Welcome Chef Greg Engelhardt  

 

 

 

 

 

                                                  

Letter from the Editor:  Welcome Chef Greg Engelhardt

by Deborah Dolen

We are pleased to announce Chef Greg Engelhardt, Las Vegas, as our most recent addition to the Mabel White editorial staff.  Chef Greg has trained with the world's most renowned chefs while working throughout Europe, the United States, and even the seven seas while aboard a luxury cruise ship.  Chef Greg is back in the US with a passion and vigor for food we could not previously begin to approach.  He not only adds his expertise in gourmet food to the Mabel table, he also offers a much needed masculine aspect to our repertoire.  Chef Greg is so excited to join us, he has supplied me with many articles to get us in the right direction.  I find his definition of a chef most interesting.  He says "the chef in you is an attitude" and that anyone creative with a food element, is a chef.  He will be teaching us many great techniques in his tenure, from the basics to the gourmet side of things, and that we all have the potential to cultivate the chef within.  

I would also like to thank Leane Ketcherside again for giving us continual expert knowledge about Essential Oils.  Even I am just learning how powerful they can be.  I recently washed Gabby, my new Golden Retriever and used way too much essential oil on her.  I thought  JUST a few drops of Tea Tree, Rose Geranium, and Palmarosa would be fun to gently rub into her thick coat after she was dry.  Well, even a few drops was not a good idea, way too strong, and she did smell like a true walking Hippy from the 60's.  No one could stand the smell in the room and Gabby was not happy about this either.  So, this prompted a quick phone call to Leane in Missouri, our essential oils editor and expert.  Leane taught me that dogs can smell 400 times the amount of humans and Leane guessed correctly that Gabby did not want to eat that day.  Leane told me I had to wash her right away.  Uh, it was midnight, so we had to wait until the AM.  Even after giving Gabby another serious bath, she still smells a bit like Palmarosa, so when it comes to essential oils--I will stick to Leane's recipes and advice only from here on out.  Leane has promised to write an article about making poochie soap in the near future.  

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Tamper Proofing Your Products

I noticed we never discussed how to make your products tamper resistant in former articles.  This was easy, so here you go! We found a certain shrink tape that comes in several different colors to wrap around most all of your containers and then gently hitting with a blow dryer to seal the tape down.  We have been using this tape for our own products, and were taken off guard when our customers wanted to buy that also--to make their products tamper resistant. Because of this, we now sell this 66 foot long tape on our site.  White does seem to be the most popular seller.  The tape also comes in Blue, Brown, Green, Orange, Red, Violet, White, Yellow.  

 Click here to buy the Vinyl Shrink Tape.

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What Else is New

After many requests we finally added a new Chai flavor to our flavor menu and brought an excellent Rose flavor back into our cabinets.  Rose was a knock out seller, and we now just came across a more pronounced version that we just love.  We also added  Honey and Green Tea flavor oils, which really hit the top notes.  Flavor oils can also be used in making soap and lotions.  We added sour flavor oil as an agent to make sour apple, sour cherry and so on.  This agent is very powerful and a little drop will do ya. We removed flavors such as sour cherry to allow the end user to make any flavor they like as a sour version, such as the popular Altoids Tangerine sour.  We now have 4 ounce plastic pour mouth bottles in stock for those who are into making edible love lotions, which sell like crazy.  

As far as durable and uniform soap making goes, the Mabel White Supply Company now sells 12" long and 3" in diameter PVC molds that can be used for melt and pour projects as well as cold/hot process soap making.  When making soap we grease the molds very well, usually with the same oil we use to trace, and leave 1/2 inch or so of space at the top.  This is so that if we have a hard time getting to soap to start moving out of the mold, we can put all of our weight on one heel of our foot and get it to start moving.  Slicing uniformly is also easy as we just push out 2 inches at a time and cut down the side of the PVC with a butcher's knife.

The PVC pipe also can with stand the oven bake method of curing soap in 2 and 1/2 hours at 180 degrees.  We simply stand the pipes up side by side in a large pan.  We use aluminum foil and florist wire to secure one end of the mold, and can usually just oil it off and reuse it again as a stopper.

