Those of us in the know, will realize the hilariousness of this wine label as it pertains to my life. A gift from Jewlz for my birthday......how did she FIND it????
And I found this on my stepson's truck the other day....I want one!
Cupcake and crossbones! That should be on the back of my truck. Pirate baker!! Argh!
He told me it came from a website called Johnny Cupcakes.
I actually baked something the other day. Well sort of......does microwaving count as baking? My stepson was jonesing for my diet ice cream and I made these as a diversion. Stay away from my diet ice cream! If I am to lose weight, and I've lost 11 lbs so far, I MUST have my diet ice cream!
These brownies rock, and it's hard to believe they are so easy to make and in only 6 minutes no less!
Annie's KILLER Microwave Brownies
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp vanilla
Beat above til light, then add:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
Blend in. Then add:
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder (sifted)
Stir til all incorporated, and spread mixture into and 8x8 glass or microwave safe dish that's been greased.
Bake in microwave no more than 6 minutes, giving the dish a quarter turn every 2 minutes (if your microwave
doesn't spin on its own.) Microwave times will vary given the wattage of your microwave. These brownies are amazingly good!
He told me it came from a website called Johnny Cupcakes.
I actually baked something the other day. Well sort of......does microwaving count as baking? My stepson was jonesing for my diet ice cream and I made these as a diversion. Stay away from my diet ice cream! If I am to lose weight, and I've lost 11 lbs so far, I MUST have my diet ice cream!
These brownies rock, and it's hard to believe they are so easy to make and in only 6 minutes no less!
Annie's KILLER Microwave Brownies
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp vanilla
Beat above til light, then add:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
Blend in. Then add:
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder (sifted)
Stir til all incorporated, and spread mixture into and 8x8 glass or microwave safe dish that's been greased.
Bake in microwave no more than 6 minutes, giving the dish a quarter turn every 2 minutes (if your microwave
doesn't spin on its own.) Microwave times will vary given the wattage of your microwave. These brownies are amazingly good!
If I were stupid enough to open my own bakery (especially now), here's a sign I might just want to use in the front
window.......
I found this lovely little Eddie Izzard bit on one of my favorite sites, Cake Wrecks. I think the next time I have a customer to deal with, I'll ask, "Cake or death?" Either way, I win.
Currently, my life is being made miserable by the Hood Canal Bridge.....or, rather, the absence of it. I'm not the only one, I know. We, out here on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State depend on that frickin' bridge to get us to civilization (aka Seattle). There's a lot of us who commute to areas that are on the other side of that bridge, and not having it there is a major major BITCH.
See, it's like this:
The purple line represents how far I have to drive around all that water to get to my destination. On a good day it's 4 1/2-5 hours with no traffic. But of course there's traffic, 'cause everybody else has to drive around too. Before the bridge work happened, the state and counties were pretty good about preparing for the 6 week closure by having transit operations work together, getting extra buses, scheduling them to meet up with one another, and implementing a water shuttle to take passengers across the Hood Canal. The water shuttle? Good idea!
Now the water shuttle works fine as long as there's no stormy weather or wind to jeopardize its trips. But c'mon, this is Washington, where rain is the norm! The water shuttle gets canceled once the water starts to get a little choppy, because they are worried about docking and getting people on and off the boat. Today was one of those days....where the shuttle was canceled most of the afternoon. This screws up a lot of people, especially since they don't really have a backup plan when the shuttle can't run. Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be worse, and I have to travel again. I don't want to go through what I went through last week, but I may have to. I can't cancel my trip 'cause Mom needs me and my brother is coming into town too, so I think another long trek is in the cards. This whole thing just sucks.
If it weren't for Mom I wouldn't really have to travel off the Peninsula at all during the bridge closure. I could stay up here in cozy little Port Townsend and not miss the tourists who aren't coming. But Mom comes first, so travel I must. They told me in elementary school by the time the Year 2000 came, we'd have flying cars. Where's my &*$%&#@!!! flying car!!!!!???
I know I haven't blogged in a while but there hasn't been much to report.....especially about pastry since I'm not currently working as a pastry chef. Caring for my mom has been my chief job, and it's exhausting in it's own brain torturing way.
I did take my Mom to see the tulips in the Skagit Valley and they were awe inspiring......
