Drifting

My first week back in class after Christmas break was a busy one. I completed an entire semester's worth of math assignments and tests in the span of 4 days, to get it out of the way. On top of that I finished with 95% and the professor suggested I tutor. It's not something I'm interested in doing but it's nice to hear that kind of thing nonetheless.

Other than school, I'm not up to a whole lot. I've been cooking, and gaming a lot, especially since I picked up Red Dead Redemption two weekends ago. I snatched up a recliner from my parents' when they got themselves a new living room set. It was originally my grandfather's, then my parents had it and now it's mine. My kitty is more than happy to have it.

My supper last night was the above-pictured mushroom and red pepper linguine, with a healthy dollop of sour cream. The leftovers are something I'm certainly looking forward to eating tonight too. There's nothing better than good, simple food to make me happy. Cheers!

Goodbye 2013

I may have let this blog lapse into long periods of silence but I couldn't let myself allow the last day of this year slip away without some sort of post. The things I have been doing these last few weeks... Primarily, being a hermit. I don't go out, I don't call anybody, I don't have anyone over. I quilted my little heart out in time to make my mother a lap quilt for Christmas. I've been doing plenty of baking and cooking. Also probably a lot more eating than I should be. Video games, late nights, quality kitty snuggle time and a marathon of Nip/Tuck has also been a recent thing for me. 

I have another five days off before classes start again. My holidays have just flown by and that makes me sad. I'm honestly dreading classes this semester, the schedule is brutal and I'm going to be waking up at 5:30am four days a week. It's no worse than what I've done before but still. Not looking forward to it. I could look back at 2013 and think of all the things I've done, but I don't care enough to. I just hope 2014 brings a slimmer, less lazy me who actually knows what the hell she's doing with herself half the time. Happy New Year...

Peach Pie and Sunshine

It's cloudy and gloomy outside today, the total contrary of these sunny outfit photos. Hopefully the sun comes back out to shine on my little part of the world soon. In the meantime I just try and appreciate the smell of damp leaves in the air. I really do love Autumn so much.

Dress -Purchased on Etsy from Sally Jane Vintage

Shoes - Gift from my grandmother

This was my mid-term week, and I did fairly well on most of my written tests. I did absolutely wonderful on my cuisine mid-term though, with 87% which is more than I'd been hoping I'd achieve. My grade could have been even better if I had just remembered to season my breaded mushroom and hadn't overcooked my turned potatoes. I'll practice even more before the final exam to make certain these sorts of little mistakes don't happen again.

The above pie is a peach sour cream filling recipe from my school baking book. I'm bringing all my manuals home over reading week so I can make plenty more tasty good things to eat and share during my time off. That's the one problem with food... there are so many delicious recipes, and so little time and tummy-space to eat them!

My parents and grandmother are meeting me after my class today for a nice dinner at the college. I was offered a paid table for four in the school's dining room, and I certainly wasn't going to say no! I'm looking forward to getting dressed up for a nice dinner. (Not that I don't get dressed all fancy most of the time anyway heh, but having an actual occasion for it is refreshing!) I hope you all had a nice week. Cheers!

Soup Kitchen

My home smells like soup a lot recently. I've been practicing stocks and soups for class, and yesterday I made a pureed soup of carrot and ginger. I have so much fun going through the steps, watching it turn from raw vegetables to a delicious, bright, flavourful soup. It's like kitchen magic.



Later today I might make a batch of Leek and Potato soup but we'll see. I've already got food coming out of my ears as it is. Considering I'm trying to lose weight, that's not exactly ideal. I weigh the most now that I have in two years and I'm not particularly pleased about it. I suppose it can partly be blamed on things like this Moka Cake I made for my mother's birthday this past week.



It's a white génoise cake, with coffee butter cream, toasted almonds and chocolate covered coffee beans on the rosettes. I'm very happy with how it came out, although I think I did use a little too much coffee syrup soaking the cake layers. I can always get better. I haven't got too much else to say, and until I feel better appearance, I don't think there will be too many outfit photos. So food it is. Cheers!

