Tonight we went out to get ingredients... tomorrow, homemade ratatouille for dinner and a showing of the movie "Ratatouille."
(And no, I don't plan to let any aspiring chef kitties take over the cooking!)
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
My baking class
As a holiday gift, DH gave me a baking class. No, this was not a comment on my current baking skills - I've mentioned before that it would be fun to take a course like this, so he found one and signed me up!
How delicious do these goodies sound?
Week One—Pâte à Choux: In week one, we will discover the
art of making pâte à choux, also known as cream puff paste.
Pâte à choux is a versatile paste that can be used in both sweet
and savory dishes. Students will prepare and sample dishes
such as assorted savory Gougère, Cream Puffs, Éclairs, and
Cream Puff Swans. The class also makes pastry cream and
glazes.
Week Two—Pies and Tarts: Students explore the fundamentals
of making the perfect pâte brisée (pie crust) in week
two. Each student will prepare a standard pâte brisée recipe,
learning how to roll out the dough and use it in various recipes.
Students will make Frangipane and Fresh Fruit Tart, Blueberry
White Chocolate Cheese Pie, Lemon Tartlets, Praline Sweet
Potato Pie, Cranberry Crumb Pie, and Cherry Pie.
Week Three—Breads: Students learn how to work with
yeast doughs, rich doughs, and batter doughs in week
three. The instructor will demonstrate how to knead,
shape, and bake the dough that is prepared in class.
Students will make Focaccia, Rosemary Garlic Bread,
Maple-Pecan Sticky Buns, Rye Bread, and French Bread.
Week Four—Cakes: This class instructs students to
prepare a cake from scratch and to bake and frost it with
simple decorating tips. Students will prepare various
recipes such as an all-purpose Butter Cake, Rich Flourless
Chocolate Cake, Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing,
and a vast array of different buttercream, ganache and
simple glazes.
How delicious do these goodies sound?
Week One—Pâte à Choux: In week one, we will discover the
art of making pâte à choux, also known as cream puff paste.
Pâte à choux is a versatile paste that can be used in both sweet
and savory dishes. Students will prepare and sample dishes
such as assorted savory Gougère, Cream Puffs, Éclairs, and
Cream Puff Swans. The class also makes pastry cream and
glazes.
Week Two—Pies and Tarts: Students explore the fundamentals
of making the perfect pâte brisée (pie crust) in week
two. Each student will prepare a standard pâte brisée recipe,
learning how to roll out the dough and use it in various recipes.
Students will make Frangipane and Fresh Fruit Tart, Blueberry
White Chocolate Cheese Pie, Lemon Tartlets, Praline Sweet
Potato Pie, Cranberry Crumb Pie, and Cherry Pie.
Week Three—Breads: Students learn how to work with
yeast doughs, rich doughs, and batter doughs in week
three. The instructor will demonstrate how to knead,
shape, and bake the dough that is prepared in class.
Students will make Focaccia, Rosemary Garlic Bread,
Maple-Pecan Sticky Buns, Rye Bread, and French Bread.
Week Four—Cakes: This class instructs students to
prepare a cake from scratch and to bake and frost it with
simple decorating tips. Students will prepare various
recipes such as an all-purpose Butter Cake, Rich Flourless
Chocolate Cake, Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing,
and a vast array of different buttercream, ganache and
simple glazes.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
A title
Aly's girls came up with a name for the crane story! So it is now, officially, "Kiku & Mai Learn to Say Hi."
How adorable is that? :)
How adorable is that? :)
Saturday, January 09, 2010
Mikey likes it!
I am very pleased to say that Eisa likes the new kidney-friendly food we offered her!
When she was diagnosed with chronic renal failure last spring, our vet gave us a packet with samples of all the different types of kidney-friendly food, as this stuff is notoriously unpalatable. She was fine with all of it. So we picked the most economical dry food and the most economical wet food and brought them home.
Once we had them home, she decided they weren't okay any more. She wouldn't even touch the dry food. (This is the least picky cat in the household, so you can imagine how bad this stuff must taste.) We switched her exclusively to the wet food, and she was okay with that up until last month. Then, suddenly, no interest.
Here's hoping this one has more staying power.
When she was diagnosed with chronic renal failure last spring, our vet gave us a packet with samples of all the different types of kidney-friendly food, as this stuff is notoriously unpalatable. She was fine with all of it. So we picked the most economical dry food and the most economical wet food and brought them home.
Once we had them home, she decided they weren't okay any more. She wouldn't even touch the dry food. (This is the least picky cat in the household, so you can imagine how bad this stuff must taste.) We switched her exclusively to the wet food, and she was okay with that up until last month. Then, suddenly, no interest.
Here's hoping this one has more staying power.
Playoffs
DH got tickets for the football playoffs, so we'll be watching those on Sunday. I'm still mystified as to why anyone thought it would be a good idea to have an outdoor stadium in this climate. (At autumn games you get sunburned; in winter games your toes freeze.) He says it is because our team wants to be seen as a tough team, and so they will have an advantage over the cosseted indoor players.
Maybe they could put the field outdoors and have the rest of the stadium enclosed?
Maybe they could put the field outdoors and have the rest of the stadium enclosed?
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