But without the roots of love every day, girl

The past 6 hours have been filled with mixing bread, scaling ingredients for bread, tasting bread (LOVE that brioche), folding bread, kneading bread, shaping bread (if you have never done this, it is not nearly as easy as it may seem...baguettes, brioche, honey wheat, multi grain, ciabatta, jewish rye rolls, sunflower rolls, thank God I seem to be a natural at kaiser rolls...), proofing bread, baking bread, critiquing bread, cleaning up the bread bakery...I think I need a nap before reading about bread for homework...

Have I mentioned I'm in breads class now?

I've got something I can laugh about

My bed is set up to face the windows, the blinds of which I refuse to shut. Probably because when I wake up at 7am, I tend to lay, watching birds on the tree framed by my window or crane my neck a little to see the Hudson River meandering by...until I force myself to get up and work out.

Currently staring at the tree and stealing glances at my yoga mat...

Get down tonight

If you've got the time, it's worth watching (or just read the book):



so...I promise I do think about things other than food...maybe...

To get our share of the world's delights

There's something really incredible about leaving school to spend time with family, have a home-cooked meal in an actual home...

I hope your Easter was as wonderful as mine.

In Perfect Harmony

On Friday I hung out with a local farmer for a few hours, chatting about how students can get involved with his CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). Pretty exciting. He was very interested in the fact that I lived in Madison, apparently home to the most CSAs anywhere. They put out a fantastic cookbook, which is now sitting on my bookshelf thanks to my farmer friend.

Saw a video this morning that made me literally retch at certain parts (which is why I'm not actually posting it on here...if it makes ME nauseous, some of you will never eat meat again). Called "Meet your Meat" find it on YouTube. Produced by PETA so some of the issues they harp on aren't really included in my cup of tea, but you definitely get the point...I feel sick.

Also, a good point was made in talking to a friend about all the people who think puppy mills are just the worst thing possible, and then they go eat meat that is raised conventionally (or what we now deem as conventional in the US). Perhaps they don't realize how similar, or likely worse, conditions were for the chicken you call supper? Or maybe it's different because puppies are cute? I don't know...doesn't make much sense.

why worry when it's warm over here

I woke up at 7:45am on a day when I do not have school, a day when most of my school mates are nursing hangovers or back in their beds in their hometowns or off in some warm climate...I woke up and helped clear out leaves from the campus garden and talked about where we should build the compost heap.

The kind you buy at a second-hand store

Katie visiting this weekend was pure genius. Although she didn't get to hang out with my closest guy friends, she definitely put in her time with the hard core Foodists (toying with different names for people who put my foodie title to shame) I hang out with more and more. Hopefully she didn't leave too depressed about the state of the world's food or too worried that I am being welcomed into a food-obsessed cult.

With my plans to visit Lauren this holiday crushed by her work trip to Tel Aviv, I am faced with a wide open weekend to do nada. Which looks beautiful to me. My last class of this block ends tomorrow which means the only homework I have is some light preparation for the next block. So far my plans include some quality family time on Easter with my relatives in Connecticut, helping clean up the campus garden, hang out with some farmers, read, sleep, workout, sleep, read and maybe go to the mall. And try out a restaurant or two that I've had my eye on. And read. And sleep.

Hold my hand

Slow Food on Campus

...I wonder when you all will get sick of my food rants and stop reading my blog...

I'll bring the wine

Having my parents in town this weekend was pretty fantastic. New friends loved the parents, parents loved the new friends, good food, good wine, bad weather, a great time all around.

I don't think I have mentioned that one of the reasons for my food rants now-a-days is my attendance at the campus CSA (Chefs Supporting Agriculture) meetings. One of the guys who heads it up went to school at UT before coming to the CIA which strikes me nicely.

Also:
The Labeling of your milk.

Cause this fine ol' world it keeps spinning around

7:00am, I wake up.

Ok actually, my phone alarm vibrates under my pillow at 6:45am and I turn it off. And then my alarm alarm buzzes at 7:00am and I press the snooze twice then stare out the window for 10 minutes and finally convince myself to get out of my warm cozy bed around 7:30. Head to the gym. Get back to the dorm around 9. Shower, put on my spiffy chef whites, eat a little breakfast and finish homework, start new homework, read etc etc etc until lunch around 11.

Depending on whether I have writing or not at 11:45, I hang out in the dining room studying and hope to get in some social time with my culinary friends. Head to class at about 1:30pm. Knife skills, demos, cooking cooking cooking, break for dinner after pretty much all the kitchens have closed so grab a salad I'm not hungry for have two bites and head back to class. Clean clean clean the kitchen, go over key terms and study questions, get out about 8:45pm. Maybe. Study, hopefully in a semi-social yet still productive fashion. Friends go to bed around 10:30. I continue studying until about midnight. Maybe. Repeat.

This changes up if I have to work in the cafe for class, which would be from 7am to about 11. So the days where I have cafe duty, writing and Culinary Skills for Bakers, I am pretty much in the kitchens from 7am until 8:45pm. And that's life.

Two American kids growin up, in the heartland

I have added some new links to the right so that those interested in my food rants can do a little research of your own. Plus, I know it is difficult and takes time to find the kind of food I'm talking about, but don't think Whole Foods is your only choice. Being near farms is even better.

there ain't no reason

Trekked down to the city yesterday and met up with Sarah. Was reminded of how nice it is to be in a city, even for a little bit, how amazing Madison and Badgers were/are, and how lucky I was/am. Life is good folks. And I'm exhausted.