I don’t think I ever told you that I worked as a private chef for six months. I didn’t mention it because it was such a brief gig and honestly, not that exciting—not even cooking for Hollywood stars and well-known directors. Don’t get me wrong, they were all genuinely nice and kind. They had better kitchens than mine, and I could shop at places like Erewhon without looking at prices. The only truly exciting parts were getting paid to do what I love and receiving good feedback.
However, when you’re cooking for families with picky eaters, there’s not much room for creativity. I had to design menus at the beginning of each week and shop exactly according to my plan. No improvising, no simplicity—none of the things I love about cooking.
In the beginning, I could handle it. But over time it became depressing, exhausting, and completely unscalable. The money was decent, but it wasn’t worth the effort. Maybe if I was in my twenties or thirties it would have been easier. Teaching cooking classes at LAVC paid half of what private chefing did, but it was ten times more satisfying and fulfilling.
When you’re cooking for another family, you can’t make your favorite cabbage dishes or that beautiful okra you discovered at the farmers market. But what really broke the camel’s back was coming home too exhausted to cook for my own family. As much as I cared about my clients, finding my boys eating pho from a plastic container was the opposite of everything I stand for.
If I didn’t have children, it would have been a different story. But as a mom, it just didn’t make sense. If the money I was making as a private chef was just going toward takeout and stuff we didn’t need, I might as well stay home and cook for us.
This brings me to an important point: While the kids in the families I cooked for didn’t like salads, my boys would devour them. Any crunchy vegetable or leaves you toss in tart dressing, they’ll eat. Even broccoli—as long as you don’t over steam it. SET A TIMER! DO NOT scroll social media while it’s cooking. I steam it because raw broccoli is hard to digest, but the key is keeping that perfect crunch.
By the way, tossing salads with your (clean) hands gives them more flavor. It’s Scientifically proven 🙂
Enjoy!
Lemony Green Salad with Broccoli
Equipment
- Steaming basket
Ingredients
- 1 head broccoli - rinsed
- 4 baby radishes - rinsed and sliced
- 2 handfuls mixed greens - washed
- ¼ cup radish sprouts or any sprouts - optional
- A handful of walnuts - chopped
- Dressing
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon shoyu or soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon coconut liquid aminos
- Pinch of cinnamon
- Salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Instructions Cut the thick stem off the broccoli and peel it. Separate the florets. Put them in a saucepan with a steaming basket, add water, and place over high heat. Steam for exactly 4 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Meanwhile, mix the dressing ingredients directly in the salad bowl.
- Chop the cooled broccoli and add it to the bowl with the rest of the salad ingredients. Toss well and serve.
