Good bye roaring 20's, Hello 30 something.........

Holy crap I can not believe I have blown through my 20's already. When I look back it seems like it flew by and it seems like the last decade was super long.  I could not be more proud of my major achievement in my almost 30 years.  That is finding the most amazing woman in the world and starting our amazing family.  There have been lots of up's and down's over the last 10 years, and she has been by my side the entire time.  I love my life and would not trade it for anyone else' s in the world.

       To elaborate a little on my best friend and the mother of my children, I would like to recognize the things that make her  the amazing woman that she is.  First and foremost, she is a fabulous mother to our children.  I am amazed everyday at how she can take care of two kids, a house, and still work out/run and still have the energy to put up with me.  On our journey here to North Carolina I would have never made it with out her love and support.  She is so true to herself and ensuring that she is a unique person. I know that our children will be well rounded and amazing people just because of her.

  

      So after a great weekend I have the next three days off to enjoy with my amazing family and maybe cook some great stuff.  A special thanks to my mom and dad for all of the crap that they put up with as I grew up.  Who else could deal with a son who gets his truck stuck in a plowed field on Christmas and then totals another truck on Thanks giving. I know that your positive influence and the fact that I have a great extended family who was always there for me is the only thing that got me through all of the crazy times.  And then there is my big sister......What to say about my big sister?????  She is always there for me when I need advise (like if I get mom anything other than a gift card for Christmas she won't like it) and reminisce on the good times and the bad.  Like the women in my life (my wife, mom, sister and grandmothers) she is a strong willed and very talented person who helps round out what I call my life.

I am a very lucky man in every aspect of my life.  I can't wait to get back to Texas and surround myself with the other people I love.

Here is to my next 30 years, may they all be spent as well as the first 30

Stay Hungry

Bradley

Cow's got your tongue?????

     Well I have had beef tongue in the past and love it, so I knew I had to give making it a try.  All the recipes I found were for beef tongue tacos and I had only eaten beef tongue sandwiches.  I went for the tacos recipe (thanks Randy for the video) and I am sure glad that I did.  I will say that the process to prepare the tongue is not for the faint of heart.  Boiling then peeling off the skin was in no way glamorous.

   

       I must say I am not a crock pot kinda guy, feels like lazy cooking.  I chose to slow cook my tongue over night in garlic, onions, and a Little beer (really wanted to smoke it, but that will be next time).  Anyways, when I woke up this morning after about 8 hours in the slow cooker, I removed the tongue and proceeded to peel off the skin as all the recipes had described.

      Next step was to prepare a green sauce that I saw in one of the recipes that supposedly went well with the tacos.  It is made of basic salsa Verde (tomitillos, onion, and jalapeno peppers), one avacado and a nice amount of fresh cilantro.  You combine the ingredients in a food processor.

        Then I proceeded to to brown off the beef tongue in a skillet in one inch slices to add some texture to the meat.  The next step was to warm the tortillas and make the tacos.  First was Alecia's since there can be no onions in sight during the making of any of her food.  BOOOOO

   

      Then came the real deal, my taco.  I took and diced up some sweet yellow onion and some tongue together and squeezed some fresh lime on them.  Then I covered my taco with the always great Hell on the red salsa, and the green sauce.

      Now that was a damn good taco, and of course you gotta have a cold beer when eating tacos.  All in all it was a great experience and will definatly make a camio or two on my menu.  Can't wait till the next culinary adventure.  Until then........

 STAY HUNGRY

What is the benifit???

      When pondering the upside to being a small business owner the word freedom comes to mind every time.  Free from a controlling micro-managing boss, free to work your own schedule, and free to run your business as you see fit.  The one idea that I do not like to think about is the lack of work sponsored,and low cost medical benefits.

     

       Working for a large international company that offers amazing benefits at really low rates makes it really hard to imagine life without them.  I was raised to believe that when you look for  a job, good benefits are a key part of your decision.  I hear stories all the time where people go broke just because someone in the family gets sick and with the deductibles and the coinsurance the medical bills start piling up.  I have to say the only thing that turns me off every time I think about quitting my job and doing something that I love, is the lack of affordable medical benefits for my family.

      Making decisions on what insurance to buy, when looking on a individual family basis is like playing craps.  You have to figure out what bet you wanna make.  Do you put all of your chips on the chance that there are no major medical issues that year and choose the higher deductible and coinsurance.  Or do you anticipate the possible issue and double your premiums just in case something does happen.  It can really boggle the mind and stress you out.  How do you make decisions that are based on percentages and luck.

