Yesterday I was up making coffee in the morning and I realized a lot of things really need to be thought out before this baby arrives.  Yes, I know there are diaper choices to think about, strollers, beds/cribs, etcetera…but thats not what I am really talking about.

All you mothers out there, especially the recent ones I want to pool your knowledge for my thoughts and questions, you Dad’s too.  So here is my idea & question:

As I looked at the electric water kettle, coffee been grinder, and french press…I thought to myself:  I don’t have any time for that with a baby!  I need coffee right away every day!  I need to either buy already ground coffee and get an automatic coffee machine (with auto starting timer) or I need to stay with my coffee snobbery and get one of those cuisenart coffee makers that grind the beans and brews it all on a timer that can be set 24 hours in advance (which those are available to buy).  I need convenience!

What practical things do most people forget to think about that can be changed to save time before the baby arrives? (Things like my coffee example.)

Mom’s and dad’s?  What do you say?

*[photo by Ballistik Coffee Boy]

Fraps: The Basics- Use cold coffee- put 10 regular ice cubes in2 blender, poor milk & cold coffee in to just below top of highest ice cube (adjust ratio 4 ur tastes), @ this point I use caramel, chocolate, or some other flavored syrup to both flavor & sweeten, pulse blend & listen 4 no more ice cubes bouncing around (time in between pulses allows 4 remaining chunks to sink back down), @ end give it about a 3 to 5 second ‘on’ blend…if 2 liquidy use less ‘liquids’ next time. But if you don’t get enough liquids n’the blender its harder 2 get ice cubes blended. These make about 12 0z glasses of Frap.

Use same amount of ice cubes and 8 to 12 ounces of flavored yogurt for great smoothies quickly.

Or find big cans of Cafe D’Vitta at Sam’s or Costco (they have caramel, chocolate,….flavors) same directions as coffee drink except add 1 scoop (scoop that comes with it) and then add milk, blend(only use mix, ice, and milk. no reason to add flavors or coffee, unless of course you want to). They are great, 4lb canisters, by the time you figure how many Fraps this canister of powder mix makes it is WELL WORTH IT for a 10 dollar, 4lb, can of mix.

Additional things I do: Add more caramel sauce to it, or mexican or regular chocolate sauce, a few coffee beans to blender for speckled look, add peanut butter, find the Dulce De Leche sauce in ’select’ groceries stores…yum.

Steal lots of BIG STRAWS – (McD’s or Coffee Shop straws) haven’t found that they sell the big ones in any stores yet so I just get a few each time I am at Stab*cks, Pete’s, or McD’s

This is not definitive…just a quick guide for my friends who asked. If you have a coffee shop friend get him to let you ‘have’ a big buckets of Big Train powder mix.

In my professional making and drinking opinion, powders work better than flavored syrups and help thicken Fraps to smoothness better….Using powdered creamer IS NOT A GOOD IDEA, you will soon become tired of the ‘taste’ that comes from powdered creamer, try using some powdered milk.

[picture by foodista]

My wife knowing she would be out of town, and I would be working on my birthday (July 4th!) planned a trip to Napa for later in the month.  So last Tuesday we headed out for a few days in Napa Valley.

What’s in Napa?  Wine, wineries, vineyards, restaurants…all kinds of culinary delights!

Tuesday morning after a mere 2 hours of driving we arrived in Yountville, home of many Restaurants more notably Thomas Keller’s French Laundry.  Then we could also talk about Ad Hoc, Bouchon, Bouchon Bakery…But we also wanted to visit Michael Chiarello’s Bottega!  Not to mention the yummy deli sandwiches at the Oakville Grocery Co…Ok, so as not to drag this out here is how it went in a nutshell (I will post pictures afterwords where you can use your expertise to match them with the experience):

Breakfast at Lou’s Cafe a favorite local place (Tuesday morning) then on to Napa Valley.  Stop at Yountville and get macaroons, brioche, eclairs, and coffee at the Bouchon Bakery.  Next we headed to our appointed wine tour at the Robert Mondavi Winery (Excellent! I read the book The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty) which helped form pictures, places, and the ‘feel’ of the book I read about the Mondavi’s…it was like a sense of coming full circle – completing a study, if you will -  for me after reading the book and drinking the wines then being able to get an inside look at the winery and history.

On the way back to Napa City we stopped by the Oakville Grocery for a little lunch outside at their tables with sandwiches from the deli.

Later Steph and I checked into the The Inn on First (Bringing a touch of San Francisco to Napa Valley its a luxury Bed & Breakfast) you will just have to trust me on this one, or check the link, it was worth it!  Excellent!  Jacuzzi/Hot Tubs in the rooms…complimentary champagne and chocolate truffles, all the services you could think of and the Chef, Jim, a graduate of the California Culinary Academy (Le Cordon Bleu) who cooks you a signature breakfast every morning (included in your stay).  Mercedes, Morgon, Jim (Jamie was on holiday) all graceous hosts!  This was in Napa the city, not Yountville. All of it is considered in Napa Valley

Then we went for a little walk around town and ate and excellent meal at Allegria.  We didn’t even order a real meal, just ate multiple choices from the appetizer menu! We once again headed out for a little walk and stopped at Cole’s Chop House for a dessert.  A Banana’s Foster which some may consider a classic…it came to the table FLAMING.  It was an impressive display even though thats what I was expecting.  That was for Steph, I enjoyed a warm chocolate brownie paired with a caramel gelato and chocolate sauce.