Other than that, it's just been traveling back and forth between Redmond and Port Townsend, which has been made more difficult by the closure of the Hood Canal Bridge. My normal 2 hour commute has turned into 4 hours (on a good day). Last Tuesday the wind was so bad, the water ferry that takes people across the Hood Canal was out of service because the water was so choppy that it could not dock. So I took a 3 hour bus ride all the way around to Port Gamble, got my car, drove to the Kingston Ferry, took that, then got off and drove to Mom's. Total travel time? 8 hours. Yep.
I'll be so glad when the bridgework is done and that damn thing re-opens. This has been such a hassle. It's like living on an island out here in Port Townsend. Taking out the bridge is like severing an artery......a major life giving artery.
We're hoping the tourist based businesses here in town can ride it out, because tourism, obviously, is down.
Enough whining. No wait, I have plenty more whining to do. It's my blog, I can cry if I want to.
There is one ray of hope actually. I'm finally losing some weight. 7.5 lbs so far. No miracle diet.....I'm just counting calories with the help of my iPhone......yep, there's an app for that. It's called, "Lose It" if anyone wants to know.....and it's freakin' free! I think being away from the bakery is helping too.....I'm not eating all those little trimmings and scraps that happen in the pastry kitchen, or any kitchen for that matter.
Ok, back to whining. My mom is doing fairly well physically, basically because I'm there to make sure she takes her medicine and eats and gets up and around occasionally. She fails to thrive on her own and will neglect herself to the point where she does get sick and ends up in the hospital. So really, at this point it is my job to babysit her, run errands, cook, take her out, refill her medicine boxes, etc. She takes so many meds it's almost rocket science to fill her boxes....there's no way she could do it herself. She no longer drives (good thing) and really has no interest in much of anything. She's unable to really carry on any kind of conversation so long periods of time go by where not much is said other than commenting on the weather. She sleeps a lot.
Her lack of cognition and short term memory loss can be frustrating. She asks me what day it is several times in the day, and it's not like it's even important......to her, every day is the same......why worry WHAT day it is? It's going to be the same boring routine day......after day......after day.......after day.........
This routine is rotting my brain. I need to bring some books along with me, since I know I'm not going to get stimulating conversation while I'm there. I've been watching too much TV......and almost getting addicted to the soaps. But not quite. I won't let myself watch enough of the episode to fully understand what's going on, so that keeps me at arm's length. "All My Children" keeps trying to pull me in though.......Susan Lucci doesn't freakin' age I swear!
There are some funny things that crack me up about soaps. I love how every "room" on every set is so lavishly decorated. No clutter.....as if the maid is there 24/7. Even if children are supposedly present in the household, there's no toys for the actors to trip over and the kids don't have much in the way of roles except to say, "Daddy, when is Mommy coming home?" And he'll say, "Soon, son,(even though I actually had her kidnapped) now go up to your room". No tantrums. The kid exits the set and is supposedly happily playing out of the parent's way so they can focus on their own stupid problems. And also, every room has a wet bar. As the actors are discussing their problems, there's always a decanter of hard liquor around. Never a bottle of Johnnie Walker.......it's always decanted. This, I'm sure is because the soap doesn't want to pay the product placement royalty.....or whatever you call it. I also love that they wake up in the morning as fresh as a daisy, or looking perfect after a rowdy nooner. I think I've been watching the soaps with my mom just to have a good laugh. They shouldn't even be called soap operas anymore. They don't advertise much soap.....mostly it's prescription drugs, like Singulair, Astepro, Vesicare, Caduet.......that, along with the prodigious drinking going on in the soaps themselves, they should be called "Drug and Alcohol" Operas..........
See I told you I've been watching too much TV. Another thing I've discovered is that Oprah is a hack and gives way too much air tiime to woo-woo ideas and woo-woo people. She is Queen Woo as far as I'm concerned. Oh, and I still suck at "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy". Actually those Jeopardy questions are hard......I feel like such a pea brain after that show.
Ok, enough TV.......but you know this blog reflects my life as it currently is. I wish I could share some exciting pastry stories or show some pics of cakes I've done.....but......alas.......the life of a caregiver isn't nearly exciting as life at the bakery. Jewlz keeps me apprised of what is going on at the bakery, and it's definitely a soap opera there; I love hearing "the latest", so I still feel semi involved. I stop by a lot. There will be a couple of cakes I have to do for a fundraiser on June 7th, so if they're picture-worthy, I'll post them.
