I’m courting a producer for a film set catering gig.

Normally sets have a buffet, but considering this customer’s budget and the fact that I still work my day job… I’m pitching boxed meals.  Matthew has advised me to think carefully about what I present; to remember that the upcoming tasting is NOT just an office luncheon but rather a preview of how I plan on feeding 50 people everyday for a month.  In other words: is this boxed-meal idea a smart idea?

Jaredfood is fresh, healthy, good food.  I can’t bring myself to slop cheap pasta with over-salted sauces, or shredded iceberg slathered in ranch, or frozen lasagnas from Costco… just because that’s what low to mid-budget sets usually have.  Eff the status quo!

I’m going to put forward MY product, with the customer’s concerns in mind, and trust that they like it.

My plan is to bring 3 varieties of boxed lunches to the tasting:

1. Grilled Blackberry Cheddar with Arugula

2. Memphis-style Hamburger with Pulled Pork on an English Muffin

3. Honey-roasted Chicken Thigh and Drumstick

With a simple, baby green salad and balsamic vinaigrette in each box.  A separate tray of lentils and another tray of broccolini for self-service.   Boxes, with a buffet element.  I think it will meet their needs.  Regardless, it’s going to be tasty and healthy.

With my best food forward I will take a leap of faith in myself and my product.  I’ll let you know how it goes.

Memorial Day Weekend is holy to me.  For more than a decade I’ve been meeting pals in the middle of the Mojave, on a dry lakebed, where we rock out all day and all night.  We hike, we share stories, we party, and we eat!  Everybody brings a dish for Saturday night’s potluck.  Last year I rolled fresh pasta to make duck ravioli.  It was all kinds of amazing.

Last weekend Matthew and I went shopping for cycle gear (AIDS LifeCycle begins June 4 and I am totally unprepared).  We ended up getting nothing for the ride.  We did manage to buy a ton of camping cookware including an 8-quart dutch oven and a tripod to hold it over the fire.  There’s a pheasant in my freezer that will be going camping with us.

Mmm, pheasant stew over a warm campfire.  I can hardly wait!!

Hoorah!  Today is my day off… from the day-job, which means I have time to cook a TON of food for the week, go to the gym, visit the bike shop, enjoy a few glasses of wine later AND finally watch Harry Potter on BlueRay.  I might be the coolest person I know.

It should be a tasty week: I’ve got a bunch of catfish to practice fillets, chicken leg meat for fajitas, peppers for buffalo sauce, and several bunches of dark collards from Naomi‘s farm.  Helltotheyeah. And healthy too.

I had way too much gluten and cheese this weekend.  My body is aching for a week of Paleo… which is basically an all meat n’ veggies situation.  I do stray a little from strict Paleo practice: I use ghee and oils.  One of the ideas behind Paleo is that we should eat only ingredients that were available to ancient man.  My counter argument is “yum.”  Ghee and oil are awesome.  Plus, according to Dr. Sears (author of The Zone) and my dear friend Margaret Floyd (who recently released her book Eat Naked) we NEED an appropriate amount of fat not only to lose weight, but to live well.

Know what cookbook I need to finally buy?  Jennifer McLagan’s Fat.  Now THAT deserves a Helltotheyeah.

Charity update:
Cheap Beer, Fancy Eats raised $1,231 for my AIDS LifeCycle (ALC) endeavors.  w00t w00t!  My grand total raised for ALC is now $2,281.

Team Hoffman-Kipp has now raised OVER $20,000 to send my friend Peter to stem-cell therapy.  That was in the matter of ONE MONTH!  I suppose it shouldn’t be surprising.  Peter and Suzi are wonderful, giving, loving people who have led by example all their lives.  They are educators and activists.  They’ve always been the first to help others.  Of course they are surrounded by equally amazing people who are happy to help when needed.

Want to donate?  Check out the charity links to the right… I’ve got four of my favorite charities listed.  Click and support  =)

Tomorrow is my Cheap Beer, Fancy Eats party.