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What is a Chef? 

Becoming a Chef Volume I by Chef Gregory Engelhardt

 

What is a chef?  Well, there is one thing that most people do in this world and do daily.  EAT!  That makes for a whole lot of cooking.  We are cooking around the clock, that you can be sure of.  Do you need a tall hat or a fancy title to be a chef?  I think not.  With all the cooking going on out there, I can tell you there are plenty of chefs in their own kitchens cooking up great things and finding out what works and just as often…what doesn’t work.  Simply, "the chef in you is an attitude." 

 

Chefs cook.  That’s the common denominator when looking at what a chef does.  What they cook and how they cook is where their art begins.  How they learned to cook can be through any number of different channels (and these days with TV at its height, I mean channels literally.)  The art of cooking is often an heirloom gift- passed down from generation to generation.  A culinary degree offers thorough guidelines, but is not necessary to enjoy the kitchen.  Everyone is eating everyday, making for a great many cooks out there.  So, where do we find the chefs?  Well, like sand and a river bed to find gold…we need cooks and a kitchen to find the chef.           

 

The world is filled with cooks. There’s plenty of room for cooks and their kitchens to participate and experience as much or as little of the cooking experience as they wish.  It is within these different levels of participation (or appreciation if you will) that the chef begins to rise up and develop beyond the peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  There are chefs representing every cuisine, language, color, race, country, and religion in our world.  When we step into our own kitchens to cook, we find ourselves within this incredibly diverse “club” and have no limits as to how much we can enjoy the experience.  What separates a cook and the chef?  The level of involvement the chef is making in his or her own kitchen.  At what level?  That is up to you as the chef.

 

   

How to become a chef?

Becoming a chef Volume II

 

At Mabel White, we encourage you to explore the wonderful resources of the kitchen.  There are so many simple pleasures found in your kitchen that you have no idea exist.  Each new recipe presents a chance to learn and enjoy something new.  In fact, each trusted and faithful recipe in your repertoire presents a chance to learn something completely new.  Your kitchen has potential to surprise you with something new every day.  The kitchen is living and breathing!  It is fed by something altogether different than our world’s population.  It is not fed with food…but with participation and appreciation.   (The photo to the left is Chef Greg's sautéed scallops over polenta--one of our favorite dishes.)

 

Your kitchen feeds off you and your attitude displayed while in the kitchen.  The kitchen responds to the level of involvement you take in the simple act of cooking.  The kitchen wants to be customized for each recipe you bring in.  It wants to be slightly rearranged to accommodate a special cooking technique or dinner party.  The more you interact with the kitchen and its many elements, the greater the degree of chef you cultivate within.  Do take the time to look around and see if you need to move a few things in your kitchen before you begin your next recipe.  Wake up the kitchen!  Hang up the pots that have been hidden away in the dark closet for the past few years.  Bring out your peppermill, kosher salt, olive oil and favorite vinegars.  Keep them out for you to see, reminding you a chef lives there.  Look at each recipe as its own experience and the chance to set up your kitchen “station”, putting things in place to make the recipe more enjoyable. 

 

Your kitchen is your vehicle for expressing any degree of enthusiasm, passion, attitude, and creativity you want as a chef.  Chefs have cool kitchens!  You know why?  Because they use them, they move things around, and everything in there is a part of the experience.  Be creative, be excited, but most importantly, make your kitchen part of the fun!!

 

Where to go next?

Becoming a chef Volume III

 

Our Mabel White signature recipes have been developed and organized to offer the reader three levels of involvement, from easy, to “let’s rock and roll.  The photo on the right is one of three outstanding strawberry and powdered vanilla Mabel signature recipes I created and you will see in the next issue.  In this issue, you will find my suggestions called “things in place” that will guide you through the set-up and utilization of your kitchen like never before.  We have come to approach recipes in the same way our predecessors have presented them to us.  They give us a list of ingredients with the amount needed, and a basic list of steps to make the recipe ready.  We in turn go out and buy the ingredients according to the recipe, and jump right back in the kitchen and start cooking.  We don’t often stop and get things set up before we start.

