use up some product before it went bad. So with that in mind, the pulled pork tostadas became a great way to keep within the points and still control the loss of any unused food.

I'm finding that we are eating more and more Mexican style meals ... tortillas and salsa with just about everything! Of course veggies are "free", so salads are accompanying many meals.

Warmest Regards,
-Chef Tom Heintz

Whole Wheat Bread Time

In my opinion, there are not too many wheat bread recipes that have produced good quality bread.

In fact, the only one that I've learned to NOT do without is one that my mother-in-law gave me. It is called Heavenly Bread ... because quite frankly ... it is! It's made with a simple amount of ingredients ... wheat flour (freshly milled in a home electric mill), water, yeast, oil, honey and salt. That's it. The result is a "Heavenly" light, wholesome product that rises well and is moist and tasty. It's almost addictive!

To me, I like bread that can be eaten the old fashioned farmer way ... in a bowl with milk and a little sugar. This bread holds up well ... not a soggy mush.

Well ... I've added a twist that will go permanently in my future bread making. I take 2 cups of uncooked wheat kernels, cover them generously with water and boil for about 20-30 minutes until they are swollen and soft. I then drain them and add them ... still hot, into the mix for the bread before I add too much freshly ground wheat flour. Just before I add the yeast mixture. I also add 1 1/2 cups of unsalted sunflower seeds and 4 tablespoons of Chia seed.

Then I add the yeast mixture and continue to add my flour slowly until I have all 15 cups in the bowl. Then I turn on the Bosch mixer and let it go to town for 10 minutes.

By the time I dump it out on the counter, I'm able to make a nice thick rope of bread dough. The taste even then is fantastic!

Then, cutting it into 4 loaf size chunks, I form the dough and place in heated pans for rising for about 45 minutes or until I'm satisfied with the height. You only need to raise this dough once before it's ready for the 350 degree oven for 30 minutes of baking.

For a regular version of the recipe, go to http://www.facebook.com/notes/the-daily-serving/whole-wheat-bread-recipe/130148750386009

This is great with butter and honey ... but you can just eat it plain and enjoy it.

Warmest Regards,
- Chef Tom

Been a while! 

Lots going on ... recreating the lessons on www.TheDailyServing.com. There are now 44 lessons that are tied directly with the website instead of showing up on your email as a PDF. You'll be able to browse the lesson, go ahead to the next or visit the previous right from the page.

A couple of other sites I've been working on will be the update of the www.FoodBizOnline.com site. I've added a lot more pictures to the galleries, brought the overall look up a bit and put in some rotating pictures on the home page so people can see so fun food ideas. Always looking for more input on that.

The new site will be around catering. I'm putting together a catering package for DIY people. It will be a paid membership site that will lay out the basics of a catered event. Along with that will be videos and forms that can be used. There will ultimately be a professional catering package upgrade that will be available to those interested in doing catering on a larger scale. I expect the basic version to be ready in a month or two. I am withholding the website URL until I get the right stuff on the pages.

If you're interested in entertaining your little kids ... I've put together a site for my grandkids ... called www.fables4kids.com .  Please feel free to enjoy the simple stories and especially the Interactive section where they can have fun with Pirates, things that Fly, the Nai Nai Jungle, Dinosaurs and Dragons, Farm Life, Letter & Numbers, and Under the Sea. Complete with music and some narrations of stories ... it's a continual work in progress as more stories and interactive sections are added.

Warmest Regards,
Chef Tom Heintz

Jaiden's 16th Birthday!!!

Jaiden Copeland

Hello everyone! Boy it has been a while since I pecked out a couple lines on this blog! Things have been crazy in the development part of my life. Too many directions to go at one time.

Well ... I did attend a party for my niece Jaiden just last Friday night ... what a hoot! Sweet sixteen and mama pulled out all the stops. I didn't even receive a call for help ... Vicki, my sister took care of everything and ... WOW what an event.

