Versatile

Some of you may or may not know that I cooked professionally for a decade and these days I'm as far away from that period of life as I could possibly be in both choice and circumstance.

Some days I really miss the creativity of it and the camaraderie of a kitchen brigade, but in reflection, cooking is not the glamorous lifestyle, nor as rewarding as it is portrayed on the Food Network. It is a lot of long, stressful, sweaty hours broken by moments of brevity, brotherhood and twisted humor. Just ask the green cook who gets sent down to the next restaurant to borrow "powdered water." Or the guy that burns his fingers after watching you pull some floating food out of the deep fryer with your bare fingers (he didn't see you stab your fingers in the cold butter first for a protective sheet of fat).

Anyway, sometimes I feel the spirit and try to keep my chops sharp and below is an example:

This is poached egg over sautéed spinach, mushroom, tomatoes and bacon with farm cheddar and black pepper grits. A fine country breakfast and this is one of the 100 ways you can use an egg in cooking. One way for each pleat in a chef's toque.

I don't know, just thought I'd share. It's raining from Slowicane Dolomite and I'm bored.

Maybe I'll cook something.