COOKING WITH COMMENTS - MUSEA #208

INTRODUCTION

The sky was threatening snow, thought Evie Bey. She let down the curtain and turned to watch Shirley scrambling about. She rested her hands on her wheelchair and tried to think of what she could do to help.  

Shirley kept talking out loud,

Shirley: Got my ticket, got my credit cards and billfold, got my phone, got my ...

Evie: Medicines?

Shirley: Yes! No! Yes! They're in my small carryon.

A car honked. Evie pulled back the curtain again.

Evie: The ride's here.

Shirley: OK. (Wrapping a scarf around her neck and checking her hairdo.). Don't forget to lock the doors at night... Are you going to be OK here alone?

Evie: I'll be fine.

Shirley pulled out the handle to her big bag, added the carry on on top, and put her purse strap over her arm.

Shirley: I'm off! I'll call you when I get there.

She scanned the room, patted the wall for good measure, took a deep breath, and left.

Evie watched the driver help her load up and off they went.

Two weeks earlier, Evie had been downsized, fired, pink-slipped, from her accounting job of five years, as part of a merger buyout. She was out of a job and more depressed than she had ever been before.

Her friend Katey Ann had come to the rescue.

Katey: I've got a solution for all your problems kid! A friend of mine, Shirley Essex, needs someone to house sit the three months she lives in Hawaii each year: on the Big Island I think. Your job would be to keep the house lit. She asked me but I had to turn it down.

Later Katey Ann talked to Shirley. Then she called Evie:

Katey Ann: Looks promising, Evie. Let's arrange a meeting for you two; and just a warning, don't mention her ex. They had a bitter divorce and she'll start to rant about what a rat he was, and how she had to fight in court to keep the house, and how happy she was to throw her mother in law out with him!

The meeting went well. Shirley had been a teacher before becoming a full time lawyer, and had Evie for one of her courses; so they knew each other, and Shirley liked her from the past.

Her wheelchair was no problem either as the house had a downstairs accessible bedroom with en suite that had been added for the ailing ex mother in law. That would now be perfect for Edie.

Her job was simple: collect the mail, let the maids in twice a week, keep the lights on and doors locked at night, answer the phone and take messages, and cook in or have meals delivered.

Shirley: Your mom and friends are welcome but no visitors upstairs. My bedroom, office, and library, is off limits. Call me if you have any emergencies.

Evie thought the rules were fair and promised not to have more than a few people over at any one time. Her mother Marjorie Bey, helped her move and set up her bedroom. When she was settled in Marjorie said, "Let's explore the floor!"

Downstairs was a large open rectangular space that had a living room at the front. It had a huge picture window to one side of the front door. A few rich wood antiques were scattered about, and there were lots of lights: ceiling lights, table lights, floor lamps! the front room also had a big screen tv, her exes favorite furniture, a long upholstered couch and two soft swiveling chairs.

Next came the dining room. The glass wood table was set for 6, but could hold 12 with its leaves. Shirley liked to have her China and silverware on display so the table was always set as if for a formal dinner. A tall and wide sideboard with drawers on the bottom half and glass covered shelves on the top displayed her collection of one of a kind, dishes, vases, tins, and heirlooms. The wallpaper had a rich floral design and thick textures. Shirley had pointed it out to Edie and said it had been shipped from England and it was "brilliant!"

Beyond the dining room was the elegant, house magazine photo shoot worthy, large kitchen with stainless steel appliances, double sink, cabinets above, and a center serving table with room for a few stools too. Beyond this was the laundry room, door to the backyard, and a second door to her bedroom

Her bedroom was a snazzy little space furnished with more antiques: a dresser, full length tilt-able, finely carved, wood frame, mirror, and a narrow but tall armoire with drawers on the bottom, as her closet. The room also had some framed hand sewn samplers hanging on the wall. The bathroom was clean and had hand rails and a walk in shower. Sweet accommodations!

Act One: Ingredients

That first night alone, Edie ordered a veggie pizza to be delivered. While searching for a plate and napkins she thought, why can't I cook more of my own meals? When she lived at home with her mom, her mom did most of the cooking while Edie worked outside the house. But being here all the time she could cook more, and fix what she wanted. She liked cooking though she was nowhere near as good as her mom with her regular day to day good cooking, or her signature specialities.

Next morning she decided to have the rest of her pizza for breakfast. But what would be the best temperature to warm it up? She tried 350 for 20 minutes, and over cooked it till it was dried out, but it was OK.

After clean up Edie decided to explore the backyard ad see if she could get around the yard and where she could go in her wheelchair. She also thought of doing some lite gardening, But not this morning, the clouds threatened and it began to rain.

