No More Soggy Food

I have been sitting on this particular idea for at least a decade and I think it is now time to put it into the public domain and I hope someone will use it.

Years ago, I had been doing quite a bit of business travel, staying in really super hotels in SA and neighbouring countries. At night I mostly ate in my room. I loved the beautifully set trolleys and silver domes and sitting back with my feet up, munching away and watching telly.

But the problem was, no matter how many stars the hotel had, once the condensation from the food hit the top of the dome, it dripped back onto the meal – making the food soggy and things that weren’t supposed to be runny runny.

My grand idea which I tested in my home kitchen went something like this: The stuff in babies’ disposable nappies absorbs liquid and doesn’t let it out. So why not use something like this to line the domes, pizza boxes etc.

The tests conducted in my kitchen were done using panty liners (don’t laugh). After food was given a quite warm up in the microwave I stuck a panty liner or 2 to the lid of the food container and voila…..it absorbed the moisture. I also stuck liners to Tupperware lids and put veggies, whole and chopped in the containers and stuck the Tupperware in the fridge. The veggies lasted for ages and stayed very crisp. Much longer than usual.

Needless to say this was hardly a scientific study – but it worked. I have no idea what effect heating the stuff in liners does, but I am still around!

So here’s the thing. No one has done this yet – you can’t buy a roll of liner stuff, like cling wrap, to stick on the lids of pizza boxes, silver domes, hamburger takeout containers or Tupperware.

I know that it might add to the cost but do you know what it will do for people who like non-soggy food – we would love it.

There are heaps of commercial applications – hot and cold stuff for homes and hotels, meals in hospitals, meals on the airlines (just a little strip on the container lid will do the trick) take away/out places (millions of these), and so on.

Please someone use this idea……………………………

In and out of Lectures

Well, I have completed the short course I attended at Pretoria University. The campus is great. Spotless, no litter, buildings in very good repair, safe parking with guards, lecture rooms well equiped and clean and staff really polite and helpful.

A lot of work goes into preparing for and delivering lectures. The lecturer I had was super. Very knowledgeable and one of those people who just knows how to get the message across. We were given comprehensive notes and lots of hand-outs. The experience was so nice I almost ran off to sign up for more courses!

But, and here is the little mystery - can anyone out there tell me why the younger students feel that they have to leave to lecture hall every 20 minutes or so, come back in, make people move or stand up to let them back to their seats, send sms's, write each other notes.....despite our prof giving us the break times in the morning! There was this steady little stream up people bobbing up all the time.

My daughter has just been to a CSI conference - and she says exactly the same thing happened there.

Is this just bad manners?

Back to School

Over the weekend I completed my editing assignment. I edited the DVDs and workbooks for the Matric Accountancy and Business Studies lessons, produced by the SABC Learning Channel. 60 lessons in total which have left me a bit squared eyed and suffering from cabin fever.

It was an enjoyable task and I was particularly impressed with Business Studies. This subject should be compulsory for all students and anyone below the age 60! Not joking – it should be a requirement for everyone to do this course before they set out into the big wide world. The course provides valuable life skill information.

And I am back to school next week – I am doing a course at Pretoria University and hope that hitting the pause button is not too entrenched in my psyche and I can sit in a lecture hall for a few hours at a stretch!

Lessons from the Kitchen

I love cooking and after receiving some fabulous compliments the other night I thought I would use this blog to blow my own trumpet a bit and pass on success tips.

Compliment 1. I will never ask you to my house for dinner – I will take you to a restaurant – your food is so good.
Compliment 2. One day I will come to you for cooking lessons.

Despite enjoying these compliments, I don’t consider myself to be that fantastic a chef. What I do very well though is to plan a dinner or lunch party exceptionally well – and this turns into a lesson.

So, what makes my parties a success? I spend a lot of time planning - and this is the process I follow:

· Invite the guests
· Decide on the budget
· Set the menu and wine/drinks requirements according to the budget
· Check the food and wine inventory and hit the shops for what is required
· Check the resources: flatware, cutlery etc
· Make changes to menu if appropriate (cant get certain ingredients)
· Do the meal project plan ie. Pre-cooking, timing, wine on ice, drinks in the fridge, the table, flowers etc
· Enlist aid of daughter where applicable (she is a great cook, by the way)
· Cook up a storm
· Greet guests and have a wonderful time.

Hmmmmm. Sound familiar? Just what all the business books tell us to do - plan, plan and plan, execute the plan, make changes where appropriate and deliver the goods.

And what do I get out of the parties? A great meal that I loved cooking, great conversation and great time with my friends – success – mission accomplished!

In case you want to know, I served the following:
· Foie Gras (for my French friends), smoked salmon mousse with Melba Toast
· A parfait of fresh tomato and sweet red pepper soup with vanilla cream
· De-boned chicken stuffed with yellow pepper, fresh herbs and sausage meat, cooked on a bed of carrots, celery and onions.
· Veggies: Sliced courgette with lemon olive oil, creamy polenta
· To finish: fresh pears poached in red wine, lavender and honey served with crème anglais.

Accountancy

I haven't blogged for while - Why? because I have been quite busy editing DVD's and workbooks for the Matric accountancy lessons, produced by the SABC Learning Channel. There are 30 lessons in total and these will be distributed (for a small fee) to schools and learners so they can study for their final exams.

Now, the idea of studying accountancy crops up quite often during the lessons - it appears that learners complain that they cannot "study" accountancy. The presenters get quite excited when they have a formula or ratio for the learners to "study". Does this mean they can memorise this part - yes, I think it does. Surely, study also implies learning and understanding and not just memorising? And how do you do this? By going over the exercises, practising the exercises and understanding them and understanding how to apply the concepts. You can study accountancy!

And on this note - I will even go as far as saying that accountancy is like riding a bicycle - once you know it you can always do it.........

Trying things and Learning

Just about everyone who knows me, knows that my daughter Lisa is an adventure racer and does extreme marathons. Some people think she is quite daft and dont understand what drives someone to happily run a 250 km race. Having been part of the preparations and support crew on occasion, I know how much courage it takes to enter these events and how much courage it takes to finish. And it takes a true understanding of "self" that finishing the race is achievable.

Lisa recently wrote a bit on her blog about this (http://adventurelisa.blogspot.com/) and quoted the following from Tim Jarvis who has done 3 unsupported polar expeditions.

"... growing up, we find out about ourselves and the world around us by trying things and learning through our experiences. Somewhere along the line, though, the responsibilities that represent adulthood seem to suppress this 'give it a go' spirit, replacing it with an increased reliance on second-hand sources, and the opinions of others.
That spirit often lies dormant for years, until one day we wake up and look back with regret and no real answer as to why we didn't find time to realise at least one or two dreams. In many cases it's because we're too often told that things are not possible for us, or not as simple as they appear to be. In some cases this is true, but it's dangerous to lump everything together in the same basket. If you do you'll find yourself not trying anything new or challenging at all."

Good food for thought.

And on the subject of customer service

I picked up this quote the other day - by a guy called Rob Armano - http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/

“We live in a world where the little things really do matter. Each encounter no matter how brief is a micro interaction which makes a deposit or withdrawal from our rational and emotional subconscious. The sum of these interactions and encounters adds up to how we feel about a particular product, brand or service. Little things. Feelings. They influence our everyday behaviors more than we realize.”