I am currently on an extended stay trip with my daughter in St. Louis, MO. Luckily, there are many parts of my job at Integrative Flavors that I can do from any location with wifi access. It has been an interesting experiment, working in this untraditional manner, and a learning experience. The first hurdle was to actually work. I found the first few days I was letting my mind wander thinking about things to do in St. Louis, like I was in vacation mode. Then I made a deal with myself that I would work for 3-5 hours in the morning go see a bit of St. Louis and then work again in the afternoon-evening. This seems to be the ideal formula for my personality. Another interesting find for me is that I can get more done when working away from the office. I have fewer interruptions and unfortunately my office mates have to pick up my slack a bit in this arena. (sorry everyone)
We primarily use Mac products at work and I couldn’t have done this extended stay any other way. The use of the iDisk, iChat, iPhone and all other things “i” has made this transition run much more smoothly. We actually have people in three locations now working and all able to communicate fairly effectively.
I have been staying at the Homewood Suites and give it my highest recommendation if you are looking for an extended stay place in St. Louis. The staff here has been truly amazing. Today is my daughter’s birthday and they are planning a surprise for her — can you beat that?
In a week or two we will be heading home. I wonder how the transition will be going back to the office for work?
On May 14, I discussed the benefits of using Cook’s Delight Soup Base instead of making stocks from scratch. The biggest benefits of using base vs. stock from scratch are time, consistency and cost. The food business generally has high turnover. If you have someone new making stocks you run the risk of having an inconsistent end product. Making stock from scratch also requires much more time than using bases, as well as money.
Today I am adding a recipe for making Beef Stock from scratch. I’ll add Vegetable and Fish from scratch recipes soon. Please note that 1 tsp. of Cook’s Delight Beef Base mixed with 8 ounces of water makes 8 ounces of stock. One pound of Cook’s Delight Beef Base yields 5 1/2 gallons of stock.
Several years ago, I took a class at Ivy Tech on Soups, Sauces and Stocks. I had been working at Integrative Flavors for many years and thought I should become more of an expert in the various areas.
We deal with many restaurants and commissaries as well as the general public. The biggest benefits of using base vs. stock from scratch are time, consistency and cost. The food business generally has high turnover. If you have someone new making stocks you run the risk of having an inconsistent end product. Making stock from scratch also requires much more time than using bases, as well as money.
Following is a recipe for Chicken Stock from scratch. I’ll add other recipes soon. Please note that 1 tsp. of Cook’s Delight Chicken Base mixed with 8 ounces of water makes 8 ounces of stock. One pound of Cook’s Delight Chicken Base yields 5 1/2 gallons of stock.
We arrived in Boulder, CO yesterday to participate in the Title 9K race sponsored by Title 9 and a host of other generous companies. The weather was perfect as we made our way to the Boulder Reservoir. Sunny and mid-50’s in the morning. My daughters and I made our game plan– Run/Walk and there was going to be no shame in walking. We were just happy to be in Boulder on a beautiful day with such gorgeous surroundings. The tops of the mountains were capped with snow.
I told the girls about a story I heard during the Winter Olympic interviews with Shaun White. They interviewed him at his private training area in the mountains where his commute was by helicopter. We dubbed the snow-capped mountain we saw “Shaun White Mountain”. We took our pictures with Shaun White Mountain in the background. We laughed as we passed a sign to stay out of a creek with the warning “Certain Death if Entered”.
It sure looked calm when we ran by, but it must be very deceptive. The volunteers, mostly dads and other family members were awesome and did an incredible job. Between mile 5 and 6 we were treated with chocolate. At this point, I was behind the girls a bit and the generous volunteers gave them an entire chocolate bar to bring to me for an added boost!
Our fan was waiting for us at the end with a sign he had made which was a fantastic way to end the run. I am very proud of my girls. They came out to Colorado with me for Mother’s Day when I asked them to join me in this race. They made the whole experience one I will remember forever. What a great family I have.
As I write this, I am on a plane to Denver, CO with my husband and two daughters. Our final destination is Boulder, CO to participate in the Mother’s Day Title 9K event. It is the 8th annual event and I have wanted to participate since its inception. This year, when I got the email notice about the event, I mentioned to my girls that for Mother’s Day I would love to do this. I’m not getting any younger and this is on my “bucket list”. Thankfully, they both agreed, and surprisingly it was with enthusiasm. There are no men allowed in the race –Just moms and kids. The men are welcome to volunteer and enjoy the post-race festivities. The course is 6.1 miles around the Boulder Reservoir and the temperature forecast for race day is high of 69F degrees—perfect. What an awesome Mother’s Day gift—family, beautiful surroundings, beautiful weather!
