pamsfoodforthought

Once in a while life throws you a few curve balls, that have a way of stopping you right in the middle of your tracks, scratching your head, and wondering, "wow! what just hit me?" It's these moments in life where you are forced to re-evaluate where you are and where you now need to go. Sadly, I had one of those curve ball, or shall we say "fast ball," moments when I lost my job in July; at 12:59 I was the General Manager of a company, planning on a promotion to VP of Sales and Marketing as I assisted in a company-wide merger with our sister company. Then, just like being hit by lightening, at 1:00 I was told that “the owners don’t like the new structure and there is no easy way to say this, but your position has been eliminated.” My position was eliminated. Don’t you just love those words? Great, now what? So here’s some food for thought, when life comes to a screeching halt with only five simple words and no warning, why not take matters into your own hands, and start your own company! Really, it's the most logical thing to do, right? I mean you can never be laid off, your position will never be eliminated, and you can share with others whatever it is you love most - like me, I love food! So from this idea, Pam's Food for Thought was born! Now some of you who know me well might say that I’m a chef, while others may consider me a cook wanna be; but regardless of what you may think about me, I can honestly say that I am the happiest when I am in the kitchen with a knife in my hand and something to chop. So now, let me start from the beginning. I was born in Omak, Washington, and moved to Federal Way when I was just four years old... Ok, so I'm just kidding, I’m not really going to go back that far…. But here's where I will start: I never cooked growing up! With an Italian mother, who would? I worked in the family kitchen as my moms “sous chef, chopping, pouring, measuring, but never actually cooking. Both of my grandmothers were very good cooks. My dads mom was a chef at “Club El Toro” (not a Mexican restaurant) in Hudson Wyoming, specializing in cabbage rolls, chicken fried steak, steak, pretty much any great basic American food. My mom’s mom was an immigrant from southern Italy bringing with her many traditional and delicious family recipes. When my mom married my dad she learned how to infuse both cuisines into one, and ever since she has been feeding our large family with delicious, home cooked, from-scratch meals. When I was newly engaged my dad gave me a Better Homes and Garden cookbook with a note attached, “God help Brian." The first real dinner I cooked was for my parent’s anniversary. Here is what I served: Cornish game hens stuffed with wild rice, asparagus in hollandaise sauce, ceasar salad and strawberry shortcake for desert. Needless to say, my parents' and Brian’s mouths dropped open as they all said at the same time “when did you learn to cook?" Thirty years, over 100 birthday parties, three graduation parties, and one post-wedding party later, I am starting a new chapter of my life as a caterer; and as I now like to say, when life throws you a curve ball, it must just be hungry for something new, so head into the kitchen and start cooking! Pam’s food for Thought isn’t just another recipe blog (although you can always count on a few good recipes to pop up every now and then); it's a blog about every day life, because let's be honest, life is going to taste pretty good from here on out!