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The Sheriff Graduates from Cal Poly

The Sheriff Graduates from Cal Poly

January 10, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Some of my favorite people: Ali, Me, Grace, Amy- post graduation ceremony 

As some of you may know I graduated from Cal Poly last month. It is such a weird feeling to finally be done with school. The reality of the change hasen’t completely sunk in yet. Half of my brain is still expecting to return to San Luis Obispo to begin winter quarter. My experience at Cal Poly was wonderful and although there have been ups and downs I will miss the school, the town, and the lifestyle very much.

 

Graduation weekend was INSANE. I think I slept all of 6 hours for Friday and Saturday combined. That being said, some of my post ceremony pictures show this lack of sleep and maybe a bit of a dazed look. The graduation ceremony was really special and completely surreal. The fall ceremony is much different from the spring one. It’s held in the school gym as opposed to the stadium, its far more personal, and much more intimate graduating a couple colleges at a time.

Each graduates name was called after making the walk across the stage we got to shake the president of the Universities hand and had our picture taken with him. I’d say its pretty cool that your family can actually see your face when your name is called.

 

 

My almost to tears moment came when I was driving on to campus and started to think this was the very last time I was driving on to campus as a student of Cal Poly. It made me so sad to know that when I left I would be an alumni. I know i’m ready to go, Cal Poly has prepared me for this moment but there is just something so assuring and predictable about school, for the most part you know what’s coming next. Consequently for the first time in seventeen years of academic life I did not know what was coming next and it was terrifying.

My brother and I!

 

I’ve been in the job hunt/ search/ grind for months. Between my blog and looking for a job I was working full time! Just before Christmas great, wonderful, give-you-wings-without-the-redbull, news came my way. I was offered a position at one of the largest food corporations in the world. After the happy dance to the song slight work by Wale. I madly began texting and calling my friends. Being mindful of confidentiality I can share that my position is science based and will follow my passion, food. I’m extremely excited about this opportunity. It will push my personal and professional limits, I’m ready for the challenge! My job will take me to Michigan…yes as in the Michigan 2,000+ miles away from my Northern California stomping grounds Michigan. Oh, what a culture shock this is going to be…luckily I’ve got a friend who goes to Michigan State so he is going to try and help me out and has been more then amazing in answering my tireless questions. I mean, hey, I NEED to know if there is going to be Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods (there is not), what type of tires to put on my car, and whether all the girls wear uggs.

 Cameron, Me, and Momma

As I prepare to move across the country sheriffofthekitchen has taken a bit of a backseat. I’ve been ultra bad about posting. I promise it’s temporary and hope that as soon as I get settled in my new place I’ll have plenty of new tasty posts to come.

 

 

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A New Year with the Sheriff of the Kitchen

A New Year with the Sheriff of the Kitchen

January 2, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Ready to start 2012 off with a bang! Lots of new things to come and exciting news!

The Sheriff is ready, are you?

I look forward to a wonderful year!

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Whole Foods Parking Lot

December 26, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

Because you need a break from food.

Here is my better late then never Christmas present to you.

A hilarious music video and song.

Watch it.

So true and so funny. It’s getting real in the whole foods parking lot.

 

Be back Wednesday with something tasty!

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12 Things I’m Going to Miss about College

12 Things I’m Going to Miss about College

December 9, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
As I prepare for graduation tomorrow from California Polytechnic State University, I reflected on some of the things I’m going to miss the most about being a college student.
12 Things I’m Going to Miss about College:
  1. Young minds with creative ideas to move the world
  2. Unbelievable drink and food deals: 2 for 1 breakfast burritos, pint night, buy one get one free pizza, etc…
  3. Student discounts
  4. The first day of school
  5. The last day of finals
  6. Cheap rent
  7. Naps- between classes after class you name it, I mean can there ever be a bad time for a nap when your in college? oh wait, maybe if you sleep through a midterm.
  8. Endless invites on facebook to parties you will never attend…
  9. Almost every time you  go somewhere you see SOMEBODY you know
  10. Robert E Kennedy Library- it began as a love hate relationship but by the end it was all love.
  11. Ridiculously long vacations- 3 weeks for winter break, 1 week for spring break, and 3 months for summer!! If I did my math right that 4 months out of the year. wow.
  12. Free events- movies at the student union, poetry slams, soccer/football/basketball games
I have had an absolutely amazing college career and I would not exchange the experience for anything. I could not have done it without the outstanding support of my frineds, family, teachers and mentors. The hard work, the all nighters and tears over chemistry grades is all behind me now, and boy was it worth it! Tomorrow I will officilly have a bachlors of science in Food Science with a concentration in culinary. I will miss San Luis Obispo very much, this town is the perfect college town…There will always be a special place for it in my heart.
Here is a little journey back in time…
My very first night of college with my freshmen roommate Julie.
My family at the homecoming football game my sophmore year!
It was off to Florence, Italy for the start of year 3 and what amazing roommates I had, Martha and Courtney and I lived on 24 borgo allegri!
Year 4 was for turning 21. Oh, and completing the most important piece of my college career, my senior project!
The fifth year well .25 of it was for a victory lap! Tomorrow it comes to an end. Above is my cap.

