Archive for food

Teaching Chocolate Tart

22/11/2011 Joh food, learn

I want to make Chocolate Tart with my Wednesday students (I have to come up with a better descriptive name for this group for next year). I want to use the recipe we used to make it in the shop, but the problem is I never used exact quantities. This is why I am not a food teacher:)… well there are other reasons such as the limited range of my cooking skills.

I have googled, but not one of the first couple of pages have a recipe that even has the same ingredients. I have found that learners are a bit particular about following recipes, I know I was. I will have to write-up the nearest approximation tonight.  I probably should have suggested something more practical like mini pizzas or hamburgers. There is nothing like chocolate tart to get disengaged people engaged though!

I’m guessing another learning experience for me tomorrow.

Popularity: 1% [?]

No comments , , , , ,

Full Moon in Taurus – Friday 11th November 2011

07/11/2011 Joh astrology, family, food

Yes that’s right we have a full moon on that date 11/11/11.

It’s also Remembrance Day. Yesterday I bought a wrist band instead of the usual poppy. It’s really pretty. The past 10 years I’ve been in a school and this day has been observed with a brief ceremony. This year I’ll be working in a shop so I’ll have to remember without the usual structures.  Maybe I’ll set an alarm on my phone.

 

Taurus is a very sensual sign. All the Taurus born I’ve known are foodies. When I was at The Butchers Dog, many of our customers were Taurus, one in particular I remember fondly would even send her mum in to get food she read on the Facebook status, cause she didn’t want to miss out. I had to ask her one day and she was as I expected a Taurean. It is the one star sign I can often pick. Two of my closest people, my nana and my son are this sign. Probably not a good day to start a diet:).

Here is a post from Ruby Slipper I have read for this full moon. I will add my favourites to my delicious feed as I read them. I am posting this early as I have a busy week and want to have this done if I don’t get time.

Popularity: 1% [?]

No comments , , , ,

Full Day Off

09/09/2011 Joh family, food, gratitude, health, learn, music

Today I didn’t work because I had a job interview booked for the middle of the day. It was a phone interview and didn’t take that long but scheduled smack in the middle of period 2 for all the schools I work at so I couldn’t work. I think it went ok.

I got to watch Darin’s kids play percussion at the Eisteddfod this morning. They were so cute. Primary students bubbling away with excitement, playing their xylophones, triangles and drums. Any kind of music ensemble is impressive to me. They all did so well. The looks of concentration on some of the students faces reminded me what educational experiences are all about.

Darin and I walked down the street in the cold today after my interview. It’s been sunny for a while here and we’ve walked down the street and shopped for dinner ingredients most days in the last two weeks. Today was a real test though because I could feel the icy air the minute I stepped outside. I enjoy walking through the park to the street every day. I feel more connected to my community. You see more and connect with people walking through the park. Cruising the car park looking for a free space is no substitute.

This afternoon I had attempt number 3 at cooking macarons. I tried a different recipe and applied a few things I’d learnt from last time and they were better, but only one out of the 20 odd was near to looking how I want them to and the taste wasn’t as good as last time. I have a few new theories to apply to my next attempt though. I also had a go at making nougat. It’s not that good because I don’t think I cooked the toffee part long enough and it’s too soft. It tastes ok though. I just realised today that these are both gluten-free.

I enjoyed phone conversations with my sister, son and daughter today, nice long chats, not rushed ones.

Popularity: 1% [?]

No comments , , , , , , ,

Redundant Survey

22/07/2011 Joh food

This morning I filled out an online survey from Jamie Oliver’s subscription list. Some of the questions were about school canteens. I based my responses on the school canteen last year, when I went there quite a bit. I’m not entirely sure when the changes took place. Today when I followed the smell of ground coffee to the canteen, there were vending machines containing all the contraband that were previously unavailable. Last year they had a rotating ‘junk food’ menu, the idea was that there would be one a day. There were no soft drinks for sale. No chocolate or potato chips. I am not entirely sure but I think there was only hot chocolate, not coffee. It’s all there now, as well as sports drinks.

The students were clearly very excited about the new additions. There was actually a line at the coffee machine. So… getting back to my point, what I said this morning in the survey was totally wrong. I’m curious to know how the process went that resulted in this. I know the SRC (Student Representative Council) were taking responsibility for it. They explained their responsibilities for the machines to me while I was lining up for coffee:) It was good to have a real coffee at school.

I had a brief discussion with both students and staff about it today. They are senior students and these foods are available to them everywhere else I guess. I am not a big fan of the overprotection of young people. They need to make choices and have consequences like everyone else. What I would like to see I guess is a fresh food alternative. Something yummy and fresh cooked, like a pot of homemade soup, or a casserole or freshly made pasta. I guess it’s just not economically viable.

I haven’t checked out the canteens at the other schools. I am so close to one of the schools that I usually come home for lunch. I will have to find out more about this. What do others think?

Popularity: 1% [?]

No comments , , , ,

Engaged

17/07/2011 Joh food, friends, love, relationships

Last night we had an engagement party to attend. A past work collegeue, now friend and my little sisters close friend got engaged. It’s always lovely to go to an engagement party when you know and love both the people. It was an awesome party… Huge!