Entry to Hall

The location was the grange hall where I have done a number of caterings. In fact, I don't ever remember attending to an event at this site where I wasn't doing some kind of food. This time, I was amazed at the decorations, the music and the food! What a great job.  Due to the lighting ... and my photography skills (or lack of), these pictures DO NOT give it justice. The theme was definitely "Princess" and miss Jaiden looked the part ... complete with tiara. Flowing pink hoop dress and hair styled ... it was a young ladies dream.

Party Entrance

Hanging Decorations

The music was really loud ... the way that kids like it. There were at least 20-30 kids ... maybe more, all dressed up in their best and glow sticks were everywhere ... along with strobe lights and lasers to keep the beat of the music.

During brief break for the DJ's 

We were invited to attend and join the other selected adults to chaperon, but really it was an excuse to be included. There were plenty of adults ... and we all had fun too.

Get a load of some of the food!

And of course ... where would any Princess be without her Prince Charming ... Dad wasn't too excited about this dance ... in fact, neither parent was aware that this was happening at the moment to a song called "Just Kiss Her" ... or something to that effect. Mom was searching for Dad ... don't know if she found him in time, but I did get a pic!

Great Party Vicki & Chad. I know that there were many, many hours preparing for this event!!!

Warmest Regards!

Chef Tom Heintz

Talking to the Chef

Chef Tom Heintz

Got a call the other day from Chef Todd Mohr ... another culinary instructor that teaches classes online. It was a pleasure to talk and hear about a brand new Baking Program he has just released.

When I first came across his online classes, I was in the process of setting up the same thing ... but when I saw what he was doing, I figured "Why reinvent the wheel?" So I joined up with him and started promoting his classes.

It is hard to find people that think the way you do ... at least the way I do! He happens to be one of those kindred spirits that believes that anyone can cook if they want to, and you don't need recipes!

Chef Mohr

Now, Baking is another story ... but he has come up with a way to take the mystery out of that too ... I'm thinking about signing up for some classes myself!

Chef Todd Mohr

So I figured I better pass this info along and I'll post it on my regular website too. www.TheDailyServing.com

Remember, the best way to learn something is to have a mentor ... that is if you want to achieve that goal in a hurry!
 Baking Class Video 
I still recommend his methods ... so check it out ... you'll learn about making cakes in this intro video.

Enjoy the videos ... you might even want to test out the program at no charge for the first couple of weeks!

Warmest Regards,

Chef Tom Heintz

Upcoming Holidays!

I must admit that this upcoming season of Holidays is probably my favorite time of year! It would really be a hard contest between Thanksgiving and Christmas ... not because of the presents, but because of the food! I just love the food!

As long as I can remember, Thanksgiving in my family is a big thing. We have a big family and when you have that many mouths around the table, you sometimes wish that there wasn't a limit on how much you can eat. Well, of course that is the point of the Thanksgiving meal ... no limits until you're loosening your belt and unbuttoning the button on your pants to ease your dis-ease.

As of late, Christmas has been less of the big family gathering it used to be ... but not this year. Hopefully all of my children will be coming with their families if it is possible and great will my joy at their coming. Of course the food served will be our opportunity at the Thanksgiving dinner we are not able to be together at.

Even more challenging will be the sleeping arrangement for all ... with our reduced size in home, we will be enjoying the pleasure of each others company with just about every square foot we have available. Couples with children will be assigned the few rooms that they could be separated while the singles will be delegated to share the open spaces left over. No matter the confines, it should be a great time for all. We may even bring in a travel trailer if necessary.

Now the planning begins and coordination between families will be started ... we, Laurel and I can hardly wait!

My duties, well ... the food of course! I'll actually get to make the amounts I used to make and have the assistance of my children who are pretty much all great cooks in their own right.

Should be a great memory builder for all involved. We will be missing a few, but we'll take what we can get!

Warmest Regards,

Chef Tom Heintz