 

Getting ready to cook is where we separate the chefs from the cooks.  Celine Dion runs through her voice warm-ups before a big Vegas show.  Babe Ruth picked up a few bats and swung in preparation for the next home run.  As a chef, you must think ahead and visualize the steps needed to prepare a recipe or to create a meal.  In doing so, you are able to organize the tools and ingredients necessary to complete the entire experience.  These concepts will come naturally to you as you evolve as a chef.  You’ll see what you need and where things are needed to make a cool kitchen.    

 

 

Things in Place!  Mise en Place

Becoming a chef Volume IV

I would like you to get “Things in Place” before the first cut is made or the first vegetable is peeled.  “Things in Place”, or mise en place in French, is a founding concept in all culinary school systems here in the United States and internationally as well.  Following my simple guidelines and getting “things in placebefore any of your cooking adventures start will bring your abilities as a cook to the next level.  You will be transformed from a cook into your own private chef!  Things in place is how all trained chefs across America manage their kitchens and workloads every single day.

 

Most recipes break down the time it takes to prepare a recipe from start to finish into two groups:  preparation time and cook time.  The preparation time always refers to the time it will take to dice, chop, peel, roll, brush, etc.  What about the time it takes to get the knife, cutting board, vegetable peeler, rolling pin, brush, and other things out and to a handy place?  What about putting your apron on?  What about folding a few terry-cloth towels nicely for your hands and clean-up?    What about getting the scale out?  What about moving the trash can into a handy spot?  Is the dishwasher ready to go?  This is “mise en place

 

Having these “things in place” is the road map to a successful cooking adventure.  You have thought ahead and put all necessary items in arms reach so you are able to work efficiently and, most importantly, see the things involved in your project.  You are much less likely to forget an ingredient if it is right out in front of you.  We have all seen the chefs of today's many cooking shows creating recipes with ease.  How do they navigate through the recipe so easily?  Things in Place”!  You see ingredients measured out into little cups ready to be mixed in or added to the recipe.  You see all the pots and pans already out within arms reach.  This is not movie magic; this is how we work as chefs! Great cooking is accomplished with building blocks.  Your building blocks are all the tools and ingredients it takes to create a recipe from start to finish.  You want to put these blocks together in a smooth, flowing order to make the experience enjoyable and successful.       

Catch you in the next issue...  -happy cooking!-    Chef Greg

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Chef Greg's Garden:  Growing MicroGreens  (We no longer carry Microgreens)

by Chef Gregory Engelhardt

Are you familiar with micro greens?  They are available in about 30 variety's.  They are simply sprout versions of the herbs and lettuces we all know of.   Attached below are the common varieties that can be easily grown at home.  They are ready to eat in 7-14 day!!  Perfect for Spring and container gardens!!!  Arugula, shown on the left, is very pricey in the stores, and most more cost effective to grow your own.  

I have worked with these amazing varieties for years and can say they add more to any plate than almost any other thing available in the professional kitchen (second to only Traditional Balsamico.)  Take a look.  Mabel can get all these seeds, trays, and medium including growing instructions shipped directly to you.  You can have micro basil or celery in just two weeks!

It will make sense to settle on a few varieties that are easy for beginners.  Speaking of beginners, I suggest
that you stay away from all of the herbs, they are notoriously difficult for novices.  Basil is OK but things like dill and chervil are quite tricky and would probably not work well.  I recommend our Beginner Microgreen package would include the easiest to grow:  Arugula, (shown at the top left) Cress, Mizuna, Red Giant Mustard, Tatsoi, Collards, Amaranth, and Red cabbage.   

Once these are mastered, then I would proceed to try others, Advanced Microgreen package. Below is a basic Microgreen photo chart.

Basil, Purple - similar in flavor to Genovese basil, but with an intriguing red color.

Bull’s Blood Beets - vivid red stems, with reddish green strap shaped leaves and a nice earthy flavor.