We catered and we spent the day at the Tennis Centre cooking. I really enjoyed it. I loved watching them set up the room with candles and amazing white paper lamps. The beautiful cake arrived. There is a good kitchen there and whilst I think it is mostly only used for reheating food, it worked well for us. We prepared all the food there and cooked it and as people arrived many commented on the food smells and how lovely it was to smell delicious food as they entered. The staff there even mentioned how great it smelt. When I think about it, most of the parties I have gone to in venues we are served reheated food, which doesn’t generate all the smells you create when you add fresh vegetable and herbs and cook meat… there really isn’t anything like it. It was an unexpected benefit.

I was delighted with the feedback from the people at the party when we finished cooking and joined the party. A lot of people asked for business cards and wanted to know where they can find us now we don’t have a shop. We are happy to do that kind of catering. I think our food is very different. It’ s like the food you would make for a party at home. I wish I had taken photos – sorry Kate… too busy:).

The party was great, there was a live musician, who was brilliant. There are so many many wonderful musicians around I love going to a party that has live music. The fire was on, the room was full of warm and happy people. It was a festive and fun evening. Weaving through the crowds with the food was quite challanging at times, the room was thick with people and laughter and children were doing what kids do at parties … dancing and playing with the balloons.

We reconnected with one of our favourite customers and met her brother. I also caught up with some other past collegues. It was great that I could have conversations with them because the music was a gentle, enjoyable addition and not a distraction to the socialisation. I had great conversations with people. Parties like that make you want to go out again on a cold night for another one:).

Popularity: 1% [?]

No comments , , , , , ,

Macarons, Friends and other Simple Pleasures

15/07/2011 Joh blogging, Business, food, friends, learn, random, reading

Yesterday Br John came for lunch. He was my mentor when I was a first year teacher 10 years ago. We haven’t caught up for probably 5 years. He has moved to another state and is a Principal there. I reckon he would be a good one because he is both human and organised. He communicates well and continues his learning. I always enjoy hanging out with him because he has interesting stories. He’s recently been travelling around Europe on a Marist brother adventure (there is probably a more serious, spiritual purpose). He had great food stories to tell me and as that is what I am most interested in right now, I enjoyed the tales of food.

I had my second attempt at making Macarons. Just before we left the shop a lovely lady came in for a visit from this business Cupcake Therapy. I am not really into cupcakes. Her sister had come in for lunch and told me they’d been to Paris to learn how to make Macarons. I was captivated. I contacted her on facebook and she brought some samples (rasberry with white chocolate filling). It is my current obsession. They are so pretty and delicious. A fortnight ago I made some for Cath for her birthday. I made about 3 batches and ended up with 6 mishapen things. I made chocolate ones because I am a fan of chocolate. I will experiment with different flavours once I get chocolate handled. The ones I made for lunch yesterday were better but don’t look anything like the amazing creations from ‘Cupcake Therapy’. Her facebook page is one of my favourites.

One of the things I really like about Macarons is that it’s delicious way to use egg white. I use the yolk to make mayonaisse and chocolate/lemon tart. I’ve never been a fan of pavlova or other egg white type dishes. Macaron’s are going to take a lot more practise. I have no clue with a piping bag. They tasted great and I don’t think I would ever create the kind of product with glaze and all the beauty of professional ones, but I would prefer them to look a bit more similar. When I do manage something near decent I will take a photo:) Which leads me to my next simple pleasure…

I have been inspired by Jen from Semantically Driven to start taking a photo a day. I haven’t really taken many photo’s lately. I take them of the kids, but I used to always take my camera with me and I enjoyed it. I am going to publish them on tumblr. I have also been watching a few You Tube photo a day clips and thinking that could make an interesting alternative to journalling for students who don’t like writing. I don’t like taking photos of myself… but teenagers seem to be comfortable with it. I will just take photos of random things that take my eye, still I think they will contain hidden memories.

We shopped today because we have a catering job to do tomorrow night. Two friends are engaged and we are catering for the celebration. I love shopping with Darin. We have a lot of fun and even amuse others. An older woman in the market couldn’t stop giggling when he asked me which box I wanted to carry and I said the lightest one. It really tickled her. I enjoyed being out in the sunshine today. We went to Morwell cause we had to go to a couple of places there. We ended up back here for all the things we forgot on the first trip:). I popped into the Art Gallery whilst I was there and looked in the window of the Contemporary Art Space. I felt quite uplifted by it. We went on a walk this afternoon and went ‘window shopping’ in all the homeware and electrical shops on the highway. We got great service cause we were the only people in the shops. We were approached by many sales people. I looked around at all the heavily discounted stuff and thought ‘What’s going to happen to all this stuff if no one comes back to buy it?’ Where have all the shoppers gone?

Popularity: 1% [?]

One comment , , , , , ,

I Confess

08/06/2011 Joh food, work

Tonight as I updated The Butchers Dog facebook page, I felt compelled to drive back to work, with my PJ’s under my jeans and jumper and get another peice of Jelly Slice and Cheesecake. So I did. I feel better now that’s off my chest and in my stomach. I had soup for dinner, so it’s not that indulgent:).

