New Business Venture!

I never thought I'd have reason to say this, but I rented a commercial kitchen today.


OK, it was really just the cafeteria at the local senior center, but I had to pay money for it and it had an industrial mixer in it and everything.

That's right: I'm jumping through all the hoops to try to sell frozen pies at the Sunday market.  I even filled out the proper forms for the health department!

Now, since customers are taking the frozen pies home and doing the baking themselves, my product is considered 'low risk' in the health department's eyes.  This is good for me, as I don't have to take all the scary classes in proper food handling and sterilization and such.  Of course, that's bad for my clients, as I haven't taken all the scary classes in proper food handling and sterilization and such.  So that means -- theoretically -- that if I, say, cut my thumb while slicing apples, I could just, say, scrunch a paper towel over the spot and then, oh -- for instance -- secure the wad of towel in place with a strip of plastic wrap looped around and around my thumb.

Just as an example.

I brought waaay too much stuff to the kitchen, just because I didn't know what I needed.  I had enough supplies to make at least a few apple, peach, pumpkin, strawberry-rhubarb, and pecan pies.  I had 100 pie tins, in two sizes!  I had lofty plans to also make pounds of turnovers!  And, although I have enough to at least make a showing at the next market, I certainly didn't need as many ingredients as I bought.

You should know that I was actually pretty efficient and unusually awesome.  But there were a few hiccups.  For instance, I remembered to bring my check book to pay the rental fee, but DIDN'T REALIZE THERE WERE NO CHECKS IN IT.   Which means I had to DRIVE BACK HOME to search for my extra checks.  Luckily, I don't live too far.  However, that did get me starting half an hour later than I wanted to.

Another hiccup: I forgot to bring a vegetable peeler.  And, despite the fact that the kitchen stocked an entire drawer of knives, another drawer of serving tongs and three drawers of placemats, there was not one single vegetable peeler in attendance.  I tried to use a paring knife, but that was kind of a disaster.  So then I switched to using one of the special gadgets on my mandolin:

Who knew you could zest an apple?

That worked for a bit, but I finally figured out how to position the apple on the regular mandolin blade at just the proper angle to scrape off the skin without slicing the entire apple. 

The final, major hiccup: it's kinda hard to roll out pie crusts when one has neglected to bring a rolling pin. 

Sigh.

Luckily, another kitchen renter kindly (if unknowingly) allowed me to commandeer the rolling pin they had stored in the supply room.  Woo Hoo!

So, Major Disasters averted, I've at least got my feet wet in the commercial kitchen department.  As much as it was a pain to load my entire car with all my supplies, I'm hoping the pies will sell so well that I'll have to get back into the kitchen again soon.

I'll let you know how it went when the market's over.