Cheers!

First post from the other side of the Atlantic! Wooh :)

People say 'Cheers!' all the time in the UK. I've slowly picked it up after living here for two months. The phrase is quite encompassing in meaning, ranging from hello to goodbye to hey to hi to thank you to you're welcome and of course, you say it when you're having drinks with friends. Despite having rationally accepted that it's just a phrase, I still find it awkward to say; especially if I'm not all that cheery at the moment, I feel as if I'm telling a lie. Besides, it sounds weird with a non-British accent. So for the time being, my Canadian thank-you's and friendly how-are-you's will suffice.

Quick recap: As part of my course, I am working in the kitchen once a week at my university's restaurant for Semester 1. Cleaning raw chicken livers is the most animated and adventurous activity I have undertaken so far. It wasn't the most glamorous task but it had to be done. We are preparing partridges for November's menu so there will definitely be a post about the tiny birds. Our chef trainer showed us one today; there is hardly any meat on them. They should be quite similar in taste and texture as the roast pigeons you get in Chinese restaurants.

(Random insertion:"...and a partridge in a pear tree...and a peaar"- they are pretty much the same size!) 

There has also been more cooking at home/residence. Groceries, especially fresh meats, are costly in Oxford. I'm having a hard time finding a decent slice of steak. I have turned (unwillingly) into a semi-vegetarian, meaning that I have roughly - very rough, the magnitude of the situation's gravity has probably been exponentially and falsely multiplied in my mind - been eating half the meat I am used to back home. Another dish that I dearly crave is steamed fish. I miss seeing live fish swim in overcrowded tanks. On top of it, I lack all my baking equipment. I have these frequent urges to bake and I don't even own a muffin tin. It actually makes me quite depressed.

Coming up: There will be some posts with photos of the budget-friendly meals I've been dishing up. I also have some challenges in mind. The macarons challenge is unfortunately indefinitely put on hold (due to lack of kitchen supplies). The caramel challenge, however, is definitely doable. Hopefully a few challenges will fully materialise within the next couple of weeks...

Here We Go Again.

It's been an eventful 2011 for personal investment, daydreaming, growth and path-finding. I learnt a lot about myself and took a break from blogging about my private affairs all together (from both in and out of the kitchen and around the world). But as the title of this blog indicates, this is a life-long project and I'm starting to feel that itch to burn something in the kitchen on a regular basis again...in a good way (ready, Caramel?). That and the fact I'm planning to do some permanent relocation to another part of the globe in the not too far nor distant future and needless to elaborate, those experiences must be recorded...along with all the delicious foods and drinks that I will consume, chow and chug down along the way. More on that later; I've been keeping my fingers figuratively crossed in my head for the past couple of months.

There are a couple of on-going challenges that I've thought of: wine, smelly cheeses, caramel and, of course, the macarons. (I have not forgotten those devilishly delicious yet ridiculously difficult-to-make confections; they've plagued and been nagging at my sub-conscience for many months now.)

Okay, so one cinder block at a time. I'm sure some famous person said something inspirational at some point about standing up from where you fell and picking up something along the way. With that spirit in mind, the next chapter of this journey shall begin with, yup you guessed it, macarons*. 
*Note: WITH FEET, very very important.

Goal:


P.S. "Whenever you fall, pick up something." That's the quote, by Oswald Theodore Avery. Thanks Google.
P.P.S. Hey, I actually did end up prepping sea urchins in my own kitchen. :D

French Macarons Part 1

Here are my final words (well, until I get a new batch of eggs...): 

Don't try making these. You're better off just buying them.

Or, if you're slightly compulsive and delusional anyway (like myself), then be prepared to suffer... and not do anything else for the next week or so. This macaron-making adventure is consuming my life and destroying my self-esteem. I can only say: I am obsessed. 

It all began with my chocolate challenge. I wanted to make chocolate macarons. Then, I thought, maybe I'll just start with the basics, the plain almond-sugar version. C'mon, let's be honest now. Haven't you ever looked at or bitten into one of these heavenly little delights and thought to yourself "Ooo, they are so pretty but why are they so expensive? I mean how hard could they be to make?" Ha. HA! Evil little bastards. 

I can hear the voices of numerous other ardent bakers who have long suffered my current fate before their glorious moment of victory: "Old egg whites! Use new egg whites! One tray! Two trays! Italian meringue! French meringue! Stiff peaks, soft peaks! Closed oven! Opened  oven! Slightly opened oven! Ribbons! Bands! Lava! High speed my friend! Low speed my friend! It has to be shiny! It can't be liquid! Don't overfold! It has to flow like lava from Mount Hapinapanui! Dry them before baking! Don't dry them - just stick them straight into the oven. They need to have feet...le pied - that's what makes a REAL macaron!  It's all about the macaronnage!" OMFG.

Yes, the macaronnage. The French know all about it... The beautiful and magical (kind of like a unicorn) yet strangely unattainable moment that can only be captured with the precise balance between mixing the almond meal into the meringue and creating the exact amount of air bubbles without leaving the mixture overly folded. (I just shot myself in the head with an imaginary bullet.) And those damn little 'pieds'. I've made about four batches now. (If you were wondering where I've disappeared to and why I haven't posted in so long, this is why.) My cousin thinks I'm insane because I keep yelling "Where are the feet? There's no feet!" while staring at my oven in despair. Even my mother is slightly concerned. ("How many more batches of these do we have to eat? What ARE you trying to make?") 

As with all obsessions, I have reached the point of no return. It is too late to give up. I will not stop. I will not rest until I bake them with feet. 

I need more eggs.

Roasted Duck a l'Orange

Once upon a time, there was a duck. It got frozen ... without one of its limbs. It was marinated over night and roasted in oven for an hour. While still juicy, crisp and golden brown, it was cut up to quarters and gobbled up by four ravenous humans. The humans were satisfied after dinner. The End.

Oh, and we must not forget the awesome orange sauce that I made...

Mmm...cake.

The last one I made disappeared in a couple of days. I was craving some today so I baked myself a mini 5" version. Instead of using buttermilk (which is really too fatty), I used vanilla yogurt - much healthier! It still tasted super moist and delicious. ;)