Bianca Riccia Endive -  beautiful light green leaves and a mild bitter flavor  adds nice color and flavor contrast.

Cabbage, Tokyo Bekana  -sweet, crunchy, a beautiful light green color and intriguing shape.

Celery -  more intense than stem celery, with beautiful feathery foliage.

Chard, Bright Lights  -  multicolored stems add visual intrigue to many dishes.

 

China Rose Radish - a small pink-stemmed microgreen with a bold radish flavor.

Collards - mild flavored dark green garnish for a fun Southern flair.

Cumin - One of the most versatile greens used from chili to a simple garnish.

Daikon - large crunchy thick stemmed micros with a nice mild radish flavor.

Garnet Amaranth - a spectacular garnet color draws makes this the crown jewel of our microgreens collection.

Kohlrabi - a nice earthy flavor similar to spinach and beautiful pink stems and dark green leaves can be used to add lots of visual interest.

Mizuna - a gentle mustard flavor, milder than the Southern or Red Giant varieties.

Tatsoi -  a wonderful dark green oriental green in the brassica or broccoli family.

French Sorrel - the unmistakable tangy lemony flavor is heightened at the miniature stage. The distinctive strap shaped leaves are a welcome change from the usual microgreens shape.

Pea Vines - the unmistakable flavor of snow peas makes this one of our favorites for garnish or as a salad.

Rapini - nice, tangy greens with a versatile flavor that can be paired up with any meat, fish or poultry dish.

Red Giant Mustard - a zippy oriental mustard with reddish overtones

Arugula, as we mentioned is one of our all time favorites.  Arugula - the wonderful nutty peppery flavor adds a pleasant sharpness to any dish. A good micro for beginners. 

Basil, Sweet-  the classic Genovese flavor is even more intense at the seedling stage.

Basil, Thai -  the exotic licorice flavors are especially appropriate for Asian or fusion cuisine.

 

Have at your fingertips what America's most selective chefs use for their most creative garnishes and flavorings.  You never have to chop herbs again!  Look out for my Mabel White signature recipes featuring microgreens and the many unique ways to use these amazing little "flavor bombs." I hope this will germinate into something interesting!  To get pricing on these micro greens. Mabel does not carry microgreens, but agrees they are cool.

Thanks!  Chef Greg

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Mabel's Garden Edible Flowers

We always wondered which petals are really edible to decorate on brie cheeses, incorporate into salads, crystallize with sugar, decorate cakes and many other great uses.  Petals that are the most well know include:  Batchelor's Buttons, Borage, Calendula, Dianthus, Geraniums, Lavender, Impatience, Johnny-Jump Ups, Nasturtiums, Chrysanthemums, Stock, and the always popular Pansy and Rose.    

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Agave Nectar for Edible Love Lotion

We will be offering Agave soon and doing a complete newsletter just based on all the different ways you can use Agave Nectar.  In search of an all natural oil-based sweetener, (which there still is not one) we came across Agave Nectar a natural sweetener from a cactus succulent.  Unfortunately we found it was not oil soluble, and behaved much like vegetable glycerin (floating to the top of an oil-based preparation.)  We did find, however, we are crazy about Agave Nectar in general.  

Agave Nectar is sweeter than honey and looks like honey, but is no where nearly as sticky. It also tastes like maple syrup.  In fact, if we were told it was honey or maple syrup, we would believe it.  Flavor oils will mix with Agave, even though Agave will not generally mix with an oil balm base.  We found this nectar to be a great edible love lotion without adding anything, that could be offered in Agave stick form (also used to stir tea) or in a four ounce plastic bottle with a flip top lid, which we now carry in our supply store. Nevertheless, you will be hearing allot more about Agave Nectar in up coming articles.

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Essential Oils 101: Better Than Vicks

By Leane Ketcherside

 

It seems that nearly everyone I know (including me!) either currently has a spring cold or is trying to get over one. I can always tell what’s going around by the phone calls I get from family and friends. Oh, sure, when they’re feeling well they like to tease me about my Essential oil & herbal remedies—calling me the “Witch Doctor” or asking if I take insurance—but when they get sick, I’m the one they call for help.