Class of 2011!!!!!

Of course this would not be complete without our fight song:

 

Ride High, You Mustangs,
Kick the frost out, burn the breeze
Ride High, You Mustangs
Those bow wows we’ll knock to their knees
Hi! Ki! Yi!
Ride High, You Mustangs
Chin the moon and do it right
Ride High and cut a rusty
Fight! Fight! Fight!

 

It’s been real Cal Poly. Hello real world!

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Top 7 Gifts for the 20 Something Gal in Your Life

Top 7 Gifts for the 20 Something Gal in Your Life

November 29, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

I think I have a fever right now. In my sickness this song, Against the Grain by Hudson is bringing me to a peaceful place as I stress about finals, projects, and presentations. You should check it out..not to mention the music video is so sick, not actual sick like me, but like cool sick. Here is the link to the youtube video:

against the grain by hudson

 

I’m too sick to cook today so I’m doing The Top 7 Gifts for the 20 Something Gal in your life whether it be: a daughter, niece, cousin, family friend you name her!

Gifts from Top to Bottom: 

 

1. Essie Nail Polish- Great Color, easy on the wallet, can be found at Target, Walgreen’s, etc. I’m lusting after ballet slipper the color pictured above, it’s the polish Giada DeLaurentiis wears while taping her shows on the Food Network.

2. Kindle-UHMMM so amazing! I love my kindle. I read it almost every single day, and charge it about once a month. Downloading books is super easy and at $78.00 it’s such a steal. All the cool kids have one.

3. Entry to a fitness event- Offer to pay for entry into the fitness event of her choice whether it be a 10k walk, marathon, or a long distance swim getting active is so trendy! Not to mention what a great gift and a great goal to set, maybe you two can even do the event together!

4.Bee’s Wax Candles-Laura my ultra awesome roommate, took a bee keeping class this quarter and made amazing bee’s wax candles. They smell so amazing, I can’t get enough of them. Everyone loves a great smelling candle whether you choose to burn these cute little ones is up to you. You can find ‘em online or maybe at a local gift store. If you wanted to take it to the next level grab a cute plate from Ikea or Crate and Barrel and a couple candles and you’ve got an adorable decorative piece.

5.I-phone/ Smartphone case- These day’s it seems as though everyone has got a great phone, why not protect it? There are tons of adorable cases to choose fun, I like this one because its multifunctional it can serve as a clutch/wallet for going out or running a quick errand to the store, plus it’s cute to boot!

6.The Hunger Games- A wonderful book, and it’s an easy and fun read, once you start you’re bound to read through the trilogy in record time.

7. A Photo Print on a canvas-Pick a nice photo and get it printed on a canvas, it’s a great memory and it’s super easy you just have to upload a picture to a photo print shop like Costco photo and select your size and pick it up!

I promise to have a tasty new recipe up soon!

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Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

November 21, 2011 by · 1 Comment

At first I thought I’d just post a recipe for thanksgiving like the rest of the blogverse. But if you know me, you know I really don’t like thanksgiving that much.

 

I know I just lost some readers right there. But hear me out. Please?

 

There are two striking reasons why I struggle with thanksgiving:

 

  1. I take issue with the fact that the hype the push of thanksgiving is to sit down and stuff our faces with excessive amounts of food and then whine about how much we just ate.
    1. Where is the thankful part in that? Now, say you make the point that everyone goes around and says what they are thankful for, that’s nice.
    2. But, does that reach the root of what thanksgiving is about? Giving back, being thankful for the fact that your family can have a hot meal everyday of the year and millions around the world can’t, Seems a little conflicting to me.
    3. Call me crazy…or un-American.

2. I don’t LOVE the food that’s served on thanksgiving either. So, unlike the rest of the nation, I’d be just as happy with any old meal as long as my family was gathered around the table.  Furthermore, because people have such high expectations it seems to bring on large amounts of stress regarding the preparation and delivery of the meal.