Another Day

I've fallen out of the habit of taking outfit photos - which is a shame because I've been wearing some pretty neat stuff lately - but I think part of it is due to the changing of the seasons. It's almost always windy out, and often cloudy or raining. And while I love Autumn, the smell, the crispness of the air, it doesn't really lend itself to my going out there in short sleeves for photos with my half-broken camera.

Necklace - Made by Me

T-shirt - Thrifted from Value Village

Belt - Ardene's

Skirt - Vintage from Kilo Shop in Paris

Mocassins - Sears

I suppose I can just start taking them indoors again like I did this photo back in early September. Eventually I won't have much choice either way. I'm spending a lot of time in my kitchen now, even more than usual. I'm trying to practice a lot of the recipes from school, which I think I mentioned before, but cooler weather always drives me to my kitchen.

This is some Scallop Seviche, with jalapeños and cherry tomatoes on a chiffonade of lettuce. It was actually really delicious and I'll definitely be making this dish again. I attempted to make a vegetable consommée this past weekend but due to some stupid mistakes I messed it up. I'll be trying again though, because I'm stubborn and it's something I really want to be able to do.



My parents were doing work on their bathroom late last week so my mother brought her ball python Fluffy to my place until they were done. I couldn't resist piling him in with my two boys, Galen and Rorschach. They make such a cute pile o' pythons!

I should probably start getting ready for my baking class this afternoon though. We're making the Choux Pastry Swans that I practiced last weekend. Should be a good class. Cheers!

All About Food

While I've been slacking taking outfit photos - a little unfortunate because I've worn some pretty creative stuff - I've been absorbed with food. I'd had quiche on the brain since Paris because I was eating some nearly everyday. I finally made myself a vegetable quiche on Friday and it was so satisfying.



I'm hoping to practice a lot of my class recipes ahead of time at home. This past weekend I made Choux Pastry Swans, something we had seen our Chef make at the Cordon Bleu but that we didn't do in practical. It's scheduled for us next week now, and it was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be and I'm quite happy with how they came out.



 Next time I'll try to make the necks thinner and the 'heads' less bulbous. I brought some over to a friend's and gave a bunch to my parents - I really just wanted to make them, eating them interests me less - and everybody was suitably impressed. Then I do things that impress myself - even if just a little - and whip up tasty dinner dishes like chicken in a spicy mango pineapple sauce on lovely red quinoa.



I've also been cooking up foods with lovely vegetables from my garden. Unfortunately frosts have started at night, which means the garden season is basically over. This wasn't exactly an ideal year for gardening and I can just hope next year is better temperature and weather-wise for me. I've been pulling up potatoes and a few green peppers though, and there are still tomatoes on my covered plants.



My ornamental corn is also quite lovely and I have to finish drying the cobs. I'll definitely be planting more of it next year, it's just so pretty. I love the variety of colours and the rich purple that can grow in the stalks. I'll be planting more varieties of potatoes too, for certain. They actually have really pretty plants and flowers and that surprised me.



Anyhow, I need to get ready for my baking class. We're making three kinds of cookies today and hopefully it all goes smoothly. I hope you had a great weekend. Cheers!

Moving in a Dress

I wore this to help my parents move. I do pretty much everything in a skirt or a pretty dress, nearly all of the time, if I can possibly manage it. It does make cycling a bit complicated sometimes - my longer skirts keep getting jammed in my rear breaks argh - but I'm still doing it. I refuse to compromise!

Dress - Thrifted from Value Village

Sandals - Thrifted from Value Village

For a moment I'd thought I'd gotten rid of this dress but it was just in another closet. Thank goodness! Because it's such a sweet dress. I've been wearing it for a few years now and hopefully can continue to do so for several years to come. I've also been trying to mix up the food I'm eating. After a trip to the big city of Sudbury with my parents a little while back, I scored some delicious ingredients that prompted me to make a fresh new salad.

It's mixed baby greens, with buffalo mozzarella, cashews, raspberries, and a raspberry red wine vinaigrette. I wasn't certain I would be able to do much with a raspberry red wine vinegar but it was perfect for this. The cheese was wonderfully rich and smooth and creamy, the cashews gave a nice crunch and the vinaigrette was sweet enough to balance out the tartness of some of the baby greens. Definitely something I'll be eating again. Anyhow, I hope you are having a good week. Cheers!

