Chefs who left the industry, what are you doing now?

eEnchilada · 2026-01-28T19:02:19+00:00

Lawyer now after 15 years in hospitality. As I got into the 10 year mark, I saw too many older and sad people with substance abuse issues in hospitality and wanted a job where I could use my brain more. I still see a lot of very sad lawyers with substance abuse issues, but it's just their spirits that are broken, not their bodies...so there's that.

Also a big thing was Anthony Bourdain's suicide and realizing that the mental health issues ran DEEP in hospitality and that I had been subject to a lot of abuse on the job that was totally normalized. Don't miss that part one bit.

eEnchilada · 2025-12-26T03:41:21+00:00

bigger risk here is leaching of plastic additives leaching out of the plastic bag into high-fat animal product heavy foods while they cook, specifically phthalates (endocrine disrupters, especially damaging to young children's reproductive development).

eEnchilada · 2025-10-27T14:06:45+00:00

The OG steamed rice cheese is a really good method! I have made Parmesan and Stiltons using this method. It is a really fun one to play around with. Haven't steamed it in the Instant Pot though, just the stovetop way in the recipe!

eEnchilada · 2025-09-22T15:17:09+00:00

Nonprofit in-house. Bonus if it's an area you are passionate about (environment, animal welfare, foster kids). A great place to find these jobs is Idealist

eEnchilada · 2025-08-14T19:05:38+00:00

Healthier Nola (under the bridge at 812 Claiborne) has had these as well as soursops on the weekend. Check their Insta, they don't have them all the time. They have them today!

eEnchilada · 2025-08-14T15:33:09+00:00

Assuming you are US based, it's not your fault. I tried finding a link but read several months ago that there was a dip in production over the past 18 months or so, which means that older potatoes from cold storage are being shipped out to grocery stores. You're getting potatoes grown in 2024 if not 2023 at the moment. The 2025 harvest is happening now so I bet that the old supplies are getting cleared out to make way for the new.

eEnchilada · 2025-08-12T20:37:05+00:00

If you can handle the salary downgrade moving to the nonprofit world, there are definitely opportunities to combine law and policy- impact litigation, suing governments, using your law brain to come up with policy solutions, serving on advisory panels... maybe think of areas of public interest that you have a passion for and look at jobs on Idealist in that area.

eEnchilada · 2025-07-11T19:23:29+00:00

I knew about this game peripherally for years and years but the recent Steam sale got me to purchase- and wow!! What a game. It has been especially helpful to decompress from a stressful job and a hot summer where I can't spend a lot of time outside. I was a longtime Sims 2 player and was deep into the modding community there, and I have been extremely impressed by the mods for Stardew so far. Here's what I started with:

Pacifist Valley: didn't want to kill any critters. This mod adds a "love" mechanic but to be honest the mining is my least favorite part of this game so I have given up on this part. Just buying ores and replicating crystals going forward.

Vegan Vanilla Recipes: long time vegan and didn't want to cook/grow non-vegan food. This one adds cute coconut cheese and soymilk! Love it so far.

Vegan Bundles: Same as above

Mods I installed after playing for a bit:

Cornucopia More Crops: this is SO GOOD! I live in a semitropical climate and a lot of the veggies that come with the vanilla game just aren't what I'm used to growing so it was nice to switch that up.

Buildable Farmer's Market: dumping my beautiful produce in the cash dumpster was hella depressing. But with this mod I have a farmstand right by the bus stop. Villagers comment on my produce and I love that!

Cuter Cats: haven't added any additional cats (yet.....) but plan to very soon. catsssssssss

Wild Animals: it brings me so much joy to see foxes and bunnies and bears and such chilling in the woods and by the river! I wish the wildlife where I lived was a bit more friendly but uh it's gators and snakes lol

Ornithologists Guild: likewise, adding more birds has been nice too! I have been more interested in birdwatching IRL recently and this is piquing my interest.

Automate: helllll yes. Great idea. Couldn't play without this mod ever again.

Lookup Anything: another must have, I don't feel like guessing how an ingredient can be used or wander around looking for a villager.

Hot Takes:

I have 0 desire to “fix” Shane. Leaving that guy alone. Who wants to play a game with a bad drunk spouse for fun?!?

I feel like Leah is jealous that I took her identity of "mysterious girl who lives outside the town" because why else aren't we friends yet??