I have actually lost 5kgs since Christmas. I believe that substituting takeaways and the school canteen food with real food has made the difference. When I am busy I buy lots of take away food. I know it’s not healthy and not a great decision but lack of time and hunger leads me there every time. Even though our food is really yummy, it’s made from fresh ingredients like vegetables, meat and dairy products. It obviously does make a difference. I probably don’t eat as much because it’s pretty satisfying as well. Somehow fried food and disolveable bread doesn’t seem to satisfy me as long.

I worked at my old school today. I enjoy being there as a CRT. It’s great to catch up with past students and get to know the new ones I haven’t taught before. I actually gave a little ‘facebook’ lecture today to an English class. I have noticed that some past students who are on facebook are writing status’s that are not very pleasant reflections of who they are. Whilst I know them and know they are not really nasty people or inappropriate in real life, I am concerned that potential employers won’t. On the weekend we were having breakfast at a local restaurant and the owner mentioned that he only uses facebook to check out potential employees. I know I’ve told some of these students before about this kind of thing, but we all probably need reminding frequently. I love facebook because it allows me to keep up to date with people I don’t get to see very often. It’s a quick way to stay in touch. I am still concerned about the lack of education about maintaining an effective online reputation for young people. It’s great most students at my old school have laptops to use. All year 7′s, 10′s, 11′s and 12′s have laptops now. I just hope they are being used in ways that prepare them for their future, not damage it. There is so much potential available to learn with technology.

Popularity: 1% [?]

2 comments , , , , , , ,

All Quiet except for the coughs

22/05/2011 Joh Business, food, health

When I first started teaching I would get a cold every school holidays. This weekend I think I experienced the same thing. It feels like I save it up for when I have time to have a cold. So I’ve been coughing and resting and reading. I was just saying to someone recently that it is much healthier to work in the food industry than in a school, cause I hadn’t been sick at all since I started. I put it down to the continual hand washing we do. I’ve done a couple of CRT days recently and a couple of my friends have had colds, so it got me in the end!

I have finished our business plan too. We had made a good start on it much earlier, but left a few bits out. I needed to send it to someone tomorrow so I had to go over it and fix a few things up. There is a good template for business plans on the government site: Business Victoria. It was quite useful with excel spreadsheets included. There are other templates too, so if you are starting a business I would recommend it.

Darin cooked me an amazing dinner last night after I’d slept all day. I felt quite spoilt. I ate it and went back to sleep on the couch.

Popularity: 1% [?]

No comments , ,

Colder than Before

11/05/2011 Joh food, random, work

It’s really cold here. I think my weekend with Tom on Hamilton Island has made it seem even colder! I enjoyed looking at all the photos and clips his friends captured of the weekend on facebook. Good times!

After working through the summer in the kitchen I thought I would never wear anything long sleeved in a kitchen, EVER! Today I did. It’s not even winter yet. Our delicious food helped though. It all smells so much better and tastes every bit as good as it smells. This morning I was home doing a last minute book keep for the BAS return (due tomorrow) and as soon as I hit the arcade I could smell the food and knew I was heading in the right direction.

It has really taken me until today to come back to earth after the weekend. I have had early nights the past two nights but I feel quite good now and back into my routines.

Popularity: 1% [?]

No comments , , , , ,

My Son is 21!

09/05/2011 Joh family, food, friends, gratitude, holidays, love

I could not be more proud of my son. He organised the most magnificent weekend for his family and friends. It was lovely to see where he works and to meet his friends and co-workers. They are such gorgeous and happy young people. I’ve known he was in a good place because of the growth and happiness I’ve seen when he’s been home to visit, but it was great to have it confirmed. He is so loved. His partner Dean was amazing and attended to all the details with love, he was in and out all weekend organising food, beverages, a gorgeous cake and making sure we were all well looked after. As a mum, I enjoyed hearing his friends tell me about how much they love him and share their stories and adventures with me. One of his friends made him this amazing book with photos and a poem, it was like a hardcover picture book. I was thrilled to see it. What a thoughtful and creative young woman.

He booked us all into opulent accomodation, catering for everyone’s needs. My parents stayed at Beach Club resort and were overwhelmed by the beauty of the place and service they received. We all stayed at the party house (The Round House). His dad and step mum had a place of their own because they have a baby. He looked after everyone and considered their needs. I had the best time. It was pretty hard to come home really.

I can’t believe my baby is 21. A lady came into ‘The Butchers Dog’ today with a baby boy and she looked so tired. I remembered when Tom was a baby, he cried a lot. I looked at her baby and thought I would do it all again because he has been such a gift to me. Not just this weekend but all his life. He has always loved and cared for me in ways that no else has even known to. He has shared his friendships and fun with me and it I’ve enjoyed being a part of his people as much as I do my own. I miss him fiercely but knowing he is living in a beautiful place, surrounded by loving people helps.

Popularity: 1% [?]

No comments , , , ,
« Older Entries