My final rant:
EVOO? I know that's her little "term" but now it's really on bottles of extra virgin olive oil. Just think how many bottles will sell because "EVOO" is on it. "Look honey! I've been trying to find EVOO for ages ever since I started watching Rachael Ray, and now the stores actually sell it! Wow, let's buy TWO!"
See I told you my brain is rotting.
And I thought my last boss was easy! This is Mom. The one I'm "employed" by......the one I am now caring for. She looks kind of grumpy, but she's really not....she's just concentrating on "Wheel of Fortune". She never misses it.....or "Jeopardy" either. Every night, it's dinner, then "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy". I've only been at this caregiving thing for a couple of weeks now, and I'm about to go MAD! Mad I tell you. But I found a little help......
No, I'm not a drunken caregiver.......but a glass of wine now and then never hurt anyone, right? See, here's the deal.
I'm a pastry chef that is used to deadlines and pumping the product out.......move move move.....time to lean time to clean......that sort of stuff. On my feet all day......die on the couch when I get home....etc etc etc. Life was moving at 78 rpm (for you young'uns, that means 78 revolutions per minute, which was the speed of very old record albums), and now I'm at 33 1/3........actually less. I'm like the bionic man, who, when he was shown using his bionics, he ran verrrrry slowly with the accompanying sound effect....ch ch ch ch ch (or was that when he was jumping off buildings?) Ok, I've got to stop dating myself. Kids today are like, "record albums? 33 1/3? Bionic man? Huh?"
Anyway.
This caregiving thing isn't about deadlines or moving my fat butt around the kitchen as fast as I can go to "git 'er done". It's about patience, sacrifice, putting another person's needs over yours.........something similar to what Moms do everyday, except I've never been a "mom" until now. Now I'm my Mom's mom. Did I say anything about patience? Yeah, well lucky me, I have it. For instance, the other day my mom decided to go through her rolodex and reminisce about every person in it, from A-Z. She'd say "Oh remember Herb and Irene?" I'd say "yes", then she'd say, "they're dead now". And so I got the current update of who of our friends and relatives were still alive or dead. I can't TELL you how much fun that was. My eyes were glazed over and I hadn't even had my glass of wine yet.
Mom doesn't want to move into a retirement village or assisted living or any of that. She wants to stay home. I'm doing what I can to keep her at home without wiping out her finances, which is why I'm her primary careperson. Daughters work cheap......well, at least I do. Plus I manage her financial affairs, which is something a hired caregiver cannot do. She is too confused to manage her finances anymore, so I do that and pay myself a small fee.
Mom has Crohn's Disease, and Myasthenia Gravis, both are which autoimmune disorders. They tend to make her somewhat homebound, and she's gotten to the point where she is uncomfortable driving. So she doesn't get out of the house unless I take her out and she enjoys that a lot. It's just that there are limited places to go. It can't involve a lot of walking, and a restroom must always be nearby or within a short distance. This presents me with many challenges.
Especially since Mom doesn't show much interest in anything in particular. No hobbies, crafts, or anything like that. A lot of the day goes by where she just prefers to sit in front of the TV. I have this feeling that I need to keep her company, or entertain her and so I'm watching a lot of tube with her. TV is fine, but not THAT MUCH. I need stuff to do so I search for recipes and I cook a lot. At least my chef skills are still in fine tune.
I'm still in touch with Jewlz from the bakery, and she gives me the scoop as to what's going on. I can't help but obsess about that place since I was the starting chef for the cafes......it's like it's my "baby", and I've had to give my "baby" up.
How's my "baby" doing?
Seems that we didn't find a suitable replacement for me until the DAY BEFORE I had to leave, but we found one, which is what was important to me because I didn't want to leave Jewlz in the weeds with no help. Lizzie did a great job, but we only got her for two days and she left her key on the third saying her husband got an opportunity on Orcas Island that they couldn't pass up. And just like that she was gone. So it was just down to Jewlz and our assistant whom I shall not name. We'd had her since December and was a great help to us; getting a lot of the grunt work done and such. But there were personality problems between her and Jewlz, which to this day I (and Jewlz) could not figure out. She didn't seem to have much of a problem with me........but for some reason she wanted to blame Jewlz for all her dissatisfaction there. Not a week went by that I was gone, and our assistant left her key saying she "didn't feel welcome" and that the volume of work that had to get done is not what she expected. Oh, that's nice. It's too much work so just leave Jewlz by herself....she'll magically get it done. Nice move. And this leads me to my pet peeve.........
