weekend fun

for anyone tiring of pictures of my pastry attempts, my apologies in advance. All I do these days is eat pastries and write papers. And who wants to hear about what I have to say on the binary system?! so.... pie it is.

Pie #5 (&6)

Strawberry Rhubarb

 I took a stab at a lattice top- and it was cake! (easy as pie seems like a horrible saying these days.) I had limited dough, so the strips aren't as wide as I'd like, but not too shabby for my first go.

The reason for my limited dough was for an experiment for my next pie. A bacon chocolate cream. I've been doing some research on the best way to execute this idea, as I haven't been able to find any resources of anyone attempting it before.  Luckily working in the food industry I have lots of culinary smarty pants who are happy to let me pick their brains.  After my pastry chef shot down my idea of caramelized bacon crumbles beneath the chocolate cream (it turns out the bacon will sponge up all moisture and turn soggy. and no one likes soggy bacon) I came up with this great idea- sandwich the bacon in the crust! I made these little suckers, and I think I problem solved the crap out of the soggy bacon conundrum. 

behold!  bacon sticks!

I tried a thinner and a thicker bacon.  The thicker of the two won. I'll have to do a thinner crust, and definitely plan on replacing some of the butter in the crust with bacon fat (ohhhhh yummmmmmm) but I think I just might be on to something here.  I can't wait to share my discovery with my pastry chef. And I'll admit- I hope he's impressed with me as I am.

-*-

the best part of my pie project has been eating them up with friends.  the first pie we gobbled up after a beautiful afternoon by the river with our friends Matt and Melissa.  We walked down to sellwood riverfront park, which is just a mile away, and had a blast playing with the dogs and enjoying the sun.  The pups are still recuperation from the exhausting but fun day. 

 Zig doing his part to help to save the planet

M&M's cute pup, Jet.

Bauer barely made it home,

and gave up as soon as he made it in the door.

  -*-

One of these things is not like the other:

On our way home from the river, Melissa spotted this little guy- a plastic plant nestled amongst the living. You're not fooling anybody, mister. Maybe I should give that type of gardening (that would be the fake kind) a go!

 -*-

My girlfriend Emily is moving into a new place this week, so she had me and our friend Jillian over for desserts and one last hurrah on her darling porch. I brought my second pie to share with them (sadly, my battery was almost dead, so photos were limited and not so great) and had lots of laughs while we filled our bellies with pie and Emily's divine molasses cookies.

I met Jillian and Emily at the Grill (although they've both since left me behind as they've moved on to bigger things) and I adore them both.  Emily is a force to be reckoned with.  She is always involved with a million things- her motivation is amazing.  She's a yoga instructor, trail builder, and am pretty sure you'd find her name under the definition of "great friend".  Jillian could not be more different than me and I love it. I have never met such a girlie girl- there is never a time you won't find her in heels. But unlike most of my encounters with designer shoe loving girls, doesn't have a stuck up bone in her body and is one of the most genuine, sweet people I have ever met.  With her guidance I may become a lady yet!

-*-

Caitlyn Joi and I had another bakery tour pastry date last week.  This visit was to Petite Provence. Everything was delicious, and as always, the company lovely.  However, I learned that stuffing yourself with a rich pastry isn't always the best idea right before a two hour lecture.

It was a great joint with very impressive sweets, but I still prefer the more homey bakeries. The type that feel like grandma's in the back baking up a storm. The apple rhubarb tart won the prize.

triumphant failure

Pie #4: fail #1

banana cream 

I type before you today, oh computer, with my head hung low, but with a full belly-o-pie just the same.  I made my 4th pie and it did not go as well as planned. It started out great- the dough was perfect. I could feel it in my bones that this pie would be a success!... until I had the wise idea to to try it in a spring-form pan, as it it much larger than any pie pan I have.  My greed ultimately lead to the pie's demise. the edges, surprise surprise, did not stay up well at all and folded down like a poor schmuck with bad posture.  Of course this is the pie night that caitlyn joi was bringing over a pie of her own, so I didn't dare end up completely pie-less.  I'm glad I stuck it out, as it actually tasted pretty great.  the crust was a bit thick,  especially when paired with the pie filling which was more than a bit shallow due to the lack of depth my slumpy crust provided- but I couldn't have had a more flaky crust and the filling set up perfectly.  

caitlyn joi's had attempted her first ever meringue pie, a lemon. and it was gorgeous.

 

  check out those golden brown peaks!  and it was delicious to boot! 

