Tonight's the night.... maybe.

Well, tonight i  may get the guts to go salsa dancing. I want to so BAD! But then i think about all the little details such as, aw man i have go around 1030-11pm ( because that's when all the good dancers show up) and its somewhere in Seattle, and i need to find the place and i need to find my dance shoes, ugh! But i know in the end it will be all worth it! 

Tomorrow im going to go visit my favorite coffee shop, and hopefully it will be my working place very soon. Its rreeeeally nice out, and it was reeeeeally nice out last Saturday, and last Saturday we went for a walk and i took some nice family photos.

School has been awesome, like always.

 The past few days we have been working with tarts and creme patisserie (aka pastry cream:))

WHICH IS SOOOO DELICIOUS!! I HAVE to share.

Pastry Cream.

16 oz  Milk (2 cups)

2 oz Sugar ( 1/4 cup)

1.5 oz Egg Yolks( about 2 yolks)

2 oz whole Eggs ( about 2 whole eggs)

1.25 oz Cornstarch (2.5 TBS)

2 oz Sugar (1/4 cup)

1 oz Butter, unsalted ( 2 TBS)

.25 oz Vanilla extract (1/2 tsp)

Bring MILK, SUGAR(first 2 oz sugar) AND VANILLA to a boil.

While that's ABOUT to boil you want to take ALL the eggs and put them into a mixing bowl, then take the cornstarch and pour 1/2 the sugar (second 2 oz sugar)  in the cornstarch and the other half into the ALMOST boiling milk. Mix the cornstarch w/the sugar well. Then whisk the eggs and gradually pour the strach/sugar mixture into the eggs, whisk until creamy.( you don't want to do this to early because the sugar will dehydrate the eggs) Then AS soon the the milk boils, pour about 1/3 of  hot milk into the eggs mixture while whisking quickly ( you don't want to cook the eggs) whisk it a bit, then pour the egg mixture back into the milk (whisking the milk while pouring in the egg mixture, again you don't want to cook the eggs) Then put it on med/low heat and don't stop whisking! Or you will burn the cream. Keep whisking the cream will start to clump but keep whisking then it will smooth en out again and become a nice cream. when it becomes a nice cream, take it off the heat and add the butter, take a spatula and mix it in nicely. Put the cream into a container and chill it, before use. Yey. Now you made REALLY delicious cream:) Enjoy!

A couple days ago we made a lemon custard tart with Swiss meringue on top! Super good, but also really sweet.  Chef Kim said mine was perfect, loved my design. Loved the whole thing:)

We made some fresh fruit tarts also, VERY good.

We made apple turn overs.

 AND we made cheese cake and flan. 

I love school, i love every minuet of it.

Ok, im going to go get ready to dance the night away. AND im going to leave you with this.

PS. I guess i should tell you what you can do with the pastry cream. You can put the pastry cream into a fruit tart!

Here is a good recipe for a the tart shell. (A mixer works best for this dough.)

Pate Sucree (tart shell)

7.5 oz  Unsalted Butter

3 oz Powdered Sugar

1/3 tsp Salt

4 drops of Vanilla Extract

3 oz Egg (beaten)

12oz Pastry Flour

Shift all the drys and put them into a bowl and add butter. Mix until the mixture looks and feels "sandy"

(Cold butter is better, it will break up better) Add egg+ vanilla, let is come together, and form a ball....kinda.

Chill the dough before use.

There you go!

ok. Bye.

I love you rain.

Its raining today. Something new that happens here in Seattle.
Well, today is my practical. UGH i freak out right before each test. EVEN if i have studied for it, i freak out. I have no idea why. Its like the feeling right before you go on stage you hypervenalate... then when your actually on stage and doing your thing... its no big deal. You know what im talking about?!
Anyway.
My practical is muffins and cream puffs with the pastry cream.