Rain Is An Excuse To Bake and Cook

It really is. In the last few days I've made three separate cream soups, pizza dough to freeze and then a fresh pizza, French macarons and several cakes. I would need more stomachs to keep up with my production. It's still raining today and I'm cooking up spicy chicken thighs for my father's birthday supper. These outfit photos are a few weeks old but they're nice and cheery compared to the weather so this is what you get!

Shirt -Thrifted from Value Village

Dress-as-skirt - Giant Tiger

Sandals - Thrifted from Value Village

Black forest cake usually has chocolate decor around the side and sometimes on top, but seeing as how I don't know how to properly temper chocolate and I think chocolate sprinkles are tacky as hell, I left it plain.  I soaked the cherries in rum myself so I'm interested to see how this thing tastes. Hope you're all having a good week. Cheers!

Snow and Quiche

Just days after I bought myself a new bicycle, it started to snow. And snow. And snow. And it's still snowing. I'm glad I was able to get out for at least one bike ride before it all started falling. As usual, I've been taking this time to stay indoors and bake and cook. I made a poppy seed loaf yesterday, and baked up a tomato basil quiche today.

I cheated and used a store-bought frozen pie crust, but seeing as how this is the first time I make this recipe, I wanted to be certain the filling was worth the effort of my making a crust from scratch. When I make this again in the future - which I most certainly will, because it was delicious - I'll definitely take the time to make a crust myself. Onions and green peppers layer the bottom, bathed in egg-mayo goodness, covered with bread crumbs and basil, and then a layer of tomato slices and pepper jack cheese. Delish! I hope you all had a good week. Cheers!

Fruity

It's hovering just above freezing outside and it feels like Spring is on the way. Too bad it's still going to be months before winter's grip finally releases us and the weather starts to really warm up again. At times like these, I dress extra colourfully, to try and keep myself cheered up in this time of drab greys and whites and muddy browns out there. I guess my baking desires are along the same lines because I've been making strawberry tarts over the last few days.

T-shirt - Can't remember

Skirt - Gift from Heather

Shoes - Thrifted

I've had a lot of spare time on my hands - for reasons I won't go into because they're bumming me out right now - and I can only sit around playing video games for so long before I start going loopy. I cleaned the heck out of my apartment yesterday, which really needed doing. I don't know why I avoid it for so long, when it doesn't take that much time. Really it only takes about as long to clean this place, mopped floors and all, as it does to make a tart from scratch.

I made the mini tarts a few days ago and the full-sized tart this evening. Its recipe was from my Cordon Bleu pastry book. We saw the Chef make it during class but we didn't make it during our practical because it's so simple. I fought a little with the crust dough, and I'm not exactly certain why it was misbehaving, but it seems to have turned out well enough. I had some left-over dough and baked up a few mini tarts today too and the one I ate - with extra whipped cream - tasted just fine.

Not counting an apron, I baked dressed like this. I unfortunately managed to burn my right arm taking the tart crust from the oven but I'm getting used to having burns at some degree of healing somewhere on my arms or hands most of the time now. But now that my baking is done and the kitchen is all cleaned up, I think I'll crack a beer and go back to playing video games for a while. I hope you all had a good start to the week. Cheers!

Sweet Progress

Happy new year everyone! I'm late with that as I am with a few other things I'm going to be mentioning here, but better late than never I suppose. Life's been pretty crazy the last few weeks. I had to do a lot of studying for my final exam, and then attended my graduation. The holidays were a whirlwind with my parents' visit, and then I danced the night away with a friend to welcome in the new year. Not to mention my work life is changing too. I'll leave most of that to other posts, but for now I'll share some of the last pastry photos from my time at school.



Starting from the top, there's a Charlotte aux Poires, a pastry made from ladyfinger biscuit, filled with bavarian cream and pear chunks, and decorated with Chantilly cream and braised pear. The second photo is the Charlotte served with a strawberry coulis. The chocolate decadence below is a Pavé du Roy, chocolate biscuit soaked with rum syrup and layered with a dark chocolate ganache and topped with chocolate decor. Finally, two Saint-Honoré cakes, made with a base of shortcrust and choux paste, filled with Chibouste cream and decorated with caramel. The first was my initial attempt, and I unfortunately failed my Chibouste cream. My second attempt went much better and I was much happier with it.



