Too cool finds...

Mrs. X and I poured over the menu for the Christmas party, I made my prep list and work plan and the never ending grocery list...

Mrs. X is fresh off the jet from Christmas Party Hopping around The Globe and she is chock-full of inspiration... As a private chef, it's easy to feel as if I'm working in a vacuum but I must admit, one of the great benefits of having a boss who is really passionate about food is that she is always throwing great ideas at me to try out. It keeps me on my toes!

Today, as we went over the menu, she remarked on how much she liked the micro-herbs that were on some horsdeouvres she'd eaten recently and she said to me, "how hard can they be to grow?". It seems like such a "no sh**" answer. I mean really, grow your own micro-herbs. Why hadn't I thought of that?!

So, as I worked my way through the bulk section of the local food co-op, I picked up baggies of broccoli seeds, radish seeds and red clover seeds. When I got back to the house I spread them on a sheet pan with wet paper towels, just like when I sprouted marijuana seeds in my desk in 10th grade - oh wait, that never happened. Really. Dad, I swear. It didn't. Wait, where was I again? I digress.

After spreading the seeds on the wet paper towels, I put them in The Orchid Room to germinate. Yes, The Orchid Room. Doesn't everyone have an Orchid Room in their house? In case you don't, that's just a warm, humid place - like the laundry room for us Plebeians. Or on the counter, next to the stove. Anyway, The Orchid Room should provide for a warm, humid environment for the seeds to grow and then, if all goes well, I'll have some nice garnishes for the party on Saturday! And with that in mind, I'll definitely be doing some sprouting on the yacht (strictly legal herbs, kids. strictly legal)!

The next cool find of today is the "Chico Bag". The Chico Bag is a soft, reusable shopping bag and what I love about it is that it folds up into its own tiny, little sack that fits in the palm of the hand (or tossed in your purse, so you don't forget it next time you go grocery shopping). Mrs. X always asks me to reuse my bags and now instead, I can use these bags. They make a trunk full of groceries look so festive too, in a rainbow of colors!

I'm well aware that to use the words "Green" and "Mega Yacht" in the same sentence is a complete and total oxymoron. When I'm working on a yacht, I can use up to 300 plastic bags in just one grocery shopping trip! And, it is often the case as you cruise your way around the Caribbean or the South Pacific that the islanders on the little islands you anchor at will take your garbage for a fee and promise to dispose of it - and then just chuck it in the water somewhere out of view of the yacht and there are my 300 grocery bags floating around in the pristine waters off of some semi-deserted island near Bora Bora. How sad and depressing! I try to reuse and recycle as much as possible. But now, I plan on ordering a few hundred Chico bags for the yacht and no more plastic bags! Yeah!

As far as Mega Yachts go, Mrs. and Mr. X do their best. The yacht won't have bottled water for the guests or crew. Instead, the yacht is being outfitted with several "water stations" that will be fed by reverse osmosis and re-mineralization equipment. When guests come aboard they will be provided with a sports bottle emblazoned with the yachts logo and a marker to write their name on the bottle. 9 crew + 8 guests - that's at least 40 to 50 water bottles a day not being added to a landfill somewhere. My bosses are going through extensive lengths to use only biodegradable soaps and cleaning supplies on the yacht too. I'm not trying to justify anything. I'm just saying...