I'm a pastry chef that is used to deadlines and pumping the product out.......move move move.....time to lean time to clean......that sort of stuff. On my feet all day......die on the couch when I get home....etc etc etc. Life was moving at 78 rpm (for you young'uns, that means 78 revolutions per minute, which was the speed of very old record albums), and now I'm at 33 1/3........actually less. I'm like the bionic man, who, when he was shown using his bionics, he ran verrrrry slowly with the accompanying sound effect....ch ch ch ch ch (or was that when he was jumping off buildings?) Ok, I've got to stop dating myself. Kids today are like, "record albums? 33 1/3? Bionic man? Huh?"
Anyway.
This caregiving thing isn't about deadlines or moving my fat butt around the kitchen as fast as I can go to "git 'er done". It's about patience, sacrifice, putting another person's needs over yours.........something similar to what Moms do everyday, except I've never been a "mom" until now. Now I'm my Mom's mom. Did I say anything about patience? Yeah, well lucky me, I have it. For instance, the other day my mom decided to go through her rolodex and reminisce about every person in it, from A-Z. She'd say "Oh remember Herb and Irene?" I'd say "yes", then she'd say, "they're dead now". And so I got the current update of who of our friends and relatives were still alive or dead. I can't TELL you how much fun that was. My eyes were glazed over and I hadn't even had my glass of wine yet.
Mom doesn't want to move into a retirement village or assisted living or any of that. She wants to stay home. I'm doing what I can to keep her at home without wiping out her finances, which is why I'm her primary careperson. Daughters work cheap......well, at least I do. Plus I manage her financial affairs, which is something a hired caregiver cannot do. She is too confused to manage her finances anymore, so I do that and pay myself a small fee.
Mom has Crohn's Disease, and Myasthenia Gravis, both are which autoimmune disorders. They tend to make her somewhat homebound, and she's gotten to the point where she is uncomfortable driving. So she doesn't get out of the house unless I take her out and she enjoys that a lot. It's just that there are limited places to go. It can't involve a lot of walking, and a restroom must always be nearby or within a short distance. This presents me with many challenges.
Especially since Mom doesn't show much interest in anything in particular. No hobbies, crafts, or anything like that. A lot of the day goes by where she just prefers to sit in front of the TV. I have this feeling that I need to keep her company, or entertain her and so I'm watching a lot of tube with her. TV is fine, but not THAT MUCH. I need stuff to do so I search for recipes and I cook a lot. At least my chef skills are still in fine tune.
I'm still in touch with Jewlz from the bakery, and she gives me the scoop as to what's going on. I can't help but obsess about that place since I was the starting chef for the cafes......it's like it's my "baby", and I've had to give my "baby" up.
How's my "baby" doing?
Seems that we didn't find a suitable replacement for me until the DAY BEFORE I had to leave, but we found one, which is what was important to me because I didn't want to leave Jewlz in the weeds with no help. Lizzie did a great job, but we only got her for two days and she left her key on the third saying her husband got an opportunity on Orcas Island that they couldn't pass up. And just like that she was gone. So it was just down to Jewlz and our assistant whom I shall not name. We'd had her since December and was a great help to us; getting a lot of the grunt work done and such. But there were personality problems between her and Jewlz, which to this day I (and Jewlz) could not figure out. She didn't seem to have much of a problem with me........but for some reason she wanted to blame Jewlz for all her dissatisfaction there. Not a week went by that I was gone, and our assistant left her key saying she "didn't feel welcome" and that the volume of work that had to get done is not what she expected. Oh, that's nice. It's too much work so just leave Jewlz by herself....she'll magically get it done. Nice move. And this leads me to my pet peeve.........
What the hell happened to the courtesy of two weeks notice?
No one who has been through my kitchen here in this town has given notice. Not ONE. They just quit on the spot. I'm not a mean boss; in fact I'm one of the easiest people to get along with, and I always end up with flaky people who don't have the courtesy, the COURTESY of giving notice. News flash people: quitting like that doesn't help your references on your lying flaky resumes! Oh yeah, please don't use me or Jewlz as references, 'cause I won't have anything good to say about y'all.