These last two photos are a before-and-after of an apple tart I baked up in my own kitchen yesterday. The dough was leftover from one of my first ever classes and had been sitting in my freezer ever since and I figured I may as well use it up. I do so love baking. Which makes my other news all the more wonderful. But I'll save that for another day. Cheers!

Two months down

And one more month left before my Basic Pastry course at the Ottawa Cordon Bleu is done. They just posted the list of recipes for the final exam and I'll have to get started studying those ASAP. Most of them were ones I did quite well on but a few do worry me, and hopefully those aren't the ones I wind up having to do. Considering I'm always surprised with how well my dishes turn out, so long as I study properly, things should be alright.



From the top, here is the crème brulée, a gateau basque (filled with pastry cream and cherries) and a crème caramel renversée. I surprised myself with both the crèmes, and somehow actually managed to be done before anybody else in class that day which is unusual for me. The crème caramel is quite small but so rich, with all that sugar and egg in it. I just wanted to roll over and die after eating it and the crème brulée in class haha...

Anyhow, I have errands to run, crickets to acquire, and things to clean. I hope you are having a good Monday and that you had a groovy weekend. Cheers!

A Fresh Start and More Pastries

Today I start my new job. I've been hired on as a Line Cook in a new Italian restaurant that just opened. I've never worked in a legit kitchen before - the closest to that was working in a sketchy pizza shop in high school - so I have a lot to learn, but I'm excited. This is going to be challenging, and exhausting, and stressful. But I am so ready for this. It's what I want, and I'm still amazed this is my life now.

In just a few more weeks, I will have finished - and hopefully graduated with my certificate - from the Basic Pastry course at the Ottawa Cordon Bleu. I'm sad thinking about it being nearly over already, because I'm enjoying it so much. I really think I'm eventually going to go back and at least do the Intermediate Pastry level too, probably in July if I can swing it. Here are some more of the tasty things I've been making in class over the past few weeks.



Above are a tarte soufflée filled with the strawberry coulis that you can see below it. I was surprised with how well my soufflée turned out, considering they're such fragile things and I'd never made one before. Below here you can see a not-quite-perfect gratin aux fruits. I should have cut the berries up a little more, so they wouldn't show through the light pastry cream like they did.



This Christmas Log is pretty self-explanatory. I find it rather gaudy but I suppose most Christmas-themed things will be. It was really tasty, and I've got a half-finished one in my freezer for when my parents come up to visit. The Succès pastry below was a delicious almond overload. Layers of almond buiscuit, with almond buttercream and toasted almonds pressed into the sides.



This miroir aux cassis (a blackcurrant mousse cake) is probably my favourite so far. It was sooo delicious! The only bummer about all this is that I don't have a lot of the required tools to make most of this stuff at home. Looks like I'm going to have to acquire some entremets rings and tarte moulds. I hope you have a really groovy Monday and a good week. Cheers!

Ssssweet Things

What a day I've had! I won't go into details because it's stressed me out enough, but suffice to say I am very unhappy with the Government of Canada, how they run this country, and how they treat their citizens. So on a lighter note... feast your eyes on some of the tasty sweet things I've been baking up in class this past week, and shots of my gorgeous Jewel the female albino checkered garter snake.



The above are a Pithivers and six overstuffed Chaussons aux Pommes (apple turnovers) made with puff pastry dough. The top pastry is filled with an almond cream and I'm really quite pleased with how it turned out. The only hitch was the little "petals" should be round rather than pointy.



I can't believe what a big girl my sweet Jewel is turning into! I remember when she was barely as big 'round as a pencil and now she's such a chunky spunky thing. She just gets prettier the more she grows, with those gorgeous yellows and lavenders in her scales.



Lastly, here's one you all probably recognize. I baked this Black Forest cake on Friday. I even made the chocolate shavings! It was a really fun practical that day and I'm happy with how it came out, even if I wound up not using nearly enough simple syrup to soak the cake layers and it turned out a tad too dry. Live and learn! I won't be making that mistake again. Anyhow, that's that for now. I hope you've had a good Monday and your week goes well. Cheers!