Vicky Learns to Cook

 And we're off to the races! Day one of trying recipes in the cookbook has begun.  This is the dish I made, and here is how I got there:  Almond tart with strawberries Last night/early this morning I completed my first two recipes - a pastry called Pate Brisee, which is like saying "broken pastry" because it crumbles easily. Then I made an Almond filling, also in the book to go inside. Thus creating an almond tart. Part of having a culinary class, or a culinary class text book is that they DON'T tell you how hot or how long to bake it. I know, it's crazy right? This is because, I am assured, that these components can be used for multiple dishes and you would not want 20 recipes slightly modified for different fillings and pastries.  The other issue is that depending on the oven you have these will multiply by at least 5 different types of oven (home, deck, convection, etc).  And then you are taught methods and formulas so you can modify sizes of tarts or the amo...

 I've had to compromise. I certainly bit off more than I could chew with this project, which you probably figured out. Even with easy dinners like chicken fried rice and a few nights of take out, I was too busy then too tired to bake much. Part of the reason was that I was practicing for a test in Martial Arts - sword on this past Weds and then one or two more tests with sword and staff next Weds and maybe even the next. We have a lot to cover.  I'm sore all over by now, having really worked hard to get to the point where I could test.  Today the boys are in Ohio, looking at cars in the hot hot sun. I just fried, myself, doing my Tai Chi classes, but am cooling off and trying to explain to the dog why a walk would be a very bad idea. He has shed enough fur to turn the carpet white, so there will be vacuuming as soon as lunch is delivered.  I'm not sure if I'm being careful staying home and ordering lunch or if I'm also lazy. I think some of both :)  Then the thi...

 One thing Julie Powell never had to do during her project was to setup a grocery pick up and wait for a day to get her ingredients! I didnt think of that.  I forgot shopping in person is no fun for me anymore with the high aisles and crazy cart drivers coming around the corners all the time. Plus I'm lazy and they offer it for free. So I ordered what I need for this week, and of course I waited too long and now cant pick them up til tomorrow. Duh.  Also so much for making stuff with what I had. I didnt have much of anything turns out. Ha! I think I need a cow and some chickens for all the butter and eggs I'm using.  This delays my Almond Pastry, darn it. I certainly dont have enough almond paste.  I do have some cookies to make, however, for my Cookie Charity at work, now that I'm stepping back into the office on Wednesdays. I also did this thing where I ordered tee shirts for the team I'm on and mentioned that in the meeting today. I heard crickets, but I did ...

 Ok I'm gonna do it! I'm a fan of the idea of going through an entire cookbook in a year and making everything in it, a la Julie Powell in Julie & Julia. I wonder how many of foodies have done this since the movie came out? Get this book, see this movie! I picked the Professional Baking cookbook (5th edition) by Wayne Gisslen since that was from one of my classes at OCC. There are 803 recipes, which comes to about 2 1/4 recipes per day. Some of them are things like sauces and glazes, so on those days I can make a few in a day. There will always be sick days, vacations with no kitchen, and such, but I am embarking on a journey that will leave me a smarter and more experienced baker. And doing my best to get done in a year.  As Julie Powell tells us, it's a "loony undertaking". (See her original blog below) I've decided since I already got my groceries and fruit/veg orders in for the week, we shall dub this week "week 0" and continue on with what I...

Today is Friday July 2nd. We dont leave til on our trip to drive Route 66 until Sunday but I can't help it, I have to start doing things.  Being a cook/chef that likes to buy fresh, I now have a bunch of things to "process" before we can leave: Peppers will be roasted.  Carrots, Onions, and Celery will become Mirepoix and frozen.  Zucchini will be cut up and frozen.  Cucumbers will become pickles.  Strawberries will become some kind of dessert along with the rhubarb.  Mango, kiwi, peaches will be eaten Lemons will be zested and juiced and then frozen Grape Tomatoes will be used in dinner along with the mushrooms and one pkg of sausage left.  Apples and pears will become apple/pear sauce. Why not? Brussels sprouts.  Hm... I didnt know how to do this but I'm guessing they need to be frozen... I found this blog on freezing them [https://www.thekitchenwhisperer.net/2016/08/25/how-to-properly-freeze-brussels-sprouts/ ] The process is really simple: Boi...

There is this book from Cookery class called On Cooking. Once we were duly trained in culinary school at not killing each other with bacteria or knives, we got to start cooking.  I like having this book but it was gathering dust. I forget sometimes that it really is a source for all things food. I just spent the last few hours going back over it.  It's amazing all the sauces, for instance, that we can whip up, if only we had access to things like bones and marrow. Not living on a farm in France,  I'll have to search for where to get those later. I needed to make dinner soon.  Chicken was next on the "meat wheel" and... what you dont have a meat wheel? Well maybe not on paper, but you probably don't eat chicken every day of the week do you? No, you change it up, right? Beef one day, fish the next, maybe tofu or chickpeas if you are vegetarian or vegan.  Anyway, chicken was up next, but most things in the book called for something with leafy greens. If you've be...

If you watch TV, the kind with commericals not streaming, you start to see the trends in our society.   It feels like things are changing. Seems like we are headed toward going back to work soon and having gatherings. The whole lifestyle change due to a pandemic seems to be easing up. Ads on TV show women putting jeans back on to go in to work. And they show hundreds of ways to lose the weight many of us put on over the last year.  Like an underwatered plant given water again, I doubt things will be the same. Some people will probably forever be more careful, scarred by all the deaths of friends and family. They will wear masks longer and stand farther apart than before. A sneeze will get you the stinkeye. Life in person feels like it is chaotic.  Going back to work means only seeing half the people we saw before, as some will work from home most of the time if not all of the time. Or have left the job altogether. Or retired early. Or worse.  People tend to want...