What is is about this town?
This seems to be one of the biggest problems here in the Port Townsend area......getting good, RELIABLE help. In Seattle I never had problems like that like I do here. There's practically no competition for the job we are trying to hire for, and I've gone from interview questions like, "Are you familiar with pate choux?" to "will you just show the f*ck up every day?" That would be nice. Show up and do your work......ok you're qualified. Sigh.
An alternative newspaper we used to have here called "Vigilance" had an article on the so called "Port Townsend Flake Factor". I found it amusing then, since I had just moved here, but now that I've been here a few years, I can attest to the validity of the "Factor". I hate the "Factor!" I personally will never succumb to the "Factor".....I may live here, but I'll never be one of "THEM".......
On a brighter note, while shopping with Mom at Bartell Drugs the other day, I spotted THIS!!!!
An alternative newspaper we used to have here called "Vigilance" had an article on the so called "Port Townsend Flake Factor". I found it amusing then, since I had just moved here, but now that I've been here a few years, I can attest to the validity of the "Factor". I hate the "Factor!" I personally will never succumb to the "Factor".....I may live here, but I'll never be one of "THEM".......
On a brighter note, while shopping with Mom at Bartell Drugs the other day, I spotted THIS!!!!
The original Star Trek Pez collection for only $16.99!
Pretty cool, huh? Did I buy it? No. I had to restrain myself strongly. I wanted it, but I have to watch my spending. It would also leave me with a dilemma.........no serious collector would buy it and open the package....they would leave it intact and perfect and wrap it up to keep it pristine and original. As a collector I realize that, but as a PEZ fanatic, I simply wouldn't be satisfied if I couldn't eat a PEZ out of Mr. Spock's chest. It's best I didn't buy it because my collector's knowledge would clash with my strange urge to eat PEZ out of an original Star Trek dispenser. I might implode. So I made the best decision by not buying the PEZ.
Ack. Look at this blog deteriorate! From pastry, to caregiving to freaking PEZ. Well, dear readers, at least I'm still blogging!
Ack. Look at this blog deteriorate! From pastry, to caregiving to freaking PEZ. Well, dear readers, at least I'm still blogging!
Good news and bad news.
The good news is The Village Baker opened its second cafe in Port Townsend in addition to the one in Poulsbo. In a floundering economy, our business is booming. It's encouraging. My theory is that people will still spend money on affordable treats for themselves.....like good coffee and food. We've got that. Our main problem is that we run out of things constantly. It's been hard to keep up with the crowds.
We had our VIP preview opening on February 7th. Here's some pictures from that day.
This is me with my constant companion, a cup of coffee (as I like to call it, "a doublefat non-tall latte").
I'm behind my pastry case because I like to hide my fat. Besides, the pastries look great.
This is the right side of my pastry case..........
and this is the left..............
This is Tyson, the hardest workin' man in our shop. I'd like to say I was the hardest workin', but it's not
true......Tyson takes that award, and it's not an award I'm particularly working on getting. More on that later.
He's the lead bread man, and if you've never worked in a bread shop, cranking out more than 2000 lbs of
dough nearly every night in very hot conditions (even in winter), then you don't know what kind of sweat goes into that "pricey" loaf of artisan bread. We're not outsourcing our bread to India, so you pay a little more to keep our bread people contributing to our economy. Tyson's co-hort, Mo, isn't pictured, but she busts her butt just as hard. I have nothing but the utmost respect for those guys, because you couldn't pay me enough to be in that bread room. No way.
I've been there and done that.........no more! Also note how we bakers are usually seen with a cup of coffee.
Coffee+Baker=more work
Or, as the saying goes, "Drink coffee! Do stupid things faster with more energy!"
This is the fantabulous co-pastry chef Jewlz, her husband Tate on the left, and Tyson on the right. I have no idea what they might have been talking about, other than, "what the hell are we doing here? Are we crazy? Yep, we are batsh*t crazy."
This is Molly, one of the owners of The Village Baker. She also works hard, as does her husband and other owner, Michael. They pretty much eat, live, and sleep the bakery. Does Molly look happy but dazed? Yes, that's how it is these days......taking care of 2 cafes and a baking facility is more than a full time job, but they seem to handle it.........somehow. I've told them more than once that they are crazy to own a bakery, but I guess they like crazy.