 

      Alright enough with all the Debbie Downer stuff, WAA WAA WAA.  I am fairly certain that i am going to go forward with the pita idea as my main theme for my mobile food establishment.  Alecia and I have been experimenting with multiple recipes using the pita pocket and the ideas seem to be endless, including breakfast sandwiches, Falafels, and a whole lot more.
       Thanks to everyone for all of the name ideas, and keep them coming.  A final verdict will be coming soon. until next time, stay hungry.

The Menu........What to do, what to do

     So with the names rolling around in my head it is now time to start piecing together a base menu.  Easier said then done when you look at it.  Do I keep it simple and just go with quick items and lower overhead things. Or do I get brave and inventive?  I think I will try a bit of both, simple items with a inventive flare.

   

      I love sandwiches and making them simple yet rich in flavor.  Take for instance the Texas press, a mixture of chicken and pork with good swiss cheese, some caramelized onions, and some great fresh made bread perfectly pressed golden brown on both sides.  That is good viddles.  Make anything out of quality ingredients and cook it perfectly and you have simple, yet great food. Then take that and pair it with great pickled products such as fresh homemade pickled okra, banana peppers, hot peppers ect.  The other thing is that sandwiches make great street food because they are so portable for the person on the go. 
      Next you have Pita Sliders, take saucer sized fresh baked pita bread, open it up and fill with all your favorite meats and cheeses with a spicy or tangy aoli (fancy mayonnaise) lettuce and tomato and you got something brother.

    The pita slider, the perfect street food.  Well I guess now I have one solid recipe to start with. Until next time..................STAY HUNGRY

What's in a name?

    There are so many steps in the process of starting your own food business, but right now I am stumped by what might be considered the easiest, creating a name.  I am racking my brain with what name really clicks, Across the Board? Taylor's Trailer?  Maybe Taylor's Trailer of Culinary Delights.  I am baffled at the moment.

  It needs to reflect the food and the inspiration behind my drive to open a mobile food establishment.  I have gone through all of the funny ones like, Taylor Trash (play on Trailer trash), Jarred, Canned Cuisine.  None of them really clicking. When it comes to food, I intend to use all of the favorites from both Grandma's in most of my recipes (especially the use of canned garden veggies i.e pickled okra, pickled banana peppers, and green tomato relish).  So that draws me to some kind of family related name.  Maybe Taylor's Tradition????   Nah

         I guess for now I will have to keep racking my brain and hope that i get some more followers and some good ideas.

So for now....keep eatin, and stay away from those evil chain places and support your local mom and pops.  And cast your vote on possible names at the bottom of this page.

Today retail, tommrow the world

     


I am a firm believer that you follow your heart and you will be truly happy.

     I have applied that motto to all aspects of my life except for my career.  I attended culinary school, worked in the kitchen, and spent some time in the food industry, but ultimately left due to burn out.  It was not until recently that I realized that I was looking at it all the wrong way.  There is a saying that rings in my head that a instructor once told me, "Catering is a license to steal".  Which was a dramatic way of saying that there is unlimited opportunity in the catering world.   Ever since that moment I have felt a draw to catering/mobile food.  A totally open way of expressing myself and also a way to be my own boss in the industry that I am drawn to.

       I am more driven than ever to put this dream in motion one day.  I think it is crazy but then again I come from a family of entrepreneurs that have ventured out into the food business and been quite successful I might add.  "Why not me" I ask myself, "why can't I take my passion and make it into a way of living".  Not to become rich but just to support my family and do what I love to do.

      There are few food people that I look up to, but Anthony Bourdian is my end all of celebrity chefs and authors on all food related topics.

The best part about Anthony Bourdain is his approach to food.  Use the best ingredients and let the food speak for itself, food speaks about a person and a place and most importantly his true love for street food and food carts.
    I am excited about the prospect of possibly taking my love of food and sharing it with the masses.  There is a lot of soul in food and you have to be able to taste the food as you are preparing it and planning it.  If the mere thought of a dish makes you tingle with excitement, then it is probably a soulful one.  I believe that our fast food, food chain culture needs to be broken and people need to realize what good food is.  I hope to one day help teach them what that is.

      So friends and followers, I hope you join me on this journey of mine and I hope that there is lots of good food along the way. STAY HUNGRY