Today has been great! I realized though, that the only time I've been outside is walking from the cottage to the school (about 500 meters away) and then back tonight. :( The sun is going down around 5 now!! So sad! Cooking in the kitchen went fairly smoothly, although I finished up later yet again. It's so hard to finish on time! Here's what I made...
Overall, a great day! I really liked the desserts people made, too. There was a naturally paleo and dairy free cake, which is such a rarity here. It was an almond, coconut, and date cake with rosewater and cardamom. Delicious!!! The cake that dominated, however, was the sticky toffee pudding. Apparently it's a favorite in this part of the world! You soak dates in tea, then bake a caramely, moist cake, and finally pour a warm sticky toffee sauce over it. YUM!!!! I'm sure it can be made gluten free too ;).
- Spotted Dog: this is a white soda bread speckled with sultanas (or golden raisins). I got a 10 on it!!!!!! :D:D:D:D:D:D Those things are so rare! The bread was really light and fluffy and perfectly moist! :).
- Roasted Onions: these things are insanely simple and even more delicious. All you do is put an onion (no fuss - unpeeled, nothing trimmed) in the oven for an hour or so and then remove the outer skin to reveal caramelized bliss. They go well with burgers!
- Pork burgers: I've never made a burger before (well, at least seasoned the meat and formed it into patties - at the Snackbar I made plenty of pre-made ones.... ICK!). I thought they tasted lovely!!! I toasted whole fennel seeds and then ground them to mix in with chopped garlic, red chili, whole pistachios, and salt and pepper. THEN I wrapped them in caul fat!!! It's like a funky-looking spider web. I honestly didn't notice a huge difference in flavor compared to the naked ones I made. I had fun plating everything at the end!! :)
- Bramly apple and plum sauce: this was quite a tasty sauce to accompany the burgers! I meant to put star anise or cinnamon in it, but I completely forgot until the end. Oh well! Basically you cook apple chunks with pitted plums and a pinch of sugar and water. This particular variety of apple (similar to Granny Smith) fluffs up so much and turns to complete mush by the end of it!
- Chips! (or fries :D) YUM. We had a lot of chips today to go with our burgers. I wasn't supposed to make these at first but volunteered when I had a free moment. When they came out of the frier, I tossed them in sea salt (the flaky kind) and rosemary. YUM. Wow. The potatoes here are so good, too! I guess it is Ireland after all :).
Overall, a great day! I really liked the desserts people made, too. There was a naturally paleo and dairy free cake, which is such a rarity here. It was an almond, coconut, and date cake with rosewater and cardamom. Delicious!!! The cake that dominated, however, was the sticky toffee pudding. Apparently it's a favorite in this part of the world! You soak dates in tea, then bake a caramely, moist cake, and finally pour a warm sticky toffee sauce over it. YUM!!!! I'm sure it can be made gluten free too ;).
After demo, Nan and I went to hang out with the sourdough crew. It's been such a highlight to my days lately! I love being in the kitchen and having a chance to relax and hang out with people while we embark on this painfully slow process of bread making. The loaf I am working on right now is using my own starter this time made up entirely of spelt!! The mix to make the dough uses strong (high gluten) white flour and malted flour (sprouted and then roasted apparently?), rye flour, and wheat germ. I've substituted the white and malted flour for spelt, so we'll see what happens. I'm excited to see how it's different! The texture is a bit different, and feels a lot stickier. We'll see see what happens tomorrow when I finally bake it!!
Here's a shot I got of Nan tonight after she baked her first two loaves of sourdough from her strong white flour start. The loaf she's holding was shaped more like a fat baguette :).
While waiting for my sourdough loaf to rise again during the kneading process, I found out what my scores from Friday's herb recognition and technique exam were! I did really well and feel very happy with how I did! The only thing that I got incorrect was having sweated onions that were overly browned. Not bad, I guess! :).
One thing I learned today: jerusalem artichokes are a type of tuber that grow on the roots of a plant related to sunflowers, hence the name in America: "sunchoke." They're apparently great for gut health and contain high amounts of a substance called inulin (though I'm not entirely sure what it does). Darina also told us today that they can promote flatulence... so people often call them "fartichokes" ;P! I thought that was so funny!! Despite these potentially negative effects, they're really tasty!!!! Maybe you just need to serve them with seaweed, which apparently helps with that sort of thing... Haha.
Favorite part of the day: having someone tell me I have a package! I wasn't expecting it at all!! My boyfriend Matthew sent me a couple of things as a surprise ^_^. It made my day!
As requested awhile back (sorry it's taken so long!), I have included two delicious recipes I've made so far! My handwriting has gotten a little sloppy, so if you can't read anything just let me know and I can clarify :). Also just be warned, the tablespoons they use here are a different measurement than what we use in the states! Make sure to check the parentheses!
One thing I learned today: jerusalem artichokes are a type of tuber that grow on the roots of a plant related to sunflowers, hence the name in America: "sunchoke." They're apparently great for gut health and contain high amounts of a substance called inulin (though I'm not entirely sure what it does). Darina also told us today that they can promote flatulence... so people often call them "fartichokes" ;P! I thought that was so funny!! Despite these potentially negative effects, they're really tasty!!!! Maybe you just need to serve them with seaweed, which apparently helps with that sort of thing... Haha.
Favorite part of the day: having someone tell me I have a package! I wasn't expecting it at all!! My boyfriend Matthew sent me a couple of things as a surprise ^_^. It made my day!
As requested awhile back (sorry it's taken so long!), I have included two delicious recipes I've made so far! My handwriting has gotten a little sloppy, so if you can't read anything just let me know and I can clarify :). Also just be warned, the tablespoons they use here are a different measurement than what we use in the states! Make sure to check the parentheses!
- The first is the corn bread I made two weeks ago, which is SOOOOO good!!!! It goes really well with chili!
- The second is a curry I made two days ago that tastes like proper nourishment. The trick to having a spectacular curry is to use whole seeds (cumin, black mustard, and coriander) and toast them on a dry frying pan and then grind them (ideally in a pestle if you have one!). Doing this yields such a fresh and sweet taste! I also used a variety of pumpkin in mine rather than courgette (or zucchini), so really any form of squash or root vegetable will work (or even a medley of them - I bet that would taste great too!)
And now it's time for bed! I keep working out later, so naturally I don't feel as tired. I don't want to get back in the habit of going to bed late again though :(. That didn't end well! Tomorrow's already Friday! Then it's Halloween!!!!! :)
Sending my love home!!
Love,
Livvy
Sending my love home!!
Love,
Livvy