fuchsia fragments

For now.

Kitchenaid bub is home. Took mum out on a daughters + mummy date night at Fratelli Fresh followed by a show at the Opera House. Was fun.

Last cake order went by soo smooth it was almost perfect. Almost, but not.

One more day till quarter end and I'm off to wine country. Excited.

However, allergy season has kicked in and coupled with lots of work, sucks double time.

How to knead dough when you don't have a kitchenaid? Why, use a food processor of course! Thanks BB from work for the tip! Would never have thought of that on my own!

Making the Momofuku pork buns for the first time. They are a LOT of work. Knead. Rest. Punch down. Cut. Roll. Rest. Shape. Roll. Rest. Steam. Repeat. I can safely say that I am  not exaggerating when I say that it takes a good half day. But they turned out very very good. So pleased. And made enough for practice and to serve on the day (they can be frozen for up to 2 months!). And yes, they are supposed to be slightly yellow in colour. This is because of the yeast that you buy...





And dessert! Will have more elements. Black sesame cheesecake, red bean something, green tea macaron and green tea ice cream... all me!! ;)


Anyways, we're working on names for our dishes and think we're going with the 4 seasons. Winter Garden was the only one I could remember! And ha ha ha, the best dish name, "Snap, crackle, pork" was actually something my sister came up with... oh wells, we're using it anyway!

The guys had to leave right on 5 but that was 5 full on hours of a pretty good practice run. And Mac (their frenchie) came over to play to Max and Nessie. The boys actually got into a couple of fights and had to have time outs (not kidding). But they were so exhausted by the end it was so endearing. Good sleeps for both boys (same age, same weight, very different in size!) tonight. Poor Nessie didn't know what to do so she kept to herself!

Then I had a little break to clean up and along came Justin & Carmen for Sunday Baking Class #2. Tonights's dish for her baking competition tomorrow (we're trying to steamroll and take home first place in every comp, we are 1 up so far!): Pear & Fragipane Tart.

Main ingredient? Butter...

Was easy enough albeit a little time consuming. Mmm... shortcrust pastry was flaky. And Tart was a beautiful golden colour. I think she'll do really well.

Needless to say, I am utterly bummed. Been standing on my feet since 9 this morning and I've just come to realise (perhaps moreso now that quarter-end is FAST approaching) that I don't really have much time between now and rusty chef and high tea. Certainly not quite enough for me to want to do what I want to do to ensure everything runs smoothly for those events. Will need to draw up a plan. Perhaps revise menus. Enlist some help.

Wow, not even two years old and I think I need to take it into repairs. Lucky still under warranty... or it bloody better be! Think the gears are stuck.. it better not be the motor.

I got an email from my mastercard provider the other day. They're introducing the new paytag thing which eliminates the use of a credit card. And you get to have the app on your phone and access your account at anytime. Convenience much? Not to mention all the bonuses they are trying to throw at me because I no longer use the card. But it has made my will stronger to cancel my Visa in the new year. Because I don't need it and I shouldn't have to pay a few hundred dollars a year for "platinum membership". My two fee-free cards do just fine. So does the line of credit.

In other news, I tried the relatively new Waitan restaurant in Chinatown yesterday. It was really nice! Really nice for a $10 million fit out... ridiculous much? Who has that kind of money? I was actually expecting it to be really high-end, uptight and downright expensive. It was none of that but sort of feels like Spice Temple but more Chinese, discrete service, above average dishes and a modest price tag. In short, I'd go again. Especially because we only had 3 dishes: the smoked fish, mushrooms and english spinach and seafood hor fun (special order as we didn't want crispy noodles). Perhaps it was a quiet evening and so the standards were higher, but I was quietly impressed by the place and the decor. A far cry from Golden Century next door...

I've also discovered that since starting this fruit, veg and the occasional seafood diet that I find meat to have a really strong flavour. Had a little bit of beef tonight in mum's curry and it was so... beefy. I think i'm beginning to understand when people can't handle the 'smell' of certain meats... and my stomach is not thanking me for it just yet... it is doing just fine with all the iron and red meat! Feeling good!

