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The End is Near

On January 4th I will begin my 5th & final quarter of culinary school. It's been 15 months of 5 am alarms, full-time student/part time worker budget & a whole lot of stress. But it has also been rewarding and a great deal of fun. I have made some life-long friends and countless connections I hope to carry me through to where I want to be. The problem now is to figure out where that is. How do you decide where to direct your focus in life? When does the sign show up, telling you where to go, what to do, who to be?

I've done this once, graduated from college, took a job, worked a 9-5...and was quite successful at it. So, what's the hold up now?? The uncertainty I feel regarding my next career move is enough to cause shortness of breath, nervous actions and mental blocking to keep myself from over thinking about the decisions I have to make. Today I'm going to spiff up my resume and apply for some jobs. Or, at least make some connections, since there aren't really jobs to apply for when you say, "I am interested in your company and will be available 6-9 months from now".

In 3 short months I will have sharpened my knives a dozen times, cooked my final school meal, taken my turn at kitchen management and said my good-byes. Hopefully I will know more at that point than I do right now, about where I'll be focusing my efforts. My goals? Well...I will be pursuing a position where I can make positive affects on local food movement efforts and healthy lifestyle changes for Midwestern peeps. Now just to find someone who wants to pay me to do just that.
And...because this is sort of a food blog (sort of!) ...here's a quick appetizer to take to any holiday gatherings you have coming up. It's vegetarian and gluten free (if you use GF crackers). Cheers!

Roasted Tomatoes & Peppers
Serves 10+ appetizer portions
*Preheat oven to 400 F

Ingredients
-2 cups cherry tomatoes
-2 garlic cloves, peeled & cut in half
-1/2 onion, thinly sliced**
-2 tbl olive oil
-salt & pepper, to taste
-1 jar roasted peppers, roughly chopped
-Assorted crackers for dipping

1. Toss the tomatoes, garlic & onions with olive oil and a pinch of salt and some freshly ground black pepper in an oven proof baking dish (an 8x8 pan worked well). Place in the preheated oven for 20 minutes
2. Add the peppers and a tbl or so of the juice from the jar and toss well. Return to the oven for 10 more minutes
3. Turn the broiler on Hi and broil the veggies for 3 more minutes
4. Remove from the oven allow to cool slightly before transferring tasting, adding salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a serving dish and serve with crackers.

**I used caramelized onions because I had some leftover from the previous day. If you want to do the same, slowly cook several onions at one time and use them in egg dishes, sandwiches and recipes like this one ;)

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