The next day we had a breakfast quesadilla that was sent out by the chef, and of course there was all the cold breakfast things like cereals, oats, granola, fresh fruits…Then we headed of to the other side St Helena where stopped in to tromp around the Culinary Institute of America in Greystone after asking, wandering, and looking at everything they would let us see (I believe classes were in session) we headed out to the side of the establishment to visit the school store/shop.  Some of the stuff was unique to the CIA but a lot of it was like being in a Williams-Sonoma, not really anything I wanted to buy that I didn’t already have or see a need for.  But it was all interesting just the same.

On the way back thru we stopped at Dean & Deluca’s for ‘lunch stuff’.  Then we went to the Yountville Park to have a picnic where we got run off by bees and the French Laundry Company Picnic (they had the whole place reserved)…but my interest was in who was catering THEIR company party?

Going to the French Laundry unfortunately was out of our budget range and we didn’t have a reservation.  Looks like they were doing some heavy maintenance or construction to the back of it when we came thru, not sure.  We also tried to eat at Ad Hoc but strangely enough they were closed both of the 2 full days we were in the neighborhood…but thats OK on to that nights reservations at Bottega!

We first took a little refresher back at The Inn on First and then, Bottega.

This is Michael Chiarello’s restaurant.  Current Top Chef: Masters competitor and food network personality also owning NapaStyle trademark stores and Chiarello Family Vineyards.

It was wonderful!  Or as my friends in England would say, Brilliant!  I didn’t even make it to the ‘Secondi!’ course (Which was a shame for me…but I didn’t want to leave being in to much pain to enjoy it!) because we had multiple antipasti’s and pastas.  Although we did skip to dessert, who could miss that?

What a night, we made our way back to the Inn slowly and took another walk.  Unfortunately Stephanie’s pregnancy ’sickness’ decided to re-appear for awhile so it was early to bed for her…but besides her feeling bad, we couldn’t have ended the night any better…I spent some time just relaxing and thinking about what was going to come out of the kitchen for breakfast the next day…

More could be said and was done, But alas I have probably bored you with my excitement.  Our time there was great, and my wifey did an excellent job with plans and putting up with me tasting and commenting on everything (more just to myself than actually being a critic of anything).  Being only 2 hours away I am sure we will continue to visit and explore all the culinary avenues available to us.

[I suppose I should have took more pictures of the food, like in Bottega...But as you are 'in the moment' sometimes you can't be bothered.]

[Stephanie] Since Tyrone and I married in November of 2006 we have always had something on the horizon. At times it was a new job, a vacation, a move, and at one time we were anticipating picking up and going to live on a ship in West Africa. Now is no different we are still anticipating change and perhaps this time it will be the most life changing  of all. I am pregnant am due in early March. We are so excited and plan on staying here in Northern California for at least a couple more years ( I am hoping for a 5 year plan, but we will see). I start my new job at Lucile Packard of Stanford in the Pediatric Intensive care on Monday and I am SO EXCITED. I have been very sick so far in my pregnancy but have been feeling better the past couple of days. Please pray that I continue feeling better and that I will LOVE working in the PICU.

[Tyrone] Some of you probably even forgot that you were subscribed to this blog since we post infrequently now that our lives has changed once again.  But this (Stephanie getting pregnant) too was an answer to prayer and a hope that we had!  I still enjoy working at Pepsi Bottling Group (the physical aspect of it is whipping my butt into shape and I am losing weight!) and in my ‘free time’ (I say that loosely NOW) whipping up great meals and doing experiments in our kitchen at home, my last one involved curing my own pancetta/bacon and then air drying it by hanging it in the closet along with the occasional watermelon carving or two…my food obsessed website is over at http://tyronebcookin.com and I post more regularly about food and aspects of it there.  Also we are both pretty current and ‘real time’ with comments and messages on facebook.  So you can find us there if you are not to intimidated by the internet.

We can hardly believe its AUGUST!  And that we just came back from being in West Africa and Europe at the end of February and already are ingrained in our jobs, church, and life here in Northern California! (Thats right, not Alabama, Florida, or Texas…sorry!)

Write us an email, drop us a line, leave a comment, ask a question…we still love hearing from all of you out there and we will still post blogs on our life updates (although not as frequently as when we were traveling and doing mission work) and hopefully you can at least expect baby pictures by late March!

Tyrone & Stephanie

If you ever find yourself  somewhere in between Los Gatos, Campbell, and San Jose you should stop by Lou’s Cafe for some coffee.  And of course a bite to eat!

My wife and I have managed to go about once every other week (more like every week lately!) when both our schedules afford us a midweek day off together.  I love the coffee and old-timey diner feel (and the food) and Steph loves the French Toast and Belgian Waffles, not both at the same time though.

