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

To The Health of Us All

I got a wake up call of sorts the other day when an I received a phone call regarding an acquaintance who was in the hospital. Only a few hours before the call, I had seen this person standing in a hallway at church. He looked fine and since I was heading out another direction, didn't take the time to go and talk to him.

Apparently, shortly after I had left, someone else did talk to him and found him to be confused and muddled in his speech and thinking. They called for medical help and the next thing we knew, he was being transported over to a specialty hospital in Seattle for treatment.

He had been living on his own in our old house ... the one we just moved from. It's pretty quiet up there ... no one to bother you and as it happened, due to diet, he probably was experiencing mini-stokes while up there with no one but the dog to keep him company.

The fact that he was able to actually drive himself to church that day ... safely, and sit in the meetings is a miracle. If he had stayed up on the mountain on his own ... who knows what we would have found when someone got around to checking up on him. As it is, his speech center has been affected as well as his ability to think straight.

There is not telling if this is permanent, but the doctors think it is. He will no longer be able to live on his own ... and he is only 54.

So I have been thinking about the unpredictability of life as a whole. We really have no idea how long we are scheduled to live here ... but there are certain things that we can do that will contribute to creating a viable time frame by the way we treat ourselves.

The quality of life we enjoy is usually determined by the power of our ability to choose what we want and can have. What I mean by that ... is if we love corn on the cob ... which I do intensely, the quality of life would be greatly diminished if I no longer had teeth that would allow me to remove those kernels from the cob and enjoy the taste as I crunch them up. My duty to myself then would be to ensure my teeth are in good repair that will last me my lifetime.

As I've gotten older, I am grateful for the experiences of my youth ... but realize certain things are probably not going to happen anymore ... like hiking great distances. A few years ago when I was on my feet all the time in the kitchens, my feet took quite a beating and there was great concern on my part as whether I would be able to be walking at all.

It became quite a decision for me to go into a big store ... like Costco because I knew that I might be back in the corner getting something and the pain would be so great that I might not make it back. I hated that feeling! So I retired from active kitchen duty until my feet healed ... amazing thing about the human body.

Even though I still am concerned about great distances, I no longer fret over the simple visit to a store or fear having to traipse all over the facility in search of some item I'm having a hard time finding.

The point I'm trying to get at, is there are always considerations that we need to take into account when it comes to our ability to choose and the freedoms we enjoy because we allow our decisions to center around keeping those freedoms.

I intend to faithfully brush my teeth because I enjoy the benefits of what they can do. I also intend to continue tasting and eating my favorite foods ... so I need to make sure that I am using up the energy they create so I don't become so overweight that I can no longer eat them.





We never know when we will be called home in this life ... but I think that as long as we do have a choice, we should enjoy the time we have and keep our options open as long as possible. Simple maintenance can mean the difference between living well and just coping.

Warmest Regards!

Chef Tom Heintz 

Birds of a Feather

I was experimenting with bird feeders the other day. I was worried that my simple platform on top of a tripod would be too basic for birds to come. I remember taking the time to set it up and get it organized. Then when I had the platform secured, I poured a bunch of old birdseed on top.

I positioned the platform where I could see it from my chair in my office ... about 10 feet away through the window. I waited ... finally my first bird was seen! I was so excited that I was able to feed them!

Now ... I have the bug. My brother was cleaning out an old trailer and found 2 more feeders plus a hummingbird feeder. I cleaned them up and invested about $10 in a 50 lb sack of generic birdseed. Now, I have 3 feeders going with the birdseed and one filled with sugar water for the hummingbirds.

Still not a hummingbird in sight ... but the other feeders have been pretty active with both Blue Jays and little tiny birds that I'm assuming are a type of Sparrow. Also a rough looking Robin group passed through earlier in the Summer.

I'm thinking that the Sparrows are a family that were living at the other end of my office apartment ... a set of parents and 3 babies. They are definitely hanging out at the barn feeder I have. I'm not sure if they are storing away the food for the winter ... they would at first come, grab something and leave right away ... but now they are literally just hanging out! And when they eat, they are knocking lots of feed out in all directions. It should be interesting to see what grows on the ground next year!

Warmest Regards!


Chef Tom Heintz

Isaiah Prophecies with Avraham Gileadi

I must confess ... I have been busy!!! I have taken on a new role as a website designer and assisting people trying to get online and improve their web presence. SO I apologize to those that are kind enough to follow some of the things I write ... since lately they have been few!

BUT ... I have really been excited about this past Summer in that I have latched on to some great topics and been led to understand some phenomenal teachings. So you may ask ... what are they?

In our beautiful corner of the world ... sunny Sequim on the top of the Olympic Peninsula ... is a haven for people trying to beat the heat, get of the cold, and of course take advantage of our fabulous scenery. One of these people is Avraham Gileadi, one of the top scholars in the world on the subject on the books of Isaiah.

He has been staying the summer with his good friend Roger Moon ... and Roger facilitated a series of lectures to allow Dr. Gileadi to expound on his 15 year research study on Isaiah and his writings.

All I can say ... is WOW! All the stuff that we all have a tendency to ignore due to the difficulty in understanding, was laid open and it was as if a light had been turned on! Not that I understand all or even a large part ... yet. But at least I can grasp the beginnings of a foundation that I can build on.

To make a long story short ... Dr. Gileadi has commissioned me to build his website for his findings to be released and the public to explore. For those interested in checking it out at this point ... still a ways to go, you can see it at my temporary URL that I'm using for development ... www.TomHeintz.com. I am adding things continually and eventually the website will reside at www.IsaiahProphecy.com. So depending on when you read this ... it might already be there!

