Evelyn's Blog - Taste of Gourmet

Crazy Mississippi Weather!

No gorgeous sunrise this morning - would you believe SLEET in the Delta!  We're having crazy weather and snow is predicted tonight!  The funny thing is that our Gourmet Consultants are finishing a January SNOWFLAKE sales contest tonight!  All month, my "funny" emails to them have "forecast Blizzard Conditions in Mississippi on January 31st!"  I was talking about the paper snowflakes (one for each order placed) in the packing area - and those ARE in blizzard quantities!  Now SNOW - the real thing!  Mississippi is always a surprise!

Delta Sunsets

Some people think that the Mississippi Delta is just a flat, featureless landscape!  And it is flat - but oh, to have an afternoon like yesterday!  Tony and I were at the edge of the wheat field, with the sun going down through those wispy clouds, streaks of color in every direction with nothing to block our view!  Nothing but the cypress brake a mile or so away!   There is just nothing more beautiful than a Delta Sunset!  Nothing!  It is such a blessing to live in this special place!

Then, this morning, when I was walking through the living room on my way to get our coffee going, I was treated to a glorious sunrise, red and gold reflecting the whole length of the lake. I didn't wake up Tony to see it (it'll be his "turn" tomorrow to get the coffee.)  I just hope it's as pretty tomorrow.

"I love what I do..."

"First find something that you love to do so much that you would gladly do it for nothing.  Then learn to do it so well that people are happy to pay you for it."  Walt Disney

I am blessed! I do love what I do! I love everything about working at The Crown - passing the Bread Board - urging guests at the Dessert Table to try a bite of the Magnolia Macaroon Pie - talking about our Bisque or Gumbo or Chipotle Sauce - sharing recipes with customers! 

I love working with our Taste of Gourmet Consultants on the phone or by email - solving little problems for them - congratulating them on earning the Viking Rewards - giving advice on how to make their Tastings easier - hearing what they like about Taste of Gourmet and the food we've created!  I absolutely LOVE coming to work everyday - at The Crown or in my office at the plant!

It doesn't really even feel like work (99% of the time!) I just love people and I love being able to help them feed their families the wonderful foods we've created!  I am very blessed!  This year, I hope that you also find that one thing that you love to do! 

St. Jude Product of the Month

January's St. Jude Product of the Month is Southwest Soup!  Our very BEST selling Soup!  You know it's cold all over this country - really cold even in Mississippi and Florida!  So this absolutely the perfect time to stock your pantry with soup mixes - especially our Southwest Soup!

Why is it such a good time?  Because Taste of Gourmet is donating $1.00 to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for every single Southwest Soup sold during January!  Your purchase will give you pleasure in the eating!  PLUS your purchase helps the children at St. Jude Hospital to fight their cancers and the doctors in their fight to find cures for so many devastating childhood cancers.  The research done at St. Jude helps children around the world!

And children close to home!  Our four year old grandson is playing with his best friend this afternoon.  Little Riley Pickett has been a patient at St. Jude for almost three years and he is strong and well and playing hard this afternoon with Prescott!   We thank God for little Riley's health, for the doctors and the work being done at St. Jude.

You can order our Southwest Soup on our website or call your local Taste of Gourmet Consultant to place your order. Every month is a different featured product! And please say a prayer for the research being done at St. Jude - our children are so precious!

"The Best You've Ever Made!"

I love talking to my customers at The Crown - They always make me feel so good!  A few days ago, someone finished lunch, then went shopping in the food shelves!  She had three Creole File Gumbo mixes in her hand and shared this story with me!

She had been making Gumbo for her family for years and they loved it!  And making Gumbo from scratch is a time consuming process - cutting vegetables - browning the roux just right - it takes a lot of time - but she enjoyed doing it for the family!  Then during Christmas she took a "short cut" and made Gumbo using my mix!  Her daughter told her, "That Gumbo was the best you've ever made!" 

I was surpised that she wasn't terribly upset at her daughter's comment - she was thrilled!  "Your mix is going to save me lots of time and we'll all still get to enjoy great Gumbo!  Never stop making this mix!"  And we won't - it's one of our best sellers at The Crown AND through our Taste of Gourmet Consultants! 

It's Soup Weather!

We're freezing in Mississippi!  We're not used to this cold weather, but we do know how to make ourselves feel warm and cozy!  We put on a pot of Soup!  My grandmother did it, Mama did it and when the weather is this cold, I always grab the soup pot and head for the stove! 

Of course, since I started creating the soups for Taste of Gourmet, it's even easier!  I can follow my own directions on the back of my box of soup - OR - I can try out yet another variation on my precious, patient family!  Diced chicken in the Potato Soup - lots of fresh spinach in the Tuscan Bean and Pasta Soup (that's supper tonight!) -  Crawfish tails AND shrimp in the Creamy Delta Bisque!  Variations go on forever in my kitchen!

One of my very favorites is my Southwest Soup made with a pound (or so) of diced chuck roast or stew meat - it tastes just the way Mama used to make her homemade vegetable soup and we loved it - with a pan of corn bread!  Heaven on a cold night!  Sometimes I'll add the beans or peas left from supper the night before, or some pasta the kids didn't eat!  The spices in our Southwest Soup seem to stretch and stretch to flavor whatever "leftover" I have in the fridge!  That was just the Mama made it too!  Our Soup mixes are just plain wonderful - If I do say so myself!

 

It's so easy it's embarrassing!

Those words sum up Taste of Gourmet perfectly!  Whether you are talking about how deliciously easy it is to cook with our products and serve your family the hot, nutritious meals they deserve!  Or talking about how  easy it is for the Consultant to prepare and make the presentation of the food at a Tasting!  "It's so easy it's embarressing!"

When Consultants offer you our Taste of Gourmet products, they are offering you the service of "fast food!"  But not from the chain joints on the highway! Food from your own kitchen!  Our food makes the life of a busy person so much easier!

Our mission is to create products that you will use everyday!  We want you to consider our soups and breads and sauces, staples in your pantry that you will replenish every month - just like you go to the grocery store!

Taste of Gourmet is all about deliciously easy meals and entertaining!  It's not about cooking!  It's about having fun with food and enjoying your family and friends while they enjoy the food you've prepared!  It's about having fun with your family around the supper table eating Southwest Soup and a loaf of hot Bayou Beer Bread!  Supper IS so easy it's embarrassing! 

I love this quote "In cooking, as in the arts, simplicity is the sign of perfection."   Taste of Gourmet makes cooking simple - and perfection!

Happy New Year 2008!

What a wonderful Christmas Holiday we had on the banks of Lake Shackleford!  Lots of family and friends, eating and talking and enjoying the peace and joy of Christmas!  It was wild a few times, paper and toys flying in all directions, but it was also a quiet, joyful time in front of the fire, playing Scrabble with Sage and Prescott, making one more batch of Sweet Potato Muffins.... I hope your 12 Days of Christmas were heavenly too!