She came in and checked her phone - no new messages. She thought, this might be a good time to catch up on the videos made by her friend Katey Ann. Katey had a side job of talking about jewelry in a series of online shows. They were fun to watch. She would show off either a favorite piece of her own, or talk about jewelry on sale, or something worn by a celebrity. She now included vintage handbags too. Though Katey made a living as a computer whiz, her passion was jewelry and she loved to shop antique malls for special finds!

Then two things happened at once:

The mail man dropped the mail in the outside box, and the phone range. It was Shirley with her first weekly check up call.

Shirley: My rented house is gorgeous. I love to read in my room, or walk on the beach, or meet friends at our cafe and go shopping.... How are you? (Now it was Edie's turn to talk.)

Edie: First night I ordered pizza, but I think I'm going to try to cook for myself more. At least for breakfast and lunch. Maids coming tomorrow ... we've had some rain ... nothing in mail but ads. That's about it.

After lunch Evie took time to look at the rest of Katie Ann's videos. There were now almost 50 of them. Some were short and under a minute, most under ten. The first one was kind of goofy and primitive, but fresh and spontaneous too. The ones that followed improved and were more succinct, more natural, more informing. And they had better graphics, a catch phrase, and even a guest or two.

By her second year of videos, Katey had become an accomplished, on the air, personality and programmer. The episodes at her most visited antique mall were Evie's favorites.

Katey Ann would show the rows of merchandise, talk about interesting finds, and often get a comment from two people that were always there; Linda, the lady at the front desk that was both so gracious and knowledgeable and, Mr Borden, the lime green, golf shirted, dealer who seemed always around to up sell his items in his booth.

At the end of most of these later episodes Katey Ann looked at photos of jewelry submitted by watchers of her videos. Katey started by saying "I can only say what I think about the piece. I'm not a real appraiser so always check with a professional source for best estimates."

Evie took a break from watching the videos and searched out 'how best to reheat pizza.' She hope there would be one or two sites with the answers. Instead she found page after page of listings of articles, comments, and videos, about reheating a pizza. They didn't agree. They had different temperatures, and cooking times, plus helpful hints and tips to get it either more crispy or more chewy.

This got her to thinking ... In the middle of the next night's sleep, Evie sprang up with a light bulb shinning bright above her head - I got it!

Act Two: Prep

Evie: Katey Ann, I watched many of your videos today. I loved them, specially the antique mall visits. You are so easy going, natural, and likable on the air.... I want to do that too!

Katey Ann: Not on jewelry I hope!

Evie: No! I want to talk about the world of food, cooking, and anything connected to it.

Then Evie told her about the left over pizza incident, and her waking up with the idea to talk cooking online!

Katey Ann: It's easy to do at first, but hard to do well. Most people give up after one or two tries. Let's make a video and see what you think.

They arranged for Katey to come over to Shirley's home and show Edie how to get started.

Edie: I want to start it here in the kitchen.

They propped up the smart phone camera on assorted cookbooks for correct height, with the two stacked stainless steel ovens in the background. They tested a few trial videos until they got the best angle and a good sound quality. Then Katey Ann deleted them to save phone space.

Edie: I've got a script of what I thought I would say.

Katey Ann: OK, push the video button and start!

Edie pushed the button, leaned back, took a deep breath, and began reading her notes.  

After 30 seconds into it , Katey Ann yelled, "Stop!" They replayed it and watched it together.

Edie: That's awful! I'm stiff and mumbling!

Katey Ann: Yes it is! You can't read it. You've got to talk to the camera, talk to the people out there watching. Yes you can have notes to keep you on track, but no reading.

Evie tried 3 more times.

Katey Ann: They are getting better.

Evie: I think I'm getting it, but I need some time to practice.

Katey Ann: That's a good idea. But while I'm here I will show you how to upload a video. We will upload the second one, watch it online, and then delete it!

Before Katey Ann left, Evie had her own account, and knew how to upload a video. They watched her first attempt. Edie yelled out, "Oh no!" And they both ended up laughing.  

Edie". Quick, delete it before it spreads!

The next day Edie was anxious to wake up and get started. For the next two days all she thought about was filming her first cooking program. She wanted better clothes, and found the color best suited for her on camera was blue green. She wanted more lights, and makeup was a must! She wanted something in front of her to draw attention - a bowl of fruit or a decorative tin, or both! She stuck with her oven background.

Next what to talk about ... what to SAY! Katey Ann had advised her, "Try something no one else is doing. Then you'll stand out, not fit in!"

Edie thought and thought! Finally after watching 10 different cooking videos by 10 different cooks, she got what she would do!