The reasoning they look like little spaceships is because i didn't fill the muffin tin all the way.
Did you know muffin, loaf bread, and pancake batters should be mixed as little as possible only until the dry ingredients are moistened.
Over mixing muffin batter produces not only toughness but irregular shapes, and large holes inside the muffins. Sowaaa... ya. Sammy loved my muffins!!!

Hahaha, that's his little tiny bite.
OH and when you portion batter into muffin tins, be careful not to stir the mix, because you will toughen it. Scoop the batter from the outside edge of the bowl, use a portion scoop that works best. :) (aka ice cream scooper :))
Oh look, who i found!  Baby Rambo.

HE is just the cutest little guy EVER.
Marinka got a bread maker! She has been baking up a bread storm! A new and different kind of loaf every day!
MMM mmmm good!

Ok! i am going to study a bit more so i don't pass out before the test.
xoxo
 Inners

Good Friday!

And a good Friday indeed!
Today i went on a date....with myself.  Since its Good Friday we don't have school and thats kinda nice because I have loads of things to do. This past week was crazy we baked a lot! Every day i come home with my head packed with new information, i love it! Chef Kim is so awesome.
So today i started off my Good Friday with an amazing cup of coffee from Zoka Cafe ( hopefully my future employer) located in Downtown Kirkland. Man, that place is like the movies.
Then i headed over to Bellevue...also rockin place. After applying at a few places i got tired and decided to treat myself to Water for Elephants.
I don't know how i feel about it yet... i mean, i know i would have LOVED it if i didn't read the book. All i could think about was the parts they left out. But i guess that's any movie- book movie. So i guess it comes down to the one and only question...would i watch it again? and the answer is yes. Yes i would! So that's that. Go watch it! :)
So here is what i have been up to. I made, Blueberry pie. Pear pie. Blueberry spaceship looking mini muffins, and cream puffs!

My brother ate it all. :)
In other news THIS little handsome prince turned 10 months!

Not only does he walk now, he says goodbye to me when i leave for school. It is the most precious thing EVER! On this 10th month birthday his beautiful mama and papa took him to the park and he discovered grass.

and wood.

Well that's all for now folks! I promise to update more frequently. I am going to leave you with this beautiful face

<3 Inna's alter ego.

Goodies.

OK! Gas is sooooo expensive! i just filled up and it cost me 50 bukaroos! Secondly i need my roots done reeeeal bad. And thirdly i have a veryyyy yumy brownie recipe.

It makes about 24. Depends how big you cut them.

You will need. ( everything is in ounces, so if you dont have a scale, you should get one it will be like the best thing that ever happened to you.) I have been preeeeeeety busy with school, lots of homework! But it love it.

I had to present 9 of my brownies and i did a different design on them. Hah, chef Kim like the whole idea, and liked 2 out of 3 designs. Said my tic tac toe looked juvenile and cheep and as if a little kid drew  it with a crayon. OUCH! 

The tic tac toe one was my favorite one! I hope you make the brownies and if so... i put the recipe below and if not, its all good:) SO im going to leave you with this. He says hi. <3

CLASSIC BROWNIES.

8oz Chocolate, dark.

12oz Butter, unsalted

24oz sugar

12oz Egg

1/8 oz salt

1/2 oz Vanilla

8oz Flour (bread)

8oz pecan/walnuts chopped (optional)

 Melt the chocolate ( take a pot fill 1/3 of it with water and put a bowl on top of it. You dont want the water to really boil hard, but you want it hot enough for it to melt the chocolate)

When the chocolate is melting nicely add the butter, keep mixing together.

Whisk eggs, sugar and the vanilla. Then add the sugar+ egg mixture to the melted chocolate slowly.( you dont want to pour it in quickly because it will cook the egg.)

Add the salt to the flour and sift it, then GRADUALLY add the flour mixture to the chocolate while mixing it, and then if you want add the nuts!

This is going to fill 2 9x13in sheet pans.

BAKE AT 325 for 20-30 mins. CHECK THE BROWNIES WITH A TOOTH PICK, if u see little crumbs on the tooth pick. They are done. If u see nothing, then u over baked them.

k. enjoy. Bye.

ha jk.

while these babies are baking, if you want you can make some ganache .

