TGIS

if only every day could be a sabbath day..!

redemption

with epic fail comes epic redemption.

I totally fudged up 8 kilos of flourless chocolate biscuit, and after hours spent on scaling it and baking it all, I had to throw it all away in the trash. But I knew where I went wrong, and the next time I made it, it turned out pretty well! :) Then, today, I totally mis-judged the timing of making 8 kilos of pistachio nougat (a scary thing to make) (AND in front of my sous-chef) (also ended up in the garbage), only to remake it almost perfectly later in the evening (and without my sous-chef's help!). I was nervous about making these two products, since they can be two of the more complicated things we make in our bakeshop...but my sous-chef assured me before making them: "once you successfully make it, you'll feel so good!'"..and she was right :)

Honestly, I feel like I have messed up at least one big project every night at work this past week, and it sucks having to throw away product and realize that hours&ingredients were just wasted b/c of my mistakes...Having to admit it to my sous-chef is even more embarassing because these are things that she trusts me to be able to make well! But at the end of the day, I suppose it's alright because I really am learning QUITE a lot from my mistakes. And when I can redeem myself and make it right the second time around, it feels pretty awesome.

Can I just say though, PTL that Chef is in France this week and isn't seeing all of this shmoo-shmoo going on!!

hi ho, hi ho

gonna be working 6 days/week, ~11 hrs/day for the next month or so -_-

grounding

This whole past 7 months, I've been trying to figure out how to keep proper (Kingdom) perspective on life while juggling a (semi) stressful full-time job whose hours prevent me from being immersed in community. What I've discovered? It's hard, and I fail more than I'd like to admit.... I really can't do it with my own strength, energy, wit, effort, wishful thinking, or anything else...

Spending time -- really good quality time with God is like water to a thirsty soul. It takes away the focus from my immediate circumstances and onto straight-up worship of a Holy and Awesome God. Solid heart-to-hearts with good friends are like breaths of fresh air. They remind me of God's faithfulness over the years, of His grace that we so desperately need every day, and the joys of life that He's blessed us with to enjoy. There are just some things, people, experiences that help you remember who you are and what you live for, ya know?

barware

Over the years, I've accumulated quiteeeee the collection of baking utensils, tools, pans, gadgets, ingredients...skills.

I'm hoping that my next collection will center around cocktail muddlers, glasses, jiggers, ice cube trays, shakers, ingredients...skills.

:)