We've decided to enter a pie contest in August, so now my baking quest has some sort of end goal.

 Four months should give me time to become a semi-pro. 

A perfect pie wasn't all Caitlyn Joi had brought either.  She bestowed upon me her first handmade apron- complete with custom pie screen printing.  I am officially a maker of pies!

Never before have I looked so domestic!

Ccaitlyn's beautiful pie made my first disaster all the more painful- but the apron made it all worth it. and I even convinced her to let me pose with her pie to make me feel better.

i tried a first of my own this weekend, too. biscuits! i don't mean to brag.... but they were AWE.SOME. 

I feel like I'm being a horrible girlfriend by subjecting Ben to his inevitable heart attack from all the mass amounts of buttery baked goods we've been consuming, but so far we've managed to avoid packing on the pounds-- and have even managed to lose a few! (biscuits and pie! best weight loss solution ever!)  having the beautiful Portland weather back after a particularly gray winter, it's been great to spend more time out side. staying active can become such a challenge in all the rain. extra long walks with the dogs and hanging out in the yard has been great and makes me so excited for summer. 

  

Now all I need is a BBQ....

It turns out taking pictures of my kitchen is a bit challenging- it isn't the most roomy of spaces and doesn't have an awful lot of light. Here's a peak at our finished smurf and kermit cupboards. it's amazing what a fresh coat of paint can do in an outdated house!

 

baking quests 2010

spring has arrived and it has me buzzing around like a bee. i don't know where all of this sudden motivation has come from, but i'll ride it out as long as i can and enjoy this feeling people refer to as "accomplished". i started my (drum roll, please) final term at pcc, after which i will have my associates all set and ready to transfer me to a real school!  my ten year plan is working out perfectly!

after 5 months of being surrounded by beige, tan, and all colors boring, permission from the landlord for adding some color was granted!

we went with a bold blue and green which we now refer to as "smurf" and "kermit". the living room wall, bathroom and kitchen cupboards all look bright and happy and makes me that much more antsy for the rain to be done with for a few months.

after a delicious run in with a grand central's berry pie, fully equipped with the most divine pie crust i had ever put in my mouth, i have declared the spring of 2010 to be the spring of pie!  i have decided that i will make several pies a month until i can master the art of the pie crust.  so far i feel pretty confident that i am on my road to success in achieving the perfect pie crust! 

#1 Ginger Peach

#2 Strawberry Blueberry

#3 Peach Strawberry Rhubarb

i haven't had problems finding help to eat them up, which i'm taking as a good sign. the good tasting part is proving to be much easier than the beautifin'.   i have plans to give a lattice top a go, but for now i've been sticking with decorative hearts (courtesy of miss kaycee jacklin and the lovely valentine cookie cutters i received from her!) the third was probably the best, which has been encouraging. soon enough i think i might just be able to master this pie making thing!

 sacrificing good hair days in the name of pie! 

i'm not the only one keeping busy in the kitchen.  i was spoiled rotten this week by chef ben.  he made one of my favorites, his orange chicken, friday night which made for a great accompaniment for our kung fu movie watching. 

oh but he didn't stop there! 

ben started his 2010 baking quest- the perfect biscuits and gravy. 

he is certainly well on his way! his benja-biscuits & gravy were phenomenal. 

 

pastry dates

caitlyn joi is one of my oldest portland friends.  she is another person that blows me away with her creativity.  she's a screenprintin-pie makin-sewing-guitar playin-singin- extraordinaire.  she shares my infinity for baked goods so we decided a few months ago to start a bakery tour of our great city.  our tasty thursday pastry dates have been deliciously fun. eating usually takes priority to picture taking, but i'm going to try and do a better job, as these tasty treats definitely deserve some documentation. sweetness and bakery bar are two locations i've managed enough self control to take pictures.

 sweetness is caitlyn's favorite bakery (so far).  this was my first visit, and i very well may be following suite as far as favorites go. it's an incredibly quaint little joint that doesn't feel too unlike a mom's kitchen. oh- and the food is amazing.

bakery bar was really great, too.  this location is closing down, so i'm glad we made it while it was still around.

  lots of really great poster art, and they make their own marshmallows. this was a foreign concept to me as my marshmallow experience has been limited to the bagged variety. my marshmallow reality has been blown.  learning to make marshmallows has made it to my to-do list! they also had lovely latte art, which is a definitely plus. how can anything with a heart on it not taste better? well, it can't.