In a mixing bowl put 1c of chocolate

then on the stove u heat up 1c of heavy whipping cream. Then when the cream just started boiling you take it off and pour it into the mixing bowl with the chocolate. let it sit there for a few minuets about 5mins. THEN take a rubber spatula and stick it in the middle of the bowl and make SMALL circles mixing it together, while turning the bowl with the other hand. ( You dont want to let to much air into the mix.) then when its all mixed up. pour it into a zip lock bag (when its a bit cooler.) Then cut a SMALL piece from a corner and decorate!

Yes, Chef!

I was ironing my chef jacket this morning making it look nice and crisp... and it took me 11/2 HOURS! man oh man. A. i need a bigger ironing board. B. i have to get better at ironing! and C. well..

 there is no c. 

Anyway, as i was ironing my jacket the other end would get all scrunched up again and i would have to re iron it. But look how nice it turned out! Nice and crisp.

So i got to school and when we come into the class room we have greet the chef. Hello, Chef. We always have to say please and thank you. When chef Kim is talking to us, we always have to respond. Even if hes just confirming something we have to say Yes, chef, or No, chef. Its really fun. haha. I really like chef Kim. Hes really funny, but also stricked.
Today we got our books, knives and kits! It was like Christmas! I took pictures of the kits so you can see what's inside!
Here are the books.

Here are the cookie cutters, mitts, fish spatula, tips and other cool lil thangs.

And here is the 3 layer knife/other stuff kit. (haha)

It is sooooo fun, investigating each little thing in the kit. There are things in the kit that i have no idea what they are. And of course things that i know.
OK! so we made brownies today....... and we are going to finish them tomorrow! We are going to make ganache and drizzle them on the brownies. SO with that said... i will put the recipe up tomorrow with how to make and finish them with ganache. That way if you want to make some you can in one day instead of 2 days. Plus if you have family in the house the brownies wouldn't last till tomorrow to put on ganache. So! tomorrow will be baking day. Alright i have to do some math homework and read read reeeeeead. SO i guess ill see ya tomorrow!
byeeeeeeeeee

First day of school.

On Sunday i made my move, drove alllll by myself listened to cool jams, talked to myself and just took it easy. Same ol' same ol' stuff.
When i was driving through the snoqualmie pass.... my gosh, the view was breath taking... i took some pictures while driving, but these pictures dont give any justice to what it really looked like. Plus it was the best i could do while driving haha.

There was fog above the trees and the trees were just slightly.... gosh, you just had to see it.  Well i made it safely, no tickets to accidents no nothing! So over all it was a nice ride.

Since day one, iv been trying to win this little guy over, and it seems to be working:) I love him soooo much, he is such a sweetheart. 

aww! What a perfectly good friend.

Anyway, So Monday rolls around and its DAY1 of school! OH goodness how nervous i was. We got our uniforms!!

 and our real uncomfortable shoes

 and then we were sent to our kitchen to meet our chef. Hah, sorry no cells phones aloud in class so i tried to sneak some photos of Chef Kim ( who looks like a Kung Fu master!! He has the mustache and everything! Hes with the tall hat in the front of the class...duh.)

( He looks something like this except hes younger and he doesn't have those crazy brows, haha though it would be really cool if he did!)

And i snuck a photo of what our kitchen looks like, ....hah, yeah ill try and take some better ones tomorrow. Good thing im going into pastry, and not photography! SNAP

So we learned alot about sanitation like what to do to and not to do. How to wash your hands and for how long. It was like any first day at school, you meet the teacher, you get a run down of what your going to do and blaw blaw blaw.

BUT, tomorrow we are going to get our knives and books, and our pastry kit! I'm REAL excited, plus we get to bake brownies tomorrow, winning! SO!! tune in tomorrow and see how to make those classic brownies chef style. Ooooooooooooooooo.

I am going to leave you with this:)

Love, Aspiring Pastry Chef Khala.