 

You may have noticed by now that I’m fairly radical about purity and avoid using anything artificial whenever possible. Topping the list of things I will never use are: Petroleum jelly (Vaseline, Vicks and Mentholatum included), Paraffin wax, Mineral and Baby Oils (same thing, different fragrance) and anything else with a petroleum base. That I have to put the stuff in my car is bad enough—no way will I ever use or recommend this toxic junk for healing, candles or body care products.

 

Below are the recipes and procedures I use for the people I love when they get a cold or flu. They’re better for you than the artificial remedies that line the pharmacy shelves, and most important, they work! Use these along with the tried and true practices of drinking LOTS of water, herbal teas, warm water with lemon & honey, and plenty of rest.

 

 

Please note: for children, pregnant women and the elderly, use only 1/3 of the amounts of each EO. Click here for Essential oils

 

Better than Vicks

 

Rub on the chest and the back over the lungs. For a sore throat, rub on the throat, neck and up under and behind the ears, then wrap with a heated towel.

 

4 ounces of oil ( Olive , Almond, whatever you have)

¼ ounce of Candelilla Wax

15 drops Eucalyptus EO

10 drops Menthol EO

10 drops Tea Tree EO

20 drops Lavender EO

4 plastic pipettes or droppers

 

Add the wax to the oil and zap in the microwave until just melted. Stir in the EOs. Allow to gel. NOTE: If you don’t have any Candelilla wax, you may increase the oil to 6 ounces and use just the oil. Click here for Essential oils.

 

Steam Bowl

 

To unclog the head, nose and ease chest tightness, put two drops of either Peppermint, Rosemary or Eucalyptus EO, OR one drop of Menthol to a full, steaming (not boiling) bowl of water. Cover your head with a towel, lean over the bowl and breathe deeply. Keep tissues handy, you’ll need them! Repeat several times a day.

 

 

Body Ache Bath Salts

 

Soothing and immune-boosting at the same time. Be sure to keep the bathroom door closed to keep the steam and vapors in. Try to use Dead Sea salts if you can, as the minerals are unique to the Dead Sea , and really contribute to any healing blend.

 

1 cup Dead Sea Salts

25 drops Lavender EO

25 drops Rosemary EO

20 drops Lemongrass EO

15 drops Tea Tree EO

 

Mix the EOs into the salts very well. Add ¼ cup per full, warm bath and soak for at least 15 minutes. Click here for Essential oils.

 

Vaporizer Blend

It’s so important to breathe moist air, especially during illness. Add this blend to vaporizers and humidifiers, simmer in water on the stove, and add to Distilled water to spray the air. Its  soothing, antiseptic and anti-viral properties help heal and help de-germ the environment.

 

Lavender EO

Tea Tree EO

Rosemary EO

Peppermint EO

 

Blend 10 drops of each EO into a clean amber glass bottle. Mix well. Add 5 or 6 drops of the blend to a full vaporizer or humidifier, three or four drops to a simmering pan of water, or 10 drops to 6 ounces of Distilled water in a spray mister. Click here for essential oils.

Take a look at our last newsletter in the archives for Cold Sore SOS recipes!  

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PC 101:  You Are As Strong As Your Weakest Link

Being as strong as your weakest link is true to many areas of  life.  It is also true with your home personal computer.  This is probably the last article I wanted to write, but it is what I have been learning the last few weeks. If it can happen to my nice system, it can happen to yours. Please do not e-mail us about PC's.  This article is as much as I want to ever say about computers.  I hope you find it helpful.

I do not open many attachments unless I am sure who they are coming from.  Even then, my virus checker programs typically catch an incoming virus in my e-mail.  There is a new hybrid of Trojans (in-coming virus laden junk that takes over) that does not require you to open them--and simply hitting a key to delete the e-mail will trigger it to do its thing.  My main mistake one day was checking my e-mail BEFORE my start up programs were finished loading, and having Norton Anti virus load last.  Now, I have Norton load first in my start up menu and I wait until it is done before I hit my e-mail.  Doing so would have stopped DO.exe which totally crashed my system.  Not knowing I had the Trojan, my PC got worse after every reboot, and it loved me to reboot.  I have several programs load up that stop pop-ups, catch spy ware and so on, but Norton's was most important and I had that loading last.  The bottom line is that I spent days trying to save my old system, to no avail, search for a new system, and then load up my new system properly as I discuss below.  