 

My family is having a traditional thanksgiving. That being said, I’ll be bringing my Not Yo Momma’s Brussels and eating the ham they are cooking alongside the turkey. Oh did I forget to mention I don’t care much for turkey. Whoopsies!

Have a wonderful thanksgiving I hope you enjoy the time with your family, friends, and loved ones.

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Do You Chia?

Do You Chia?

November 7, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

Chia seeds that is. A friend of mine, Scott who almost always texts or calls me with cooking/food related questions, calls me last week with a few. I’m always happy to answer food questions. First he wants to know about dehydrated pineapple for his trail mix, then he brings up chia seeds and asks me what I know about them. To be honest, NOTHING. Apparently those little chia pets remember those? I grew one as a kid, one of the many useless toys I just had to have. Turns out the starters for the green pets were chia seeds, an incredibly nutritionally dense seed. Anyways, during my shopping at New Frontiers I happened upon a chia seed kombucha. I’m a huge fan of kombucha and therefor limit my shopping at this particular store and now Target as my wallet takes a little dip every time I spot the tasty fermented tea. I’m like a moth to light I just can’t say no!

 

I reached for my favorite Gingerberry flavor by the Synergy brand when I spotted kombucha laced with these said, chia seeds. There are all sorts of flavors: grape, raspberry, strawberry, I choose raspberry. I decided I should try out the chia. The bottle makes claims along the lines of “runners food, twice as much antioxidants as blueberries, and double the omega-3 of flax” hmmmmm that’s quite a few claims there. The science nerd in me had to find out more…here’s a bit of what my preliminary research dug up…

 

Background Info:

 

  • They are native to Mexico and Guatemala although they are cultivated in numerous countries, cooler climates may yield a slightly higher antioxidant content
  • The seeds are typically 1mm in diameter and have an oval appearance with a gray, black, white, or brown color. A friend described them as mini dinosaur eggs.
  • A great source of omega-3 in the form of ALA (alpha linoleic acid) the plant form of omega-3 which can be converted in the body to reflect the omega-3 benefits from sources of the marine type
  • They contain 20% protein by weight, this protein is a complete protein- an important point for vegetarians and vegans who need complete protein sources from plants
  • Almost 27% fiber of that 12% is soluble fiber and 88% is insoluble
  • Chia seeds are high in antioxidants and have an advantage over flax as they can be ground without the risk of rancidity because of the naturally high antioxidant content
  • The most notable health claims about the seed are connected to reducing cardiovascular disease due to the high and concentrated amounts of both omega-3 and antioxidants.

 

In the next article I will begin to outline some of the primarily culinary applications for this super seed.

 

Part 1 of a 2 part article.

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A Day in The Life of A Harvest Lab Technician

A Day in The Life of A Harvest Lab Technician

November 2, 2011 by · 1 Comment

 

 

For the fall 2011 grape harvest I worked at Tolosa Winery. This winery is located in San Luis Obispo, CA in the wine region known as Edna Valley. A wine region known for producing cooler climate varietal’s such as: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah, and Viogner to name a few. Tolosa is owned by Courtside Cellars and is a crush facility, meaning that they produce wine for other wineries as well as the Tolosa Winery brand.

Pictured below: Barrel Room on the left and tank room on the right.

 

My work entailed quality assurance and quality control checks in their cellar lab. I preformed many job functions, although for this post I’ll only go into detail on a few of my favorite job responsibilities. My primary role, when I arrived in the morning, was to preform fermentation checks on barrel samples and tanks. A fermentation check consists of measuring the temperature and the brix (the amount of sugar) of samples. The picture below shows how the barrel samples are collected using a syphon to extract the juice or wine for testing. This information goes to the winemaker so that she can evaluate when the wine or juice is ready for further processing.

Sexy safety vest, I know.

 

Fermentation Checks

 

Volatile Acidity (VA) checks are used to evaluate volatile acidity in wine and juice. Steam is used to distill out primarily acetic acid, but can include a number of different acids such as: lactic and formic acid among others. Acetic acid is generally considered a spoilage product in wine, but some winemakers seek a low undetectable level to add complexity to the wine. Pictured below is the process of a VA test. The first picture shows the initial set up with a red wine sample in the still and a clean empty Erlenmeyer flask to catch the distilled product. The following photo is of the sample as it begins to boil. Next is the condensation tube as the volatile acids enter the chamber and begin to condense into liquid. Finally the VA in progress as a little over 100ml is collected of the distilled acids, after which is head to the titration station to measure how much volatile acid is in the product.

I enjoyed my short harvest at Tolosa Winery, it was very fascinating to see the production side of wine making.

 

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I Made It…all 13.1 Miles!

I Made It…all 13.1 Miles!