Standing behind Molly is Marla, our new addition to the night pastry crew (danish and croissants) and she also works part time at the cafe as a counter girl. She's crazy too. If you have "crazy" on your resume, you're "in" dude!
This is Mr. Boss after our VIP preview day, and we employees broke out the bubbly. I took this
pic just after he opened a bottle and it sprayed over everything. A good laugh had by all, including
himself!
Now the bad news.
I'm behind my pastry case because I like to hide my fat. Besides, the pastries look great.
true......Tyson takes that award, and it's not an award I'm particularly working on getting. More on that later.
He's the lead bread man, and if you've never worked in a bread shop, cranking out more than 2000 lbs of
dough nearly every night in very hot conditions (even in winter), then you don't know what kind of sweat goes into that "pricey" loaf of artisan bread. We're not outsourcing our bread to India, so you pay a little more to keep our bread people contributing to our economy. Tyson's co-hort, Mo, isn't pictured, but she busts her butt just as hard. I have nothing but the utmost respect for those guys, because you couldn't pay me enough to be in that bread room. No way.
I've been there and done that.........no more! Also note how we bakers are usually seen with a cup of coffee.
Coffee+Baker=more work
Or, as the saying goes, "Drink coffee! Do stupid things faster with more energy!"
Standing behind Molly is Marla, our new addition to the night pastry crew (danish and croissants) and she also works part time at the cafe as a counter girl. She's crazy too. If you have "crazy" on your resume, you're "in" dude!
pic just after he opened a bottle and it sprayed over everything. A good laugh had by all, including
himself!
Now the bad news.
I'm leaving the bakery. My mom is getting on in years and has some health problems. I was having a caregiving company come in three days a week to make sure she got on ok, but a year and $18,000 later, I decided that wasn't too affordable anymore. I am now taking on the job of making sure Mom is ok, and I will be commuting and staying in Redmond (2 hours away) about 3-4 days a week. My main job in the coming days will be maintaining two households; my Mom's and my own. I don't mind it and I have the full support of my husband. He's such a good guy.
Mr. Boss says I'm welcome back at the bakery anytime, but I don't know when anytime will be. It could be years. Months.....weeks........it all depends. But I must say it's a generous offer and a compliment to my hard work that I've done for them in the past. Perhaps I'll be able to come back, but perhaps things will have evolved in the future and there won't be room for me there. I accept that. This is a big change for me.
Most of all I will miss the fantastic Jewlz. She's in the number one spot now, and she kicks ass. We'll stay in contact for sure, but I'll miss seeing her every day. You know how co-workers can be like family and she's more than family to me.
I'm hoping we can find some sort of body to replace me before I leave on the 11th of March. The pickin's are slim around here as far as finding dependable food people. There's plenty of people who have "crazy" on their resumes, but it's not the right kind of "crazy". We need crazy AND dependable, and that's a hard combo to find.
Mr. Boss says I'm welcome back at the bakery anytime, but I don't know when anytime will be. It could be years. Months.....weeks........it all depends. But I must say it's a generous offer and a compliment to my hard work that I've done for them in the past. Perhaps I'll be able to come back, but perhaps things will have evolved in the future and there won't be room for me there. I accept that. This is a big change for me.
Most of all I will miss the fantastic Jewlz. She's in the number one spot now, and she kicks ass. We'll stay in contact for sure, but I'll miss seeing her every day. You know how co-workers can be like family and she's more than family to me.
I'm hoping we can find some sort of body to replace me before I leave on the 11th of March. The pickin's are slim around here as far as finding dependable food people. There's plenty of people who have "crazy" on their resumes, but it's not the right kind of "crazy". We need crazy AND dependable, and that's a hard combo to find.
What will become of this blog?
Well, if you don't mind reading various ramblings from an ex-pastry chef turned elder caregiver, than that's where this blog is headed. There'll be pastry thrown in here and there, since it's my first love, but since it won't be my primary job, it won't be my primary subject. I'll always be a burned out pastry chef though....whether I'm working or not......
I wish my co-workers and bosses the very best.....they've got a good quality thing going and I'm sure it will be very very successful......
Well, if you don't mind reading various ramblings from an ex-pastry chef turned elder caregiver, than that's where this blog is headed. There'll be pastry thrown in here and there, since it's my first love, but since it won't be my primary job, it won't be my primary subject. I'll always be a burned out pastry chef though....whether I'm working or not......