I didn't apply for that cafe job. Does not look fun at all. Case closed and I have closure. Brunch meant something today...

Oh and also to see the beautiful Joyce and lovely Donna of course. They legit-ly asked why I chose this brunch place when I couldn't eat anything. Ha ha but it was also the pleasure of their company. Decaf Soy Lattes are just not the same. No buzz and an interesting taste. I had the quinoa salad with avocado, spinach and tomato. Pretty tasty for veg.

The girls had like 3 dishes between them... hahaha. No comment. Piggys :P But it did look good. Pancakes, bacon, pork and mushrooms, sourdough, poached eggs...

Arvo.. spent a wee bit of time in the garden with Mum and some time out the front in the garage with dad checking out the newest family car. Its a Hybrid Camry. I think i still love the Honda more. It goes faster. hehehe.

Was supposed to go IKEA but might have to wait till next weekend. There's just nothing like spending some time at home especially because today is Dad's day.

Happy Father Day to the best dad ever - I was actually thinking of all the things that I am incapable (or at least requires so much more effort) of doing without you: fixing the car, building furniture, opening jars, keeping me in line, all the things that I get away with that Wendie would never, critiquing my cakes, making a decent homemade coffee, buying wine, fixing our leaking shower/toilet/taps, getting my butter out for me when I am still at work so i can bake in the evening, building me a computer, fixing my computer, anything electrical related for that matter, making my friends coffee, picking me up from the station, buying a plane ticket..... i think the list is endless.

We may not be the first family but I wouldn't have it any other way. Future hubby out there... you have massive shoes to fill!

And then Winter came gusting back. Literally. It has been rain and wind during the day for the past few days. Not cool Mother Nature.

Another excuse to spend my day baking. More macarons - most were successful - first batch was a disaster... whoops? And made a tea cake - Blueberry Almond and Orange Syrup. Looks pretty without decorating and so easy. Definitely a good 'what to bring when told not to bring a thing' kind of cake. And no decorating or icing... EASY PEASY!

And made a batch of homemade blackberry jam. Oh my gosh... why did it take me so long to realise that it is so so easy? Christmas baking and cooking, here I come! And it wasn't very sweet and the texture was amazing. So proud of myself.

And cause I was on such a role, I made a batch of salted caramel as well AND have my sourdough sleeping overnight ready to be baked tomorrow morning. Prepared much? Gonna try single-rise and bake. Never done it before. Not even sure if its recommended. Will see the results tomorrow.

I had some spare time at work today and my mind drifted. Actually, it was right on about when I was sending the link to my breaducation course to my colleague to recommend her to husband when I was browsing through the links.

And happened to stumble upon "Career Opportunities"...

For a good few hours, I was serious about applying for a casual position at the cafe. Why not? It would be good experience, it would give me extra cash (to go towards Mr ATO) and it would hopefully teach me a thing or two about running a cafe.

Ha ha. Aren't I the dreamer today?

Just because I have a weekend here and there free, I think I can take on another job. Very immature thinking (*scolds oneself*) - especially when I have been there, done that. You know... helping Ari with his homework. Although to be fair, his mum was the one who went all AWOL which coincides with moving from a local school to a much further away private school and hence having no time and no time management. I was kind of relieved that it stopped. I got 2 of my weeknights back. Makes a big difference to hang around and sit in front of the TV, laptop, lay in bed and do nothing but think about the what-ifs and the could-haves and look at the stars maybe...

Was even thinking that I had nothing to lose by applying - which I don't. Then I opened up my resume. And well, how the heck am I going to spin it so that I have awesome customer service, can serve customers food and coffee and be an awesome kitchen-hand with a degree, a post-graduate and my last 5 roles having sat at a desk behind a computer. Yeah right. I guess I can always accentuate tarjay?!?! ;)