October 18, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

 

Day: October 16th

Time: 6:45am

Place: Union Square, San Francisco

Mindset: “Oh Shit”

 

Amy and I arrive to Union Square for the Nike Women’s Marathon (NWM), along with 22,555 other women. Oh the joy of a crowd. You could cut the nervous and excited energy in the air with a knife. As if on cue, my bladder started to shout with the typical, “hey I’m nervous, better go pee”. We weaved through the crowd, which by now is overflowing out of every street connecting Union Square to the line for 25 port-o-johns. Of course there would be 300 other people with the same idea…What to do? The race starts in now 10 minutes and I am never going to make it through that line. Animal instincts take over and I end up loosing Amy in the crowd, in my desperate attempt to make it to a hotel to beg for their bathroom. Mission accomplished. When I returned to the mass the race was getting under way, by the time I reached the starting line I was almost 22 minutes back from the gun start time.

 

And so the race began. As I was buckling down to my running mentality I was weaving, avoiding, jumping through the slower runners/walkers for the first couple of miles. Then we hit our first big hill, I welcomed it with open arms. Strange, I know, but hear me out.. many runners slowed to walk; consequently this thinned out the crowd. Hallelujah! The NWM did a fantastic job of thoroughly stocking the course with a dedicated cheering squad we had numerous drumlins, a gospel choir, DeeJay’s, cheerleaders (real ones) and of course many a friend and family. By far my favorite sign of the whole day was a guy at the top of our second big hill with a sign that read: “worst parade ever”. It made me laugh especially at one of the hardest parts of my race. I felt like the race went by very quickly, and when I got to mile 11 realized I could have run much faster for the entire race and ended up running the last two miles extremely fast. Oh well. We got Ghirardelli chocolate squares around mile 12, I saved mine, I mean seriously who can take down a square of chocolate after 12 miles of running? As we exited Golden Gate Park the finish line was insight and I took off at a full sprint to the finish line. Oh it felt so great to cross it and get my Tiffany’s finishers necklace from a striking firefighter. Momma and Cameron (brother) were there to greet me and congratulate me on my run.  I finished the half marathon in 2:11 minutes, very pleased with my time, but as is my competitive nature, I will aim for less than two hours for my next half marathon.

The necklace says NWM 11 on the front and “I run to be” on the back

As my brother was snapping photos with my camera my mom (love ya mom!) was doing the turn the digital camera on and off, instead of hitting the camera button act.  Cameron happend to catch me in my typical reaction when this happens (frequently).

 

 

Time: 9:30am

Place: Great American Highway

Mindset: “I Did it!”

 

It was a wonderful, fabulous, amazing experience. I would fully recommend the race. Anyone can tackle NWM, you don’t have to run the whole thing walk, walk/run just keep moving! Momma is going to do the half next year and I think I will go for the full. I’m still sore ,but that’s to be expected. I’ll take a week or so off from running and then I’m on to my next race a little 10k on November 5th with Amy!

 

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Nike Women’s Marathon Festivities

Nike Women’s Marathon Festivities

October 15, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

Nike Women’s Marathon Weekend is upon us!

 

Howdy!

As part of my lazy, resting, relaxing, carbo loading, anxious day before my Half Marathon tomorrow I decided to write a lovely new post on the Nike Women’s Marathon Festivities. The Niketown in Union Square put up every runners name on the side of the store as a tribute to the race, naturally, I found mine and was super stoked.

 

My fab friend Amy, whom I’ve known for years playing soccer and such growing up together is running the FULL marathon.  We headed to the expotique last night in Union Square in San Francisco. After checking in, we visited the vast festivities, free samples, running gear testing, photo booths, Neutrogena skin consultations (and free samples) a DJ, and of course tons of strong women! Amy biked to create our smoothie at the Safeway booth.

 

That’s some serious concentration.

AND our tasty smoothies!

 

 

This will be my first Half Marathon and I could not be more excited. When I finish my 13.1 miles tomorrow morning out at Ocean Beach on the Great Highway, a finely dressed fireman will bestow a Tiffany’s necklace upon me as my finishers medal. What a sweet reward! I have been training for this race for over 8 weeks and feel great. My ten-mile run a few weeks ago felt great, so I know I am definitely ready.

 

Some more great samples…frozen strawberries from Dole.

If you’re in the SF Bay Area tomorrow (Sunday) come out and support the many women running both the half and full marathon. The race starts at 7 AM and we will be departing from Union Square. I’ve got my GU (energy gel) ready for consumption around mile 8, and then it’s a homerun from there.

I’ll report back after the race! See you on the other side :)

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