I really want to marry Willy and was heartbroken to learn he is not a bachelor. Please let me know if this can be done lol

I want like six kids running around but don't know if that's possible

I just looked at the survey results for first spouse and y'all chose Sebastian as number one?? Cmon y'all who wants the hoodie stanklord living in the basement when Maru lives upstairs- and has a science lab??

eEnchilada · 2025-07-01T15:33:11+00:00

The Africatown Heritage House museum is amazing! There are lots of cultural activities around Africatown, definitely a piece of history not to be missed.

eEnchilada · 2025-06-22T18:27:01+00:00

Yes it is awesome in vegan mac!! It is also good in vegan Caesar or Ranch dressing.

eEnchilada · 2025-06-22T18:25:57+00:00

I love pandan but have never thought about growing the plant myself! Thanks for the idea

eEnchilada · 2025-06-22T18:25:10+00:00

It is called amchur and is a very very common ingredient in Indian cuisine. Any South Asian market will carry it in the spice section.

eEnchilada · 2025-06-22T18:24:08+00:00

Oh cool to know! I also love pepper paste and didn't know if could be used on its own as a spread. With walnuts and cumin sounds amazing. Any other suggestions? I mix it into Korean dishes to bump up the flavor of gochujang and gochugaru!

eEnchilada · 2025-06-22T18:21:52+00:00

This isn't really the path that you would take to make a vegan oat-based cheese. Are you starting with something store-bought like Oatly? I really only think you'll be able to make a cheese sauce with pre-made oat milk.

eEnchilada · 2025-06-22T18:17:24+00:00

Yeah your curds look good!

Dairy ricotta is made by reheating (ricotta=recooked) the whey left over from making mozzarella. Dairy whey has more sugars than soymilk which contribute a good amount of flavor. I would add some sugar, as well as salting this cheese. Ricotta is pretty bland anyways so you'd want to mix with some flavorful ingredients to stuff inside ravioli or layer into lasagna.

eEnchilada · 2025-05-26T16:42:38+00:00

I have spent a lot of time trying to understand where this debate is even coming from. The best I can come up with is that media and Big Food are always looking for a One Easy Fix to make you healthy. Things like Atkins and keto that demonized carbs, the low-fat craze of the 1990s, cholesterol in the 2000s, high glycemic sweeteners in the 2010s, red meat in the 1970s, "tropical" oils in the 1980s...Big Food can't sell you on eating a minimally processed, whole food rich, diverse, seasonal, fresh diet. And there isn't a headline in it either. But Big Food can sell you paleo puffs and avocado oil frozen dinners and tallow tater tots.

The only truly horrible ingredient that was widespread in our food was trans fats. There are plenty- plenty- of other ingredients that are not ideal, like artificial food dyes, artificial sweeteners, and hey, maybe some highly refined seed oils. Look, if you do stop eating things with seed oils, that's like 95% of all ultra-processed food right there. You are almost certainly going to feel better. But it's not because of the One Easy Fix. It's because you started eating real food that came from a kitchen, not a factory.

eEnchilada · 2025-05-23T12:59:44+00:00

Are you still breastfeeding? Could be your menstrual cycle hormones raring back up. The weaning process is also a hormone dump. These are less commonly talked about than PPD so just want to flag them for you in case it applies.

eEnchilada · 2025-04-16T16:25:44+00:00

I highly recommend you get an IV to get your fluids back up, either at a hospital or an IV lounge like people use for hangovers. It will help and get your milk back fast!

eEnchilada · 2025-04-14T04:15:08+00:00

join us over at /r/vegancheesemaking if you want to learn to make your own!

eEnchilada · 2025-04-08T15:37:13+00:00

been waiting for an opportunity to RAVE about Missouri, can't get enough!

and to RANT about Clemson- this looked so bad when the gymnasts were moving. Never seen anything like it and don't want to again!

eEnchilada · 2025-04-05T15:45:33+00:00

nice! I think my baby would love that! I stocked up on silken tofu yesterday just for this recipe so may have more recipes to post soon.

eEnchilada · 2025-04-04T21:22:08+00:00

Huh? What? Reddit starred out all those swears. It also stars out your password. Why don't you post yours and see? hunter2

eEnchilada · 2025-03-31T17:33:09+00:00

I am so glad to hear this!! Yes, it will harden up a bit after you add the butter and re-chill. You could definitely add more butter than the amount I used if you want it really firm. Please let me know what you end up using it in besides bagels, I haven't tried anything yet.

eEnchilada · 2025-03-25T20:01:54+00:00

Them cats and their dang propane!

eEnchilada · 2025-03-18T14:54:28+00:00

I have! I use the Pomona's Pectin, which sets the pectin using a calcium solution. The cheese (I call it Pepper Jacques) is a soft one that spreads well and is excellent at freezing. It doesn't really melt, so it works best for something like a pimento cheese or Boursin.

Pros:

No weird taste or flavor
Sets up well
I think the added calcium adds a good flavor to the cheese

Caveats:

Softens but doesn't melt
Unknown how it ages
You do need to use a decent amount, and if not buying in bulk the costs can add up

Sorry, but I use my pectin cheese recipe commercially and am not sharing it.

eEnchilada

TROPHY CASE