making pastries with love ♥

Today marks our last day of Level One. We're done making breads, cookies, and muffins. Now, we just have to show Chef Nick our new-found skills. Our final exam is on Thursday, and I have to make Ensaymada, Chinese Almond Cookies, and Orange Nut Muffins. *excited*

I'll be going back home right after our finals. I can't wait to see my mom and dad, and play with the puppies before we sell them. I'd rather keep them all, but we can't afford to keep 6 puppies along with our 4 dogs, not to mention we don't have the space. Plus, I need the money for myKitchenAid fund.

Anyway, on my previous post, I included pics of my favorites, but I wasn't able to upload all because of my crappy net. So here's part two.

That heart wasn't intentional. One of those amazing coincidences. ❤

Gipfel.

Olienbollen (Dutch doughnuts).

Brownies. Who doesn't love 'em? =)

Morning glory muffins.

Chocolate Orange Biscotti.

Calabrese with Anchovies and Mushrooms.

conquering the world one pastry at a time

Baking. God, how I love it. I feel as if this time, I'm doing what I really love, I'm going to be something I really want. I feel as if this is what I'm meant to be. After 6 months or so, I'm gonna be a pastry chef. I can't wait!

To me, each day is like a treat. We make all kinds of bread, muffins and cookies. And making bread sounds easy, but it's not. It needs a lot of patience, and a lot of work. Trust me, kneading a dough is work.

We're having our final exam next Wednesday, and after that we get a 2-week reprieve from school. I'm so excited, I'm going home right after our exam. It's not all vacation, though. I still have to do all my costing. Ugh.

"Life isn't perfect, but everything you bake in the kitchen can be. It's a moment of order and edible art in a life of disorder and chaos."

-Henry's Sisters (Cathy Lamb) ♥

These are my faves so far:

Popovers filled with pastry cream.

Hot cross buns.

Classic Pinoy pandesal. ♥

Waffles. But we didn't use a waffle pan, so it looks like a pancake. =)

Blueberry muffins.

There's more, but for some reason I'm having a hard time posting pics. I'll just uplload them on my next post. =)

recently read - february 2012

Because reading is always fun. <3

• Always the Baker, Never the Bride - Sandra Bricker
• Always the Wedding Planner, Never the Bride - Sandra Bricker
• Under the Radar - Fern Michaels
• Payback - Fern Michaels
• Take Me - Bella Andre
• Love Me - Bella Andre
• Heaven Texas - Susan Elizabeth Phillips
• Lethal Remedy - Richard Mabry
• Nine Uses for An Ex-Boyfriend - Sarra Manning
• I've Got Your Number - Sophie Kinsella
• Desirable Residence - Madeleine Wickham
• What's Your Number? - Karyn Bosnak
• Lucky Charm - Carly Phillips
• Lucky Streak - Carly Phillips
• Lucky Break - Carly Phillips
• Seduce Me - Carly Phillips
• Before She Dies - Mary Burton

i gotta blog more often

I've been neglecting my blog yet again for the nth time, but at least this time I'm not losing interest in it. Before, I just delete my blog, and when I feel like it, I start all over again. It's like a disease.

Anyway, I don't have much going on lately, so I don't have anything to blab about. Just normal stuff: I go to school, we bake goodies (one day I'll post more pics), it's pretty much routine stuff. I do my laundry, clean my little place, hang out with friends.

Bf came to visit last February 24, just for the weekend. But it was more than enough. We hang out together, watched a movie. Simple stuff, but it was all fun. I missed him.

I went home last Friday. Mom left for Dumaguete, and Dad was supposed to go to Bohol (but he cancelled at the last minute, don't know why) so I was supposed to watch over our store. Saw two of my BFFs Jo and Janz; sadly Jin has work. Bonded with my Dad, anf played with Reina's puppies. They're all soooo cute! Too bad we can't keep them.

Anyway, weekend's over so it's back to the real world. Went to class today, and, lo and behold, Aunt Flo arrived. I was getting a bit antsy because my cycle got all messed up, and I've been PMSing to hell so I was actually glad about it. But then I got cramps. Not the usual cramps-that-can-be-cured-with-chocolate, but the oh-my-God-this-feels-like-labor-pains kind.

By 3 PM I was pale, and the pain was reaching 8 on a scale of 1-10. I took a pain reliever, but it didn't work as quickly as I'd like. By 4 Pm, I was having chills, and I was getting dizzy and feeling a bit nauseous. I can't even concentrate on my Focaccia by then. Everyone kept looking at me and asking me if I'm OK every minute or so.

Chef Nick told me to just sit down, and stop working on my bread. I decided to go home instead.. I left class early. When I got down, I asked the guard to get me a taxi while I sat down and waited. I told the taxi driver my address, and asked if we could just stop by a pharmacy. I bought some more pain meds, just in case.

When I arrived home, I boiled some water and changed into more comfy clothes. I used the hot water for a hot compress. I was asleep in minutes.

I woke up to the ringing of my phone. I ignored it at first but the caller was persistent. Turns out, it was my boyfriend calling to check up on me. It was so funny coz he was panicking because he couldn't reach me. I didn''t reply to any of his messages and I never answered his calls, and he went crazy. He started imagining morbid things. He thought I that I fainted from the pain and was lying unconscious somewhere. It was sweet. And touching. Told him nothing dramatic happened, I was just trying to sleep off the pain. LOL

I feel much better now, though. Still in pain, but better.

Mom's dropping by Cebu tomorrow, from Dumaguete. She's staying for a short visit before she heads home. I can't wait to see her. =)