Edie realized, I'm not a good cook at all; but the viewers in the comments really know their stuff! Why not suggest a topic, get comments from these experts, and the next show read the best comments and see what people think about that. That way each show would lead into the next one ... 

But how do you get that going?

First show: Edie on camera and talking:

High everyone, My name is Edie and I want to do a cooking show. It'll be about everything connected to food. But here's the catch. I'm not a good cook myself; so I want you to tell me what you want to talk about. Tell me in the comments below, and the next show I'll read lots of them on air and comment , and maybe even suggest a topic for the next show. My food knowledge is not so hot, but the collective you out there know a LOT! And between all of you there is cooking tips, wisdom, and recipes galore. So let's start with this.

If you were advising someone on good cooking, what would be the first thing you'd say to get them started... Please like and subscribe and I'll see you next time! Bye! (She waved! Then reached for her camera and turned it off.)

The video ran a little over 2 minutes but it seemed to Edie like it was forever, at least four or five minutes for sure! She posted it and watched the playback. During it she clapped her hands in glee and began emailing friends to watch, like, and comment.

Katey Ann was the first to respond. She said, "It was not perfect but the first one will never be for anyone. It's the start and that counts a lot! Look at it, love it, and then let it go and do another!"

What's next? Thought Evie. The following morning she was eating oatmeal. She googled oatmeal and found some people talking about cold oatmeal - quick cook oatmeal soaked in milk and put in the refrigerator for 30 minutes . That takes less time, is easy to do, and lot less cleanup. She tried it, added some sugar, and declared it very good - that's my next show!

Act Three: Cooking!

Through the following years, Edie amassed a fine collection of shows. Along the way she settled on an official title, "Edie's Cooking and Comments!" Which later turned into, "Cooking and Comments"

As with all such endeavors, some shows were sensational hits, some were solid achievements, and some missed the mark. Luckily she could delete lesser efforts to keep the quality of the series high.

Here is Evie's list of close to 100 favorites, and most notables:

1 First. Show titled Starters!

2 Cold Oatmeal.

3 Best Grocery Store and Why!

4 Mother's Best Dish

5 Coffee, what kind, how often a cup.

6 Air Fryer, Yes and No.

7 Best Tex Mex Cafes

8 Eggs (In General)

9 Fried Eggs, How and How Used.

10 Food allergy Stories, Food Poisoning Stories.

11 Cooking Fads - Most Lasting and Least Lasting

12 Pets at the Table?

13 Outdoor Dining, and Picnics - Do You Like?

14 Wheel Chair Access

15 Best Economic Meals for Students, Spaghetti and Meat Sauce, Beans and Rice, Chili ?

16 Bowl of Cherries is on the Menu - Comfort Foods

17 Grilled Cheese, the New Starbucks type store geared for regular food at extremely high prices. Think expensive cheeses on expensive breads!

18 When the Menu is Too Long and Too Many Choices - Anxiety!

19 Foreign Dishes That Most Don't Know How Good They Are!

20 Kitchen Renovation Nightmares!

21 Chili - With or Without Beans. (Universal Response was Without!)

22 Songs About Food. Sing them if you want to!

23 Special Diets and Why?

24 Favorite Box of Chocolates - Rate the Candymakers!

25 Favorite Box of Chocolates - Flavors

26 Favorite Spices and Their Dishes.

27 Grocery Delivery Services - Worth it?

28 Soups

29 Dinner Party Disaster - Drunk Uncle or Worse!

30 Fresh or Frozen?

31 Fruits and Best Fruit Desserts

32 Joy Of Cooking - the Classic Cookbook.

33 Best and Worst Cookbooks

34 Restaurant Nightmares (This was so popular Evie did it annually)

35 Children Cooking Stories

36 Smoothies

37 Leftovers, Best Ones and When to Throw it Out

38 Wine (First of 3 shows on alcohol)

39 Beer

40 Liqueurs

41 Favorite Barbecue Joints and Their Dishes

42 Flavored Oils and Vinegars (Absolutely NO comments on this!)

43 Recipes, or Why Doesn't It Taste Like The Picture?

44 Three Level TV Cooking Show. Suggestion that this show would cover the same recipe for people with 3 levels of cooking skills: cooks that can open a can and heat and that's about it, cooks that can feed a family daily and have favorite dishes, and chefs at restaurants or gourmet level.