I wish my co-workers and bosses the very best.....they've got a good quality thing going and I'm sure it will be very very successful......
I'm such a wimp! I took one look at the challenge and said "no freaking way". Not because I couldn't do it, but because December being December, and it being the holidays and all.....well. No time! I must say I would have liked to do it, because it would have been a challenge even for me, but with work and home duties, I just couldn't mess around that much.
The challenge was for a French Yule Log. Not one of those dried out sponge cake roll-up jobs, but a FRENCH Yule Log, which involves many different components and patience and tearing out of hair. If you'd like to see a brave soul who accomplished this overcomplicated feat, go here: Rosa's Yummy Yums.
I'd try to do it this month (a typically slow month for us bakers), but it's my annual "Go On a Diet for Serious" month.
No baking at home allowed.
This month's challenge is for ******, and I can do ****** in my sleep, so it's the complete opposite of last month's challenge. But I need to stick to the ol' resolution......no baking at home, so I won't be doing ****** either. Then I'll get dropped off the Daring Bakers blogroll and that will be that. I need to start a new internet phenom......The Burnt Out Bakers....care to join? Every month we drop a certain baked item off the top of a (minimum 3 story building). Extra points for hitting pedestrians on the sidewalk. Must post pics or it didn't happen!
What I did make this month is a Danish pastry called Smorkake or Smorkage (pronounced Smyrrh-ka ka). My husband LOVES it, so I decided to make some for him for Xmas. It's heavenly.......danish dough with a bit of cardamom and lemon, rolled up with an almond brown sugar filling and pastry cream. Larsen's Bakery in Seattle
used to make it, but I don't see it around anymore. If we want Smorkage around here, I have to pull it out of my Burnt Out Pastry Chef's Butt.
Isn't it lovely?
It's normally made in a round pan, but the square is far easier and I can make more that way. 'Cause what we need in this house is more sugary, butter laden, full 'o fat pastry! Not. The Smorkage is history now, there is nothing left in the house to tempt us off our Resolution Diets, unless I bake, which I won't. Really. Honest.
A legend in my own mind that is.
Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to win a trophy. I tried hard at everything I participated in, especially if there were prizes involved. Apparently my best was never good enough, because the holy grail always eluded me. Either that
or it's because I didn't kiss the right butts or off the right people. But I know I will never win a trophy for butt kissing; that's NOT my event.
I remember being very jealous when my little brother won a trophy in Little League Baseball. Why couldn't I win a trophy too? I finally got over the trophy thing eventually. I mean, they do kinda look a bit cheesy and they just gather dust, and they mean more to a kid than an adult.....and....I'm an adult now. I don't care about stinkin' trophies! Ok, yes I do. I'm still a kid in a lot of ways, and I want my goddamn trophy.
But I don't want a trophy for just anything or a "thanks for participating" trophy. I want a trophy that I truly deserve....one that I earned......one that says "You're the freakin' best".
Well, this Christmas, my trophy dream came true! I won a trophy, presented to me by my co-worker Jewlz (yes, the FAMOUS pie-butt kicking Jewlz) for our Christmas gift exchange. She had no idea about my trophy dreams, but Jewlz being the fabulous Jewlz, always seems to know what I need. Not only is it a beautiful trophy, but it's a trophy for something I'm truly good at........
That's right kids, my years of effort (well actually, it comes naturally) have paid off. I've been recognized for what I do best.....that's right......I can proudly say I'm a number ONE Baker Bitch. The Pastry Chef of Pessimism. The Cranky Cook. The Dour Maker of Dough. One could say that I could be offended by this, but NO! This Award of Bitchiness is only meant in the good way, and I am honored. You know the acronym for BITCH, don't you?
Or, even better, it's "Being In Total Control, Honey!" I wouldn't say I'm in TOTAL control though.......I identify as a bitch more like this:
Yeah, that's more like it. Unstable. I always have some sort of psycho trick up my sleeve. Like crying for no reason. Damn I'm good at that. And being peri-menopausal has nothing to do with it.
Point is, finally at 46 I got my stinkin' trophy....so I can die happy now. Eat it, bitches!