Integrative Flavors is happy to welcome the newest member of our “family”. John True, Director of Sales and his wife Melissa recently had a baby boy! In honor of this most happy occasion, we are offering Free Shipping on orders of $25 or more Cook’s Delight Soup Bases with the promo code: CONGRATS. This offer expires May 12, 2010. Congratulations to the True family!
I had a wonderful time visiting with Juli tonight. She is continuing her fight against cancer (see post January 13). Juli amazes and inspires me with her positive attitude, upbeat personality and general fun to be aroundness (is that a word?). I intended to stop in for a few minutes because I was concerned that with her chemo she might be tired, but before I knew it an hour had gone by. This was probably cruel and unusual punishment for her poor kids since I brought them dinner and it was sitting there while we chatted and they were probably starving! Sorry Jory, Seth and Sophia 
I made them pot roast and the first thing Juli said was that Gina (her sister-in-law and my cousin) told her to confirm the age of the meat with me prior to eating! (see post January 15). I was glad to know that Gina is an avid reader of my blog and assured Juli that I had cooked her the “good stuff” and it was meat from 2010.
Unfortunately for Juli, and I’ll feel terrible about this forever, I put onions in the pot roast and onions give her heart burn with the chemo. She told me that she loves the flavor of the onions with the roast and would just push them to the side. She even called me later and vowed to me that my pot roast didn’t make her sick. Imagine that, Juli calling me to make me feel better with all she is dealing with daily–amazed me again!
We spent the entire weekend on creating raised vegetable beds for our attempt at a garden. We live in an area that is heavily populated by deer so the gardens of past years have included planting tomato and pepper plants in buckets — which have never been too successful.
Last year, we converted our dog run area into a garden and ceased using it for the dog. Again, not much luck. In my very limited (nonexistent) knowledge of gardening, I have to assume that this might have something to do with the space being used for 5+years for the dogs. There are also pine trees nearby, which I hear aren’t a good option for gardens because of the acidity.
I discussed the problem with my sister-in-law, Elysee, who is an avid and successful gardener. She suggested we try the raised vegetable beds. After a great deal of time on the internet and reading through some old gardening books, we came up with a plan. Initially, we were going to actually build the frame for the garden — this excited my husband because he had high hopes to use his miter saw that is still in the box. Then, we looked around the yard and decided to use materials from our piles of stuff we’ve accumulated for “future use”.
We spent Saturday manually clearing the area of grass and weeds with a pitch fork and shovels. We spent Saturday night with Advil.
Integrative Flavors started developing and manufacturing Cook’s Delight soup base in 1938. Our product line has grown over the many years to include Natural, Gluten Free, Low Sodium and Certified Organic bases, just to name a few.
We are proud to announce that we are formally launching the latest products from Integrative Flavors — Pet Food Flavors. Our brand, Flavor Hounds is manufactured in our USDA inspected facility. Flavor Hounds pet food flavors focus on a wide range of flavors that will enhance the acceptance and palatability of dry and wet dog food and treats. Recently in an interview, John True, Director of Sales for Integrative Flavors, explained how Pet Food Flavors are a natural extension of our product line. Integrative Flavors has been manufacturing products for the pet food industry for several years. Companies have sought our products out because of there clean label, organic certification and low sodium levels.
If you are at the upcoming Pet Food Forum in Chicago April 12-14 –stop by booth 216 to learn about how Flavor Hounds products can work for you! You might even get to take home a really cool frisbee for your dog!
Today, I tried to make up a recipe for a quick, easy and delicious bean soup using Great Northern canned beans. I accomplished the quick and easy (even achieved good-looking), but lacked a bit in the “delicious”. It wasn’t bad, just not delicious.
I thought I’d post the recipe and ask for any suggestions on turning this “ok” soup into a winner! Please let me know your suggestions for improvement and I will try it again.
Prep time was about 15 minutes.
Great Northern Bean Soup
Ingredients:
2 – 15 oz cans Great Northern Beans – drained
6 cups water
3 tsp Cook’s Delight Vegetable Base
1 tsp Cook’s Delight Ham Base
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 large onion, chopped
1/4 tsp sage
1/4 tsp thyme
2 tbsp olive oil
Directions:
In a stockpot, heat olive oil over medium flame. Add garlic, onions, carrots and celery. Cook on medium low until onions are translucent. Stir occasionally.
Add water, Cook’s Delight Vegetable Base and Cook’s Delight Ham Base.
Add beans, thyme and sage.
Simmer for 45-60 minutes. You can simmer for less time if you like.