45 Meats: Should Savory Be Rare, Medium, or Well Done!

46 Sliders - Best Recipes

47 Best Cakes and Cupcakes (First of 4 shows on deserts.)

48 Best Cookies and Brownies

49 Best Pies and Puddings

50 Best Ice Cream - Brand and Flavor.

51 Sexiest TV Chef, and Most Likely Date Dud

52 Cheated at Grocery Store - Where is the *** I Paid For?

53 No Stick Pan Pandemic!

54 Best Candy Bar

55 Baked Versus Fried

56 Holiday Foods (annual shows around Thanksgiving, and Christmas.)

57 Smell First (Because the smell of food is a bigger part of enjoying eating than taste, we may have a future food where the smell fits the food but the pseudo food it's attached to, turns to water in the alimentary tract. So you can eat as much as you want. This show topic was confusing to many and Evie had to explain it more than once.)

58 Cooking School Tales

59 Food Carts - Replacing Kitchen Cabinets with a Breakfast Cart, A Dinner Cart, and A Bakery Cart; then wheel them back into a pantry.

60 Seafood Recipes.

61 Day of The Week Specialities, Fish Friday? Taco Tuesday?

62 When you Eat Counts, and the Day - Eat, Night - Stop, Idea.

63 What Kids Will and Won't Eat!

64 Baking Contests - Ever Won One? For What?

65 Slow Night Idea: Restaurant Proclaims if 19 people in a dinner party come on a slow night, that at the end of the meal the waiter will put 19 folded pieces of paper in a vase. Everyone draws. The three diners that get the special meal tickets get their meals for free!

66 Messy Foods We Love, but Always Stain!

67 Kitchen Gadget You Won't Cook Without!

68 Ingredients That Fight Back: Beans, Onions, Garlic, Hot Peppers...

69 The Japanese have 445 Different Words to Describe the Sounds Foods Make When We Eat. How Many Can You Name?

70 Food Enhancers - Sauces and Condiments

71 Penny Per Play, the Musea Idea For Cooking Videos to Make Money. (Each viewer pays a penny per click online, on a recipe, or a nickel for a 30 minute cooking show.)

72 Men Versus Women Cooks.

73 Regional Specialties, Southern Cuisine, etc.

74 Best Soda Pop

75 Starches Turn To Sugar but Easy to Digest: Rice, Potatoies, Pasta, Bread, etc.

76 What's Worthy at the Health Food Stores?

77 Healthiest Single Food: Apple a Day, Green Pepper, Brocolli, Carrot Juice?

78 Weird Drink" Postum, Moxie, Coke with Cocaine back then.

79 Most Fabulous Dining Room and Why!

80 Call for Recipes That I Can Credit and Include in My Cookbook!

81 First Food: Breast Milk

82 First Real Food: Weaning

83 Sugar!!!

84 Evie Is Interviewed By Cooking Magazine, and link.

85 Why Kitchens Sell Houses

86 Outings with Mom. (These outings with Edie and Her Mom were always Favorites. They would go to a different restaurant, talk about the decor, service and food, and you would be there with them! Fun!)

87 You Pick a Topic!

Act Four: Dinner is Served!

Evie's show, Cooking With Comments, slowly built an audience. By the end of the third year - and how fast they sped by - she had thousands watching each episode with 300,000 total views.Though fame was slowly approaching; not much money followed. That would come later in offbeat and quirky ways. 

Notable firsts were the first time she was recognized. It was at her grocery store! And the first time she was asked for her autograph. It was at her hair saloon!

Three people were inspired early on.

Shirley: The homeowner loved the show and watched during her stay in Hawaii. She liked Evie personally, and didn't want the fun to end. Even before she returned from that first trip, she emailed Edie, Why don't you stay?"

Edie happily agreed. They seemed to be compatible and Evie would even incorporate Shirley in some of her shows.

The Viewer - named Cooking for Three Now - Who Suggested the Penny for Play idea: One week's topic was so-so, but a commenter was excited about what she had just read from Musea, an arts zine. It was their idea of Penny Per Play. It was simplicity itself: any creative content; music, art, writing, film, tv, news, educational classes, blogs, podcasts, and even cooking shows, would get a penny anytime someone clicked on that content online. That would cover about 6 minutes of show. A nickel would cover a 30 minute program. A dime would cover an hour's show. No ads ever!!! 

Follow up comments said that such a site was in the making, and would be run by pro artists investors. It would not be controlled by a giant media corporations with a fun-ruining marketing ploy. The idea had wheels, and would pay better for independent content providers than any subscription service out there. Creative people loved it!

Restaurant Owner's Wife: A fan of Edie's show who went by Cookie XYZ in the comments, was Patty Carios, the young wife of Chef and Owner of Cafe Italian, Victor Carios. She was watching one show when Edie casually remarked that wouldn't it be nice if a fine restaurant had a separate room for two, where a couple could share a romantic dinner?