• Nicoise bites
• Caesar bites
• Spring rolls
• Chubby Duchess sandwiches
• Lamb sliders

Los Angeles has many niche markets.  These 5 bites of kick-ass sum up MY niche market:

Jaredfood is both Healthy AND Sinful, Raw AND Layered Technique, Vegan AND Carnivorous. It boils down to balance.

Balance and execution, so practice makes perfect. Which means I’ll be rocking this menu all Summer long tweaking and improving it.

And as for tomorrow, practice makes change the world.  I’m hoping to raise another $1,950 for my AIDS LifeCylce endeavor.  Want to help?  Come eat with me tomorrow.  RSVP here.

I was up until 11:30PM on Saturday night fixing a frittata, deviled eggs and Nicoise bites for a last-minute gig I landed Sunday afternoon… to begin a few hours after my expected finish time at Sunday’s Pasadena Marathon.  I really bit off a LOT for that day.

Before the cooking began on Saturday I was racing through LA with my buddy deciphering clues and searching for zoetropes (Race LA… we came in 6th).  AND BEFORE THAT I was at Peter’s fund raising party Friday night noming on yum and talking with Donors at Auntie Em’s.

By the time I got to the Pasadena Marathon on Sunday I was very tired.  I thought about my weekend and about Peter.  I thought about how lucky I was to be able to do it all.  I pounded a handful of my seed medley* and forged ahead in spite of my exhaustion.  I wasn’t totally convinced that I could finish.

Uncertainty happens.  How I react to the unknown, and to fear, and to blockades… that’s who I am.  That’s where I will find the courage to land new gigs and rock new recipes.

Ultimately I don’t know if Jaredfood is going to work out.  I know that many variables are stacked against me.  But fuck it!  I’m going to keep pushing ahead one busy weekend at a time.

Onward:  Cheap Beer, Fancy Eats.  I hope to see you there!

*Seed medley: sunflower, pepita, fennel… and coarse sea salt.  Helltotheyeah.

Arugula.  Green onions.  Garlic.  Anchovy.  Alfalfa.  And a couple eggs (because why not?).

Anchovy makes everything better, even things that are already good.

Last night I scavenged through my fridge and found: two thin slices of steak, Thai basil, garlic, and those brown Kumato tomatoes… OH and like half a glass of some spicy red (I think it was a Tempranillo or some other South American… I’ll check when I get home).

The obvious ensued.  Pan-seared the steak, removed steak from the pan.  Cooked down the tomatoes with the basil and garlic… and then I looked up and noticed we had one can of anchovies left!   Oh sweet Italy… I love you.

I may be under-prepared for the Pasadena Marathon this weekend, but I am TOTALLY prepared for eats at Auntie Em’s Friday night… sort of a carbo-load dinner for Team Hoffman-Kipp.  We’ve raised over $4k to help send Peter to the stem-cell therapy he needs.  ROCK!  You can help us by donating or “liking” our Facebook page.  CLICK HERE… and HERE.

For Sunday’s marathon I’m going to pack a seed mix… sunflower, pepitas and fennel.  And salt—the fancy stuff we got at Nicole’s in SouthPas.  My best races have been fueled by seeds.  And caffeine.

Seth taught me how to debone a bird.

The next morning I posted on Facebook: “I boned a chicken and a duck and stuffed one in the other… and it’s in my oven roasting slowly right now.”

Typo.  Followed by several comedic responses.

A friend hit me up before Coachella.  His mom lost her life partner.  She resolved to visit him for a healthy distraction and he decided to throw a soiree to cheer her up.  He asked me to cater.

It was the first time I catered in months so it was tough.   Didn’t make any money, which is fine because he’s a buddy, but I have to confess: my t’s were not crossed and my i’s were not dotted.

Ultimately THEY were very happy.  My friend remarked “you’re so calm.”  Internally I answered, “OMGWTFBBQ!”

Overall, it was a great boost that also offered a valuable lesson:

If I’m going to do this I need to charge more, hire help, and carve out the time to deliver what I say I will deliver.