3 posts tagged “pastry”
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.
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......
No, it's not some new Chinese New Year.
For me, and all those around me, it will be the Year of the Bitch, because I'm a pastry chef and I'm on a diet.
It's like being a garbage man and only being allowed to shower once a week. Or a cop with no doughnuts.
I toasted in the New Year appropriately with a bottle of "Bitch 2006"......my last bit o' wine for a while.
I must think of veggies while filling eclairs. Rice cakes while I'm icing cakes, lean fish and chicken while I'm making tarts. Yep, I'm gonna be plenty crabby.
But I'm also crabby about being Chef Chunkette. People used to say to me, when they found out my occupation, "How do you stay so skinny?".......nobody asks that anymore. I am what I eat.......butter, whipped cream, sugar, eggs, flour, and chocolate............oh, sure, I'm delicious, but more in an all-you-can-eat Buffet type of way, instead of a french fine dining kind of way.
I must reduce the size of my bon-bons and my bun-buns. Here goes nuthin'.
Happy New Year. Sigh.
Check out this wonderful organization.....of which I am a proud member.......Heartless Bitches International
For me, and all those around me, it will be the Year of the Bitch, because I'm a pastry chef and I'm on a diet.
It's like being a garbage man and only being allowed to shower once a week. Or a cop with no doughnuts.
I toasted in the New Year appropriately with a bottle of "Bitch 2006"......my last bit o' wine for a while.
I must think of veggies while filling eclairs. Rice cakes while I'm icing cakes, lean fish and chicken while I'm making tarts. Yep, I'm gonna be plenty crabby.
But I'm also crabby about being Chef Chunkette. People used to say to me, when they found out my occupation, "How do you stay so skinny?".......nobody asks that anymore. I am what I eat.......butter, whipped cream, sugar, eggs, flour, and chocolate............oh, sure, I'm delicious, but more in an all-you-can-eat Buffet type of way, instead of a french fine dining kind of way.
I must reduce the size of my bon-bons and my bun-buns. Here goes nuthin'.
Happy New Year. Sigh.
Check out this wonderful organization.....of which I am a proud member.......Heartless Bitches International
