The Start of My “Eat, Pray, Love” Summer

I used to write these posts called “A Week in my Paleo Life”, where I’d basically tell you about what food I was eating, what workouts I was doing, and why. I thought they were kinda boring, but I got emails here and there saying they were appreciated. I usually hesitate to post personal things, but this summer I am embarking on my own “Eat, Pray, Love” experience. Or a Happiness project. Or I don’t know, one of those books that means I am opening my eyes to new things and experiences! 

My summers and school breaks are always a time for me to refuel and do things that I really love. My freshman summer, I learned the world of blogging from Laura Fuentes. My sophomore summer, I studied for the MCAT. Now my junior summer, I will be learning how to cook from Chef Robert Vasquez. 

Day 1:

The Chef told me I should “prepare for bootcamp”. A few of the other workers warned me that he will be nice the first few weeks, and then he’ll expect a lot from me. So to me this meant, I should probably take notes. 

6 hours of working went by so quickly. So many different food items had come and gone from my cutting board and I barely remember what I chopped. Even though I was around food all day, I forgot to eat. I went home, made dinner, turned on Chef’s Table on Netflix, and took more notes. 

Day 2:

I had one day off and I was already dying to be in the kitchen again. Maybe it was that I wanted to learn, or maybe it’s just that I go crazy being at home for more than a few hours. This day was mainly focused on the production of the restaurant’s pre-made Paleo meals. Chef Robert knew I would enjoy this part, because everything we prepared was 100% Paleo… and 100% delicious. 

I stood at my prep-station (prepping away…) but I couldn’t help but wonder what was he going to do with that bunch of bananas. Next I knew he handed me a container of colors: kale, broccoli slaw, carrots, topped with sliced bananas. So strange, but so good. Who would think of complementing a bitter kale with the sweetest fruit? Obviously Chef Robert. “I want you to be better at this than me by the end of summer”, he said. That most definitely will not happen (given he’s a genius), but I sure hope I can create flavor combos like kale and bananas.