Food Out of a Truck (Or Any Moving Vehicle)

I promise we are not dead.  This summer has hit like a storm for Katelyn and I!!  The kids are home and the activity level in the house had quadrupled!!!  After the long winter that nearly did kill us, we are soaking up every moment of the sunshine.  My kids are driving me bat-shit crazy and I wouldn't want it any other way.

Here are a few updates before I get started.  For those of you who don't know me, I am a fucking klutz.  I am ALWAYS tripping, falling, dropping/spilling shit and just overall being ungraceful.  Whelp, I struck again, and this incident may have been my worst one to date.  While attempting to get my ass back healthy, I decided to make a smoothie with spinach and lots of green shit because that will definitely make me skinny tomorrow, right?  I stabbed my pinky finger trying to get a piece of frozen pineapple out of the .  The knife went all the way through.  I hit the bone. There was an exit would. I severed the damn nerve.  Silver-lining?? As I'm standing with a knife sticking out of my finger I think "hmmmm, I must have really done something bad because I can't feel this"  Ended up having the nerve repaired surgically.   I've been out of work. I'll spare you the pics but it was gross, trust me.  I'm losing my mind.  Pineapple:1 Danielle:0.  Cheetos are WAY safer. 'Nuff said.

Another fun update, my mother-in-law got married yesterday!  It was a beautiful garden wedding and we had so much fun.  Gabe looked like a "yodeler" in his suspenders and bow tie (thanks for the visual Katelyn), and I rag-curled Leah's hair and let her put "pascara" on her little ginger lashes.  She looked stunning and can stop growing ANY TIME NOW!!!  It was a beautiful day of family, music, golf-cart races, smoked pig and wine.  Lots of wine.  Much love to the newly-weds.  


Okay, this brings us to our post, I promise!!  On Thursday, Katelyn came over to help me cook for my mother-in-laws rehearsal dinner.  We made sauce from scratch.  Baked ziti. Whole milk ricotta cheese.  Sweet Italian sausage.  Four pounds of mozzarella.  The whole nine, we weren't fucking around. We were keeping all of the cardiologists in business this weekend.  When it comes to authentic Italian cooking, go big or go home.  There are NO short-cuts, and PLEASE for the LOVE OF GOD do NOT make your all-day sauce in a friggin crock-pot.  This is sure to give any Italian woman a coronary, and while it's a tried and true method for many, an Italian girl would rather be caught dead than making a potta sauce in the slow cooker.  Okay, enough about that.

 For a few months  a while now, Katelyn and I have been talking about opening a food establishment.  Sometimes its a diner.  Sometimes it's a café, It's even been a goat/Christmas tree farm WITH a café.  But it always goes back to the food truck  I was first introduced to food trucks in North Carolina when I went to visit our brother last April.  Food trucks are big in other states and have been for a while.  Up "heyah" (google a Maine accent if you are unfamiliar with it, you won't regret it) in Maine, trends are slow to arrive, so I was thrilled to finally try this trend when I went on vacation.  There are food-trucks on every corner, and we decided on home-made dumplings with local meat served by the sweetest lady with the most AH-mahzing dreadlocks I have ever seen. (My dreadlock obsession will be another post, I promise.)  I was hooked.  I was thrilled when I found out that Katelyn had the same obsession.  She frequently goes on "Creepy Craigslist" to search for food trucks for sale.  (We all know Craigslist is moderately creepy on a good day)  What a cool way to start a local business, get to know people and do something we love all at once. 

So we had our idea, but what would we serve??  Katelyn is a Libra and lacks the ability to make a decision.  I am a hot mess and live in a state of chaos in my brain.  We were never able to decide, the competition was too steep.  Not to mention that neither one of possess one bit of business knowledge or money to start a business.  That all is about to change ladies and gentlemen, we honed down a plan inspired by our cooking adventures Thursday!  WAIT FOR IT....WHAT IF WE OPENED A FOOD TRUCK THAT SERVED AUTHENTIC ITALIAN FOOD????  It would be called Mascara, Mason Jars and Manicotti!!!!!  (Katelyn gets all of the credit for the title, and it's epic.)  Right??  It's such an awesome idea you can't even keep your excitement in!!

Imagine all of the lives we would literally change.  The busy lawyer who was going to skip lunch can now grab a bowl of authentic baked ziti before the next meeting.  The tired mother with 2 hungry kids can skip the Happy Meal and give her babies a bowl of spaghetti!  The couple vacationing can have gnocchi with sauce and tell all of their friends back home. The young hipster can grab a meatball crafted with LOCAL MEAT and no chemicals. The vegetarian can have a bowl of linguine with garden tomato sauce.  There will be espresso served with milk for the caffeine addict, and S. Pelegrino sparkling water in abundance. ( I mean, I personally can't afford 2 dollars and fifty cents every time I want a fancy-pants water, but our truck is going to cater to all crowds) Do you see where we are going?  The possibilities are endless, We will appeal to everyone.

Now that we have our idea. I've deemed myself in charge of decorating.  Katelyn is way more subdue than I am, and we cannot have the modest food truck.  No way!!  Our truck will have an airbrushed (yes, air brushed.  You know the guy at every mall across the U.S. who airbrushes shit???  We're hiring him for our truck) Italian Flag across one side (the side which has the window), and the amazing title on the back side, so everyone knows who we are.  There will also be a large wooden spoon attached to the roof.  Something WILL light up, I haven't decided what yet, but there will be lights.  maybe ground effects.  Yup, our van will be decorated like a 1990's teenager's dream, because that's how I roll and I'm the decorator.  There will be an external speaker that plays the Tarentella Napoletana at all times.  Imagine Katelyn and I in a supped up truck with THIS blaring while serving our Grandmother's recipes to the hungry public?? We will also have the capability to make announcements on the speaker like "Jimmy, getchyourassuhereyourspaghettiisready!!!" (said like a true Italian girl)

Okay, we have a plan, a menu and a theme, but what will we wear???  There will obviously be an Italian Horn necklace involved.  Our hair will have to be in a poof and we will have red lips and red-checkered aprons.  We will be the only food truck in town that requires a dress code, and people remember that shit!!!!!  We may even let out Mother come work for us if she's lucky.  The plan is all coming together and we hope that one day we can make it happen.  Life needs to get out of the damn way so there's more time for fun!!!!

Until the next time Peace, Love and Caffeine and Much Love!

I'm posting a recipe tomorrow for Linguine with white clam sauce so stay tuned.  I made it tonight and could have drank the sauce #ilovefood #iquitsmoothies