I have decided to join this online group, called the Daring Bakers. It's a top secret society, where in order to be a member, you just ask. You also need to follow a bunch of rules, and if you can keep them straight, then you're good to go. You don't need to be a pro, just a spaz who likes to bake, like me. If you want to learn more about the Daring Bakers, go here: The Daring Bakers Kitchen.
Every month a baking challenge is posted, and every one who is a member participates then blogs about it at the end of the month. This month's challenge was a caramel cake with caramelized butter icing and an optional challenge to make caramel candy. I was less than thrilled to find out that my first challenge would be CAKE. Argh. I'm sick of cake!
I'm sick of decorating cakes, I'm sick of baking them, I'm sick of eating them! And because I'm up to my neck in cake nearly 5 days a week, this challenge wasn't much of a challenge for me.....it was more like another day at work. But I whipped it out and made the caramels too, which was much more fun. I don't get to make candy much.
The caramel cake recipe was provided by Shuna Fish Lydon (one can't help but wonder how many people have nicknamed her "Tuna Fish"....I know I would if she worked with me.) I have actually baked this type of cake before, but under another name; Burnt Sugar Cake. I had a customer request it some time back, so I recognized this caramel cake as the Burnt Sugar Cake, popular in the 50's and 60's. Here is Shuna's recipe if you want to try it: Caramel Cake.
A word of warning though, this thing is SWEET, and I mean sweet. Didn't suit my taste, but the fam loved it, the sugar fiends that they are.
If you want to read Shuna's blog (she's a pro like me), here's the link: Eggbeater.
Anyway, here's the obligatory pics as proof of my participation in this month's challenge:
These are the caramels I made. They were yummy but also popped off one of my crowns. I will be sending my dental bill to the Daring Baker's liability insurance carrier. Oh, I kid....but these caramels cost me over $400! More, if my insurance didn't cover part of it.
This is the caramel cake. I made the wacky version by sticking caramel filigree and a spun sugar ball on top. I had them left over from another catered dessert I made earlier. I iced the cake "Betty Crocker Frosting in a Can Style" since all my decorating tools reside at work.
Did I have trouble making this? Nope. Like I said, just another day in the trenches.
Speaking of trenches, did you know that I'm a burnt out pastry chef? Why did I join the Daring Bakers? Because I can't help myself I suppose, and I really need to get a life out of the kitchen. But what to do? I know other pastry chefs who feel "stuck" too, because they can't imagine doing anything else, as do I. But I'm going nuts and my body is giving out. I can't do the hours I used to. My feet hurt, my arms hurt, my hands hurt, my brain hurts.
I need sugar.
Every month a baking challenge is posted, and every one who is a member participates then blogs about it at the end of the month. This month's challenge was a caramel cake with caramelized butter icing and an optional challenge to make caramel candy. I was less than thrilled to find out that my first challenge would be CAKE. Argh. I'm sick of cake!
I'm sick of decorating cakes, I'm sick of baking them, I'm sick of eating them! And because I'm up to my neck in cake nearly 5 days a week, this challenge wasn't much of a challenge for me.....it was more like another day at work. But I whipped it out and made the caramels too, which was much more fun. I don't get to make candy much.
The caramel cake recipe was provided by Shuna Fish Lydon (one can't help but wonder how many people have nicknamed her "Tuna Fish"....I know I would if she worked with me.) I have actually baked this type of cake before, but under another name; Burnt Sugar Cake. I had a customer request it some time back, so I recognized this caramel cake as the Burnt Sugar Cake, popular in the 50's and 60's. Here is Shuna's recipe if you want to try it: Caramel Cake.
A word of warning though, this thing is SWEET, and I mean sweet. Didn't suit my taste, but the fam loved it, the sugar fiends that they are.
If you want to read Shuna's blog (she's a pro like me), here's the link: Eggbeater.
Anyway, here's the obligatory pics as proof of my participation in this month's challenge:
Did I have trouble making this? Nope. Like I said, just another day in the trenches.
Speaking of trenches, did you know that I'm a burnt out pastry chef? Why did I join the Daring Bakers? Because I can't help myself I suppose, and I really need to get a life out of the kitchen. But what to do? I know other pastry chefs who feel "stuck" too, because they can't imagine doing anything else, as do I. But I'm going nuts and my body is giving out. I can't do the hours I used to. My feet hurt, my arms hurt, my hands hurt, my brain hurts.
I need sugar.
