A Business Plan for Your Big Food Idea

This week I attended the class "How to Write a Business Plan" for the food industry at the Natural Gourmet Instiute in NYC. This was a course taught by Terry Frishman, formerly of Kraft and it was a combination of business school and crack cocaine in a three hour binge. Frishman was direct, detailed and moved at the same pace as the Amtrack Excella, but doing so managed to cram an entire week long course into a few hours.

The class though thorough, was a complete "wake-up call." And there's nothing wrong with that. In fact, it's what most of us need, so we don't end up throwing away our time and money on some inflated dream of happiness and success without the hard facts, costs and competition that are sure to come down the line. Frishman did a really good job pinpointing which ideas had major issues, like my own (personal chef) because many businesses related to food are successful based on volume. I couldn't quite convince myself on my own that my idea wasn't going to earn me beau coup bucks, so I needed her to tell me, and she did.

The positive side of it all is it really does force you to truly focus on your business, your competition, your strengths, your weaknesses and what is truly going to make your business or service stand out from everyone else. Frishman said a business plan can take a few weeks to years to finalize, but creating one is "only informing yourself."

If you're interested in starting a fast food vegan chain, or vegan cupcake business or even your own line of pickles like some of my classmates, I do highly recommend creating a full fledged plan. Better yet, take a class (preferably more than a few hours) that can really walk you through how to prepare yourself for the road ahead and invest wisely in a potentially profitable food business.

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

Lately it seems whenever I open a vegetarian cookbook or turn on the Food Network, I'm seeing a recipe for roasted fingerling potatoes. When I spotted them in the market the other day I grabbed a container along with a container of beautiful Cipollini onions.

There's all kinds of recipes for roasting these things. You can roast them whole sprinkled with olive oil and sea salt. You can cut them up and toss them in herbs and spices. The possibilities are endless.

Here's a few ideas to get you started. Purchase a small container of fingerlings-- about 15 potatoes. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl mix together your favorite spices.

My ingredients:
Cumin
Paprika
Cayenne pepper
Fresh black pepper
Sea salt
Adobe seasoning
Garlic powder

You can choose to add more or less of the spices you like. You can also some fresh chopped parsley or basil.

Add about 1/4 cup of olive oil to the bowl and mix all the spices together. Set aside.

Cut your potatoes. You can roast these whole but I cut them into lengthwise sections, either 2-3 sections per potato. Toss potatoes in olive oil and spices until well coated. Place on baking sheet.

I also cut some Cipollini onions, tossed them in the mixture and added them to the baking sheet. Note: there is a special way to peel these onions. I didn't have the time to do it correctly, so I cut them into quarters and removed the outer skins.

Bake for 45 minutes to one hour at 350 degrees. Turn once after 30 minutes. Place under broiler for a few minutes for extra crispy skins.

Rapunzel's Soup Marathon- Three Soups, One Day

After a hectic week I hadn’t gotten to cook much and I’ve been experiencing a serious withdrawal from stove time. I made up for it yesterday—three soup in 2.5 hours! It really wasn’t as hard as I thought.

I laid out my three recipes and chopped all the veggies at once and divided them up per dish. I started the first soup and when it was ready to simmer, I turned on a new burner and started the second and so on.

The first soup I made was Ina Garten’s Ribollita. This Tuscan vegetable soup is a mixture of earthy vegetables including white beans, kale and Savoy cabbage. Tons of fiber and healthy ingredients. The soup ends with the integration of sour dough bread right into the pot to thicken it. I omitted the bread but sautéed a little pancetta in with my vegetables to add more flavor to the base. I also used half vegetable broth and half chicken brother, rather than entirely chicken broth. Here’s the recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/ribollita-recipe/index.html.

The next soup I made is a hearty Beef Barley Stew with Spinach from The New Whole Grains Cookbook, by Robin Asbell (http://www.robinasbell.com/.) I used lean beef and hulled barley purchased at Whole Foods. (Barley is a great source of fiber.) It turned out great except I didn’t pick the right cut of beef. The recipe calls for tenderloin, but I used the tips they sell for stir fry. Still tasty but a bit tough. The only version of the recipe I could find online is from a TIDE site: http://tidefans.com/forums/recipe-forum/68583-filet-mignon-barley-stew-spinach.html


The third soup I made is from 100 Best Vegetarian Recipes by Carol Gelles. The recipe is for Lentil Spinach Soup. Right at the top of the page it said, “If you like escarole, it’s excellent here.” Being a huge fan of the stuff that’s what I went for. I used the Traders Joes precooked lentils in my version. It was just easier for me that way. But the lentils they sell are very small, and may have worked better mixed with rice or other vegetables in a stew. Still the soup is absolutely delish. A base of vegetables and celery leaves gives it a really savory flavor. For this recipe, I started with a bit of pancetta and onion for the base. You can easily omit it but I think it adds some nice flavor. Here’s some information about the soup: http://www.foodsiteoftheday.com/100%20best%20vegetarian.htm

It’s important to let your soups cool to room temperature before storing them. I packed all my soups into reusable containers. They first go into the refrigerator overnight and then to the freezer the next day.