To Check Your Present System

All of the following recommendations are hyper linked to where I got them.  I would encourage you to get Norton AntiVirus 2004 by Symantec (downloadable always) and allow it to scan your present system and to load first.  Always check for updates.  Then I would recommend you get Lava Soft, also known as Ad-Aware to scan for all of the soliciting junk you may not even know is in your PC.  Microsoft told me to use them one day when I just could not get around on my PC.  After I saw all of the advertising junk I had accumulated, and deleted with that great program, I was able to move around again.  I did not know that visiting some sites  invites them into my world.  It is fair game, I suppose, since I did visit their turf.  After those two programs, I highly recommend Spy-Bot out of Europe, a great group of people who offer an excellent free product and hope for donations. I do donate to them.  They catch spy ware and stay very up to date.  You have more spy ware than you know, I am sure.  Last but not least, if you live online as I do, get Black Ice to load last.  This program will always tell you who is trying to get in, their IP as well as DNS address and EVERYTHING.  It is so cool.  It beeps you when an intruder is coming in and tells you just who it is while keeping them away.  Typically JUST being on line invites jerks to check you out--if you have an open port. Chances are you do not even know what a port is. But you have them, and this will lock them down. I did not select Black Ice Application protection because it is just too picky when I load any other programs, meaning a new application, such as MS Word.  But to keep a solid firewall, it is great.  I have seen every kind of Virus program there is, and the series I described above is still the best.

General Maintenance

Once you know your PC is OK and safe, then remember to clean out your Windows/TempIntFiles as they do accumulate a lot of junk, (basically everywhere you have been) and the large files in temp memory can slow you way down.  I zoom the net so much, I delete the contents of that folder almost every day, as well as /Cookies and /Temp.  Many people tell me they froze when trying to open a simple file--I tell them to clean out their garbage to free them up.  They are shocked to even know their every net move is recorded in those folders and that typically taking out their garbage works very well to free them back up.   

Also, defragging your hard drive and scanning it for errors is also good to keep in mind once a month.  Typically a right click on My Computer can take you to those tools.  Not defragging once in awhile can slow you down. But make sure your system is clear of any virus or ad-laden junk before you start good maintenance.  You may have a sleeping virus already in your system that you don't know about.  Just scan and protect what you have first.  Then worry about general up-keep.  Have an expert see what is in your start up menus (what is told to load when you turn on your PC) as you may find much of it worthless and also enough to slow you down.  Some may be very important, which is why I say to have an expert look at that.

If You Need a New System

This I do not hope for my worst enemy.  I had to go get a new system last week.  I like Compaq, but I found out Hewlett Packard bought them, and yes, an HP Pentium 4 was the only decent thing I could find at Sam's Club.  I did not have time to take my own advice and go with an All American supported company.  Click here for that great former article.   The trick is to NOT have to call the support line in the first place.  The new system would recognize ALL of my old 30 programs EXCEPT my HP printer drivers!  Uh, last I checked this was a new HP PC with Windows XP.  So, I spent HOURS on the phone with Tech Support and they still had no solutions.  They shuffled me back and forth between departments, and then repeat the whole routine--all to NO avail. 

So, not needing any customer support from HP is first important.  When you do get situated, as I did, with a new PC, first delete ALL of the stupid sales junk and programs designed to pop up and get you to buy more stuff.  That is a great start.  With a new PC, they are easy to spot.  THEN, get Norton's to scan and start doing its job.  After Norton's is purchased and working, download your other good spy ware.  I would do all of this before I got into loading my favorite programs and getting them they way I like them.  So, that is it!  Good luck and happy surfing!  

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