Breakfast is probably going to run you about 6.50 to 10.00 dollars, but you’ll probably eat two times off of one plate so financially that is a good deal.  I always have to get the rest of my plate to go…Coffee is good!

I included some pics of the Banana Nutella French Toast ( the plate is almost to busy to see whats going on), Eldorado Potatoes (which is like home-style fried potatoes with blackened chicken, avocado, Monterrey jack cheese…), and the Coffee Cake which is the size of a small child’s head!

[click to see bigger]

[Warning: this post will be longer than my usual ones, but it will include links, list, and pictures to help the small kitchen with small budget get equipped for maximum food.]

At the end of May there was a question posted at SeriousEats.com (of which I am a member) which garnered up to 64 comments:

What does a young foodie/recent grad need in his kitchen?

After reading several of the comments I also commented, but I believe it will be helpful to anyone with a small kitchen, small budget, or both combined.  Most of you know that I post a lot of my food ‘try-outs’ and dinners on facebook or twitter but now I will show you my humble (small) kitchen I work out of at home…

Now you see that most of you would be hard pressed to send me a picture of your kitchen that is smaller than mine…but I make it work.

First we will review my answer to the above question as I responded on the site – add suggestions and pictures to help visualize how this would work for anyone. (of course if you are extremely messy and uncoordinated then there may not be a ‘happy’ medium for you and your kitchen)

A few thoughts:

The knife (as one person said) may be a more personal purchase, but maybe not if you spend more money on it than he would!

*Good forged metal well-known and trusted brand knives can be found at Marshall’s, Ross, and TJ Max in the ‘kitchen’ section at great reductions…knife sets are a waste of money unless its a chef’s, paring, serrated/bread knife set. You don’t need 7 to 14 knives.  These three do most of the jobs you are going to do in your home kitchen with some exceptions.  Kitchen Aid, Cuisinart, Chicago Cutlery also have good starting knives at Target and Wal-Mart.  Most in the 30$ or less range.

Cast Iron skillet (as somebody suggested) would usually be a good recommendation, but being in an apartment with a small kitchen, those things tend to smoke to much…and its not about controlling the heat. Its about ’seasoned’ cast iron heating up and smoking.

But consider this, I bought 2 twelve inch COMMERCIAL non-stick pans from Sam’s Club (because at that time they came in two AND Sam’s has a commercial restaurant supply section now – BUT NOT COSTCO DARN IT!) pretty cheap and they are made from thick aluminum under the non-stick coating…2 years later they still have the coating. I pulled the rubber handles (good for oven temps up to about 350) off and threw them away, cook on top, finish in oven. Works wonderful. Heavy duty, lighter, and less smokey than cast iron.

Someone suggest getting a mini-processor from Cuisinart, but I say get the kitchenaid mini processor (3 cups model) not the cuisenart. The reason being is because the ‘catch’ for making the motor work is a long piece of plastic protruding down from the lid, prone to breaking off! Kitchenaid, not so much small ‘catch’ on both sides of lid that doesn’t protrude past the lip much, even if you manage to drop the lid on the floor and break one, you can still swivel the lid to the other.

*BUT now you can order thru amazon.com or go to target and get an oster blender with 3 cup processor attachment…here is a picture of what that looks like.  The one at target is cheaper than mine because its sold as a combo and my blender is the more expensive one. AGAIN, if you already own a Hamilton or some kind of Oster blender you can order the processor unit seperately on Amazon.com.  Why is this important?  Because it doesn’t create another electric appliance that needs a plug/outlet. AND saves space.

As someone mentioned, electric hot water kettle. Starts things that need hot or boiled water much quicker.  The one pictured is about $20 at Target.

Is he a serious tea or coffee drinker? Bodum (french press) goes good with that electric water kettle. $16 Target or Wal-Mart.

Small microwave as already said. $30 to $50 depends on how good a sale you find!  Good for melting things, heating things, mostly good for leftovers & quick fixes!

Coffee been grinder for grinding spices or coffee $15. (I have 2, one for coffee, one for spices)

I buy bar towels in bulk from Sam’s or Costco’s, there just like the ones in commercial kitchens I use…and there cheap. $10 for 20 bundle? (approximate)

Immersion blender, as already said. This thing should be a must. Its terrific. $15 at some Longs Drugs or $19 on Amazon.com with 4 star rating or higher.  Procter-Silex.

My pasta roller still comes in handy for (duh) pasta, and also: pita bread, rolling thin tortillas, flat bread…etc. $30 for most brands.  This one $22 Amazon.com 4 stars (our of 5).

If your going to spend some money, then buy a nice kitchen cart with storage underneath…then you can roll a ‘chopping’ island around to use and store these small appliances underneath when not in use.

OK, I’ll stop here…I cook professionally as well as not letting my small kitchen in my apartment keep me from cooking extensive and ‘fine dining’ meals at home.  This list is not made to be comprehensive of all things needed, but a help.  Just like using 3 knives in the kitchen pots & pans need not be in 20 piece sets…good cutting board, tongs, whisk, grater…

I’d be happy to answer any questions you have about my suggestions, stuff your currently using, or your own recommendations for this list!