I stopped baking at home for awhile. You may or may not have noticed. I guess that was the first sign that something was not right. Sure, I was still going to school, and practicing at home by making...
Since starting pastry school at the end of March, I decided to share my experiences and feelings on my blog as I go through school, the ups and the downs, the good days and the bad days. If anything,...
I think Im at the "impatience" stage of my first term of pastry school. Im at the point where Im practicing a lot, and some of my techniques are improving, but Im getting antsy to be past thi...
In pastry school, some days are good, and some days arent so good. Saturday was a good day because I discovered that Ive been over-whisking my Italian meringues. Talk about revelation. Prior to Satur...
The week-end after learning to make croissants and brioche, I ate all (yes, I really mean all) the croissants and mini brioche buns I made. I know, I know. I probably shouldnt have eaten them all. I ...
Last week, we learned to make a few traditional yeasted doughs, including brioches and flaky croissants. And, of course, we made them all by hand. No Kitchenaid to knead the dough for us. No sirree. ...
To unwind after a difficult week of school (with many flops), I dedicated last Friday night to Béatrice Peltres gorgeous new book La Tartine Gourmande: Recipes for an Inspired Life. When I saw t...
Pastry school is hard. This is something that I was made very aware of when I was applying. I consulted a few pastry chefs in Montreal as I filled out all the applications, and I gathered advice and ...
Ive been in Ottawa for exactly one week now, and I still cant believe it. The move has had its ups and downs. On my second day in Ottawa, my car disappeared, literally, and I couldnt find it. It wasn...
As you may know, Im moving to Ottawa very, very soon. Actually, in exactly one week, I will call Ottawa home (albeit temporarily). Ive therefore embarked on a full-on "empty-the-freezer-frid...
My goal: to empty out as much of the fridge, freezer, and pantry before I move to Ottawa. My reason: even with all my gym efforts, I am still a weakling and I have zero desire to lug quasi-finished b...
Another PhD defense means another celebratory layer cake. This one was absolutely ridiculous, and by ridiculous, I mean insanely good. Two layers of moist chocolate cake with homemade salted caramel ...
The idea of baked doughnuts has intrigued me for some time except that I really, really, really love any form of deep-fried dough. Actually, deep-fried anything excites me. So, when I finally ve...
I went shopping for skinny jeans this week. I know youre wondering why on earth Id bring up the topic of skinny jeans in a food blog, but skinny jeans shopping was a huge deal in my little world. You...
Have you ever been to see an osteopath? I hadnt before last Monday. I honestly had no idea what I was getting myself into. I was completely unprepared for what was about to happen when I walked ...
Im moving in about a month. I will actually physically be living somewhere other than Montreal for 9 whole months. Thats crazy in my little world. The most Ive been away from Montreal is 3 months, an...
This is not another sappy Valentines Day post, though it is that time of year again, and the "big day" is fast approaching. I dont celebrate Valentines day, and its not just because I happen ...
To say that my life involves eating lots of cake is an understatement. There are cakes, cookies, chocolate, candy, bread, and the list goes on and on. Its a bit obscene, really. Whats amazing is that...
I am madly in love with tea. Tea anything and tea everything. Ill drink tea hot or cold. I love browsing through the tea aisle of grocery stores whenever I travel, and I am a big fan of buying loose-...
Did you see the list of the five "most played-out restaurant dishes" from Andrew Knowlton? Fine, Im obviously a little behind on my reading because its from September 2010. Point being, appar...
On Tuesday, I turned thirty, as in the big three-zero! I wouldnt say I was completely freaked out about it. Not completely. I was definitely mildly worried. But, when the clock struck midnight, and i...
New Years is a time for resolutions and goals. Im pretty sure at age 25, I had about two goals for the next five years. The first was obviously to get my PhD done at some point in the next five years...
It finally snowed in Montreal, just in time for Christmas. If I had known we were going to have a white Christmas in the end, I wouldnt have fretted so much for the entire month of December. It snowe...
Im not sure how I manage to do this every year, but I put together an amazing insane list of holiday baking that I try to get through. I guess my eyes are bigger than my stomach, or maybe my pen can ...
Growing up, my mom would make fruitcake from my grandmothers recipe every Christmas season. I think most years, we all pretty much rejected the fruitcake in favor of chocolate treats and shortbr...
Im turning 30 in less than one month! Im trying not to dwell on this scary thought, so Im distracting myself with Christmas baking and this maple cream fudge. Of course, I had no idea how diffic...
Oh, David Rocco.... I watch him on tv, usually in awe. Hes a Canadian who lives part-time in Italy. He hangs out with his buddies in Rome, and cooks. He visits fun places like a chestnut farm, and ea...
If youve ever read about Montreal, then you probably encountered a blurb or two on the restaurant Joe Beef. Its described as iconic, and typical of Montreal. Its a small space filled with big, jovial...
I absolutely adore layer cakes. I think layer cake is one of my favorite things to eat, and possibly my favorite thing to bake. When I was in grad-school, I went through a layer-cake-making phase. Th...
Sometimes, bad things happen. All you can do is wrap yourself in comfort, bake some muffins, clean the house, watch your favorite movie... I do all of these things, even the cleaning part, and I like...
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