One of the big eye openers that I learned this summer is that the people of Israel didn't think as we do. We believe in a Lineal History where things happen and continue without reflection on the past ... except that they are the past and don't necessarily have to repeat. In the time of Isaiah, the thought process is that we live in a Cyclical system ... where the past becomes a pattern for the future.

SO the entire books of Isaiah ... and his prophecies deal with OUR TIME. The difference is that the names are changed ... but the predictions remain the same.

For example, Egypt was the Super Power in decline back then ... with the threat of invasion from a combined outside force. Today, it is the USA that is the Super Power in decline ... that will be threatened with an invasion of a combined outside force. This happens after the complete collapse of our economy and society as we know it.


 The depth of the material that is offered on this new website is astounding. I have purchased materials for my study ... and some of it includes a 30 hour lecture series of commentary.

NOW HOWS THAT FOR COMMITMENT?

Well ... back to work. I am installing some great tidbits he has produced. Get this ... he has 120 Isaiah Nuggets (little commentary excerpts), 600 Isaiah quotes with accompanying images, 9 lessons on the Message of Isaiah, 7 things you didn't know about Isaiah, verse-by-verse commentary, an Interactive Isaiah Translation and Concordance, products and books that he has written, and even produces a Newsletter.

I have my work cut out for me!

Check out the website and watch it as it progresses. One thing that all this talk and reading has stimulated me to remark to all I've seen ... you can NOT count on the financial system to maintain ... safety does not reside in banks, property or GOLD. The one thing that can make the difference that preserve you and your family ...

GET A FOOD STORAGE IN NOW! Check out my other website www.TheStorageChef.com and start getting prepared for the long term.

Warmest Regards!

Chef Tom Heintz

How to Get a Discounted Product By Cancelling!

I learned something today! On a regular basis, I receive at least 50-100 emails from different sources. Most I can weed out as advertisements and offers that I don't want. The others are selected items I follow because they pertain to my business.

Lately ... as most of you know, I have really been focusing on my website www.TheStorageChef.com where I have Food Storage ideas, Action Plans for Emergencies and also my 72hr Kit guide.

So today, I get an add from the Space Bag people ... you know the storage bags where you vacuum out the air and have a secure waterproof container for your items. The offer was not only for the standard $19.95 for an order AND a second ... but 3 orders for the $19.95.


I'm thinking, well, I was going to get some anyway for my personal 72hr kit for the clothing to make more room. I do try to catch all the fine print and I know that they are making money by upgrading when they talk to you. I decided to order online so I wouldn't have to actually battle the phone operator for the order.

I dutifully declined the three attempts to upgrade and enter my credit card info ... then comes the kicker! I knew it was coming, but I didn't expect it to be shipping that cost as much as the product! I'm talking a full $19+ ... making my order double what I wanted to pay!

I was already past the point of no return ... they had already gotten my number. BUT to their credit, they did allow me to print the page with a customer service number for changes, cancellations, or just questions. I did have to wait for 30 minutes for the paperwork to process ...

I called an hour later to cancel and never even talked to a real person. The automated call was channeled through a process that kept offering me a discount of some sort ... first an upgrade to faster delivery, second a 20% discount on the product (a whopping $4), and I kept pressing "0" for decline ... finally the last offer was to remove all shipping costs and refund it back to my card. Well ... that was what I wanted in the first place.

So the moral of the story is to stick to it, decide what you're willing to pay. It is better for them to sell the product and eat the shipping. The end result is ... I get my 3x the order for $20 and no shipping. I don't have to go find the product at the store ... even though I know it's there.

I wonder how much extra we spend when we could have had it at a lower price?

Warmest Regards,


Chef Tom Heintz

Boy Scout Camp - Waterworld Experience

I am amazed at how fast time flies! It has already been 2 weeks since my adventure with the Boy Scouts. We visited Lake Ozette on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State. What a fabulous place!!!

My first time at this location, I was asked to come along and do the cooking for the 24 people that were attending. This was to be a boating activity that would be from Monday through Saturday and our camp site was in Ericsons Bay ... beautiful warm watered spot with a view to rival any park I've ever been to. The camp was only accessible via boat ... and we were more than prepared for that!

With 6 small kayaks, 2 snark sized sailboats, a aluminum skiff with outboard motor, a larger sailboat with cabin, a outboard ski boat and to top it all off, a jet boat with a 454 inboard. It actually looked like an invasion from sea as we finally got everyone to the shores ... about 3 miles from the boat ramp and ranger station.

We did have an outhouse to work with ... something we hadn't planned on, but were grateful for. No tables, but that didn't matter either since I have pretty much a complete kitchen setup and one of the other leaders brought 2 tables for our use.

 

Since we were water bound, everything had to be ferried to the location ... so I needed to go light and only took what was necessary. AND because there is always a threat of bears, the food had to be strung up in buckets at night ... so we made runs from the ranger station where we had a trailer of food (with a freezer) to hold our fare.

So a morning trip needed to take place to procure all the food for the day ... plus the reassembly of the food stores from the bear buckets and the extra that we stored on boats anchored in the bay. As it turned out ... we probably wouldn't have needed to do anything with the food when it came to animals ... with that many boys running around ... and that many men snoring at night, there were no signs of critters even in the area! With the exception of a squirrel who obviously hadn't had any human contact for a while and chattered at us from the nearby trees.

We had a grand time ... I stayed pretty much on shore and feed the mosquitoes quite liberally ... along with the others. I finally resorted to funneling smoke from a smoldering fire through my cooking canopies to reduce the incessant critters. Many of the boys looked as if they had contracted small pox ... but with cans of bug repellent, we did the best we could.

Once again, no one lost weight ... and all had a great time.

Warmest Regards,
Chef Tom Heintz