Matt’s Potato Soup

My stepson Matt came over on Sunday and brought a recipe he learned in school for potato soup. This recipe comes from one of those chain restaurants themed for good food and friends on a Friday night. (wink wink)

Matt made the soup with a little help from me. My husband Rich and nephew Johnnie were supervising. LOL!

The soup is rich, delicious and very filling. This recipe calls for baked potatoes so remember to prepare those ahead of time. We put four potatoes into our soap instead of three.

Ingredients
1 carrot finely diced
4 ribs celery diced
1 onion diced
1 quart chicken stock
½ quart heavy cream
2 c. milk
3 large baked potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
1 tbsp. garlic powder or 1 clove of garlic minced
small bunch parsley, minced
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Roux
½ stick butter
4-6 tablespoons flour

Garnish
Chopped scallion
Crumbled bacon
Shredded cheddar cheese

1) Add butter to pot. Melt and then add carrot, celery and onion. Cook until soft.

2) Add flour and stir to combine. It should make a chunky paste also known as roux.

3) Add all dry seasonings, then add chicken stock. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat. Simmer for 15 minutes.

4) Add diced baked potato and milk and cream. Simmer for 15 minutes.

5) Add salt and pepper to taste.

Put soup in bowl and add garnish to top.

Osso Anna Merlot 2006 Top Knotch

My husband and I ate at the Napa Valley Grill in the Garden State Plaza last night. The wine was the best part of the meal.

To choose our wine, we picked between the two lowest priced Merlots on the wine menu. Our waiter recommended Osso Anna 2006 and we were lucky to get the last 06 bottle. This Merlot smelled rich, spicy, fruity and had an delicious taste with very little tannins.

A write-up I found online gives these details: (Source :http://www.winepronline.com/r/products/osso-anna-merlot-2006) "Made by Jay Buoncristiani, of Buoncristiani Winery and Hess Collection, and his Wife, this is serious Merlot for the money. Complex with loads of dark, berry fruit, vanilla, licorice and balanced by great acidity, this Merlot is terrific for everyday consumption but will last in the cellar for 5-10 years. Only 300 cases of this stunning value were produced."

The meal at the restaurant was good, but not as good as past meals we have had there. We started off with the roasted garlic appetizer plate. This is two roasted garlic cloves, a wedge of saga cheese, a tomato chutney and some yummy crackers to spread it all on. The garlic was bitter rather than having the smooth flavor you often get with roasted garlic. The cheese and chutney were both good, but I remember the flavor of the chutney blowing me away the last time I had it. This time the flavor was more muted and it tasted as though it has been sitting around for a while.

My husband had the beet salad which he chowed down and the angus top sirloin which he was also pleased with. I enjoyed the rigatoni bolognese, which is made with top sirloin rather than ground beef in the sauce. The pasta looked and tasted fresh and homemade and the sauce was rich and delicious. There was a bit too much meat in the sauce for me, but I'm not much of a beef eater. If you like a lot of meat in your sauce you may be very satisfied.

Overall dinner was great, but I do think a bit pricey for what we got. This morning I found the wine online for more than half of what we paid at the restaurant. I also think the food would have been well worth the price if the appetizer didn't fall short and the pasta had a bit more dimension to it. Our bill for the appetizer, salad and two entrees was $164.00. A bit steep if you don't leave completely satisfied.

Fiber...The Key to Weight Loss and Good Health

Did you know that "researchers have found that you can cut your calorie intake by a full ten percent just by adding an extra 14 grams of fiber each day." That's according to Susan Smith Jones, Ph. D. and author or The Healing Powers of Nature Foods. Jones says that according to experts, we should aim for 40 grams of fiber per day in our diet, but she recommends up to 60 grams per day.

Chef Robin Asbell writes, "Fiber keeps the food moving more quickly through the colon, so that the unavoidable toxins in our food don't get absorbed into the body; it also dilutes them with it's bulk." In her book, The New whole Grains Cookbook, she offers research and studies that show that cancer rates could drop by up to 40 percent if whole grains replaced refined products. Food for thought isn't it? She also talks about how researchers at Cornell Univeristy found that whole grains are actually higher in antioxidants than fruits and vegatables.


An article on the Mayo Clinic site

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fiber/NU00033

says the benefits of high fiber in your diet are: Prevents constipation, lowers your risk of digestive conditions, lowers blood cholesterol levels, controls blood sugar levels, and aids in weight loss.

Here's list of high fiber foods you can explore. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/high-fiber-foods/NU00582


Jones say changes can be as simple as replacing your chicken noodle soup with split pea, lentil or black bean soup for a healthy source of fiber.

Rapunzel's recommendation for reading:

The F-Factor Diet: Discover the Secret to Permanent Weight Loss