utah

march always seems to host a big event in utah which i cannot miss. two years ago it was camber's tragic ski accident (which i'll not dwell too much on, as it still makes me anxious-- it's a good thing she's such a trooper.)  last year it was jason & paul's lovely commitment ceremony (happy anniversary!), and this year my beautiful niece molly was being blessed. with poot taking a brief hiatus in logan before moving to vegas, helping to move his stuff was a perfect excuse to get down there.  lindsey and jake are such darling and loving parents.  i am so proud of my sister-- being a mom makes her glow.  molly is a lucky girl to have such great parents, and i am a lucky girl to have such a perfect niece. being an aunt is awesome, especially since my siblings have so far been champs at making the cutest kids ever. 

 

Lindsey made this adorable dress for the blessing. she did a great job. mom pulled out some old smocked dresses she'd made for us girls- oh how fashion has changed, even in baby land. 

little miss molly joan. her little chubby wrists kill me!

emily has been with an irish dance company for (correct me if i'm wrong here) almost 5 years. somehow i have never managed to be in town for one of her performances.  this time around her company took part in a celtic night at ellen eccles, a beautiful theater in logan, and i was able to attend. emily is incredibly talented and moves with an intensity of grace that is mesmerizing. she made me miss dancing in a way i have not felt for a long time.  i hope she keeps it up--  she was meant to dance. 

there are few things more fun that being silly firth girls. and we do it pretty well.

it's pretty amazing to see my little sisters all grown up.  lindsey is a mom, camber is aiming to be done with high school a year early, and emily will be in high school next year.  it doesn't seem too long ago i was giving lindsey speech lessons with puppets, teaching cam to crawl with jelly bellys and having photoshoots with em. i am so proud of the ladies they've all become and can't wait to see where else life takes them.

another bonus on this utah trip was being able to see my grandparents- both firth & flinders. these folks are responsible for some of my favorite childhood memories and providing me with the best parents in the world. i had a riot playing cards and visiting with them. it doesn't get to happen nearly enough.

going to my parent's house always means me leaving with the feeling of a severe kick in the pants to get motivated. my parents are creating machines, whether it's a magnificent meal, a beautiful wooden box my father has built, or a wool piece that was "just a little something thrown together" by my mother, i am in constant awe at their creative ability.  as far as i know, i am their actual child, so i must have some of their genes somewhere... i'm working on honing in on the innovative makin' stuff gene (that totally exists).  one of these days i'll get it. until then i'll continue to be inspired and encouraged by the wonderful things they're constantly up to.  which i still have no idea how they find time for.

this is my 7th year as an oregon resident, which means 7 years of not pumping gas. 

so you can imagine my excitement to see i've still got gas pumpin skills within me.

that's right. on.the.nose.

take that self-serve.

thank you math, for helping me do anything and everything but get educated.

there's nothing quite like good ol procrastination to get me focused on other projects (such as a neglected blog!). being enrolled in this blasted math class for the 5th time. (yes, 5th. before you go ahead and file me away in the "dunce" category, allow me to rationalize this disgraceful statement... 3 of the 5 times i dropped- for various reasons all of which i believe to be completely reasonable and have nothing to do with me avoiding disappointment and epic failure- so i've only failed miserably once. and even then, it wasn't a fail in the "F" sense, but rather a big fat D. who knew "even d's get degrees" was a bold face lie? i do now!) this time around i have an awesome professor, (whom i believe to actually be a they might be giants puppet character who has magically come to life by the help of my fairy god mother to assist me through the treacherous terrain of mathematics. really. this guy belongs on sesame st. incidentally, i need college algebra to be explained to me as if i were 6, so it works out really well.)  add glasses to this dentist, and you have the perfect cartoon rendition of my professor. 

 between an awesome professor and a smarty pants boyfriend with an unbelievable amount of patience, i have so far been able to carry a low A. this is nothing short of a miracle. i'm not getting excited just yet... midterms are next week and only time will tell if i come out alive/successful. i'm keeping my fingers crossed.

as it turns out, there is never a time where i am more productive than when i have math homework.

. i have managed to clean the house, bake up a storm (read: brownies, cake, & banana bread in a week. ben refers to the kitchen as the dessert buffet.) start a project of making curtains (oy vey. that is an entirely different can of worms/blog topic so i'll stay away from that), and have even began a somewhat consistent workout schedule.  thanks math! despite having the ability to make me frustrated, anxious and stressed, you have made me one productive gal!