Edie (talking on her show.). I love restaurant food, but my favorites are always too popular on the nights I want to go. There's no parking, long waits on weekends, and you have to put up with so much noise you can barely hear each other without yelling. Then when you're almost done, the waiter makes it clear that he wants you to finish fast and get out! Why can't there be a private, isolated room for two, with a single waiter, and no rush! Is that too much to ask? Now that would be romance itself!

Patty thought this was a great night out idea, and she could even make it better. It took some doing to convince Victor, but convince him she did. He turned over a little room off the main dining room for her to work her magic. More and more ideas kept popping up:

She would have reserved parking for the couple. She would have a single waiter at their call for the entire evening. She would take care of all their food and drink requests in house!

She would have a deep blue textured wall paper above wainscoting, with oil paintings and prints of lovers from different eras: Renoir, Chagall, Klimt, Bouchet, etc. She would also have one or two sculptures of couples in embraces. Upon entering the guests would see a love seat for their coats or bags on one wall. On another she would have an oak sidebar that would not only hold trays of food being served; but a record player with assorted romantic music albums to play, and an assortment of romance novels, poetry books, and plays. On the third wall was a cherry wood sculptured hutch with green glass doors that displayed all kinds of plates, cups, and glasses; with drawers full of assorted stylish napkins and silverware. The couple could pick out the settings they preferred and the waiter would set up the table.. Slightly off center, with a chandelier above it that cast bits of light all around the room, was a large round table with a rich floral patterned table cloth, two tall scented candles, and a giant flower arrangement placed slightly to one side. The two chairs were soft, comfortable, and fit the table perfectly for dining. Champagne, a desert cart, and a box of assorted chocolates to take home with them were provided. They could also prearrange a special menu, a certain wine, and a cake to celebrate. Nothing was spared.

Patty (talking to Vincent). It will be luxury all the way; but it won't be cheap! It's a one of a kind, high end dining, for once a year celebrations or for proposing marriage!

The idea caught on big, mostly through word of mouth. Soon the reservation book, the one for the Tristan and Isolde Room, was filling up a month, two months, a year or more ahead! Gay couples turned out to be the first to latch on to the idea once they knew they were welcome!  

As the demand rose the Cafe Italian opened up a second room, the Arthur And Guinevere Room, then later the Dante and Beatrice Room.

Not far behind them were other restaurants trying to cash in on the craze, but none brought notoriety to the town like Cafe Italian. (Side note, Edie and a guest, got to book and visit the room free, once a year every year, as thanks from Patty and Vincent for the idea!)

The notoriety kept building. Edie was asked to give an interview to a local tv news channel. She was excited about the publicity; but what she saw when it was aired, was an hour interview turned into a few minutes of rather dull Q and A. Edie thought she could do better with the guests on her show! Here is the complete segment after the introduction:

Q Were you nervous (about your first show?)

A. I was more awkward than nervous. It's really just talking to strangers as if they were friends.

Q. Do you ever get hassled by online creeps?

A. Yes, that comes with the territory; but the video site has ways to block people that do that.

Q. Where do you get your ideas?

A. Everywhere. Most come from the comments section, or day to day thoughts on food, or something I'm curious about. If I'm interested in something, I think my audience will be too.

Q. Thank you Edie for these glimpses into your popular video show, Cooking With Comments!

Act Five: Clean Up

Want to know what happened next? Here's the latest news and updates!

Evie still does her show. There are fewer episodes but each has more preparation, more guests, and better tech know how. She also has a younger partner, Amy Sue, who has a funny laugh and enjoys responding to what Evie is saying with her own brand of quirky chatter, that often gets them both to giggling.!

Katy the instigator of all this, ended her Jewelry video series. She told Evie, "Too much work, too little time!" But she still collects antique jewelry and sells a piece now and then.

Evie also, without looking, found a special someone named Martin Peale. They now seem to be in a serious relationship. Will they marry, live together, or live apart? Still up in the air. She met him, of all places at the supermarket. His opening line to her was, "Those are my favorite kinds of apples...." Her mother approves!

Some executive had called her with interest in a PBS cooking show based on Cooking with Comments. But nothing came of it.

What did workout, and is in the preparation stage now, as I finish writing this, is a "Collection of Comments Cookbook" that Evie is writing with help from a ghost staff writer. The publisher, "Bread and Butter Publishing, specializes in cookbooks. They are striving to get it published by the holiday season. Evie got a nice advance in the bargain!

I end my story here with a sliver of orange peel for a bitter but refreshing end-of-meal mouth; that's just right for more talk, kisses, or the next meal!

The end.