I home a lot now, and I’m still not finding time to post here, how very careless of me!

I have been working on turning the Curious Confections blog into an up and running food blog, talking about what we’ve made, what we’re doing and what we’re eating..Have you visited the site recently, you should do, go visit there now then come back to me!

It’s taking a surprising amount of work, planning out what I want to make, especially for events such as Pi(e) day, and St Patricks day, so I have something appropriate to post. Making it, I’m still failing to remember to take progess shots most of the time, but I’m working on it. And then I have to move the photos to my computer, resize and tinker with them, then upload them. Finally I get to actually write the post on the item and publish it.

I’m aiming for a fairly regular posting schedule, Mondays and Fridays.. Wednesdays if possible.. we’ll see what happens.

As part of this I’m going to be attending TECHmunch, a food bloggers conference that’s running during SXSW. It’s being hosted by Steamy Kitchen and Bakespace. I am very excited about it, I can’t wait. Aside from looking exceedingly interesting and having seminars on great topics relevant to running a successful food blog it will provide a great networking opportunity, and also hopefully be good fun. I will of course be giving a full write up on that one!

Life has been life. Job hunting aside. We have two beers brewing now, and just started one mead, it’s all very exciting, and a fascinating process even for me who doesn’t drink beer! DmentD should (at some point) be writing his own posts on the brewing front so I’ll leave that to him.

On Saturday we took a road trip to Rogers in North Texas to visit Walkers honey farm in order to pick up some delicious orange blossom honey for the mead.. and a little for ourselves. They had an astounding range and we’ll definitely be back there to pick up some new and exciting honeys for further mead making.

In Austin, in February.. It’s obscene! But fun *grins* makes me happy I’m home to have fun in it. Thankfully DmentD and I had seen the forecast so we got some cheap sheets from Goodwill to cover some of the garden with, bringing what we could inside.

It’s mostly melted now.

The rest of today was spent making a roll for all my knitting paraphernalia, it’s taking up space now I have the sets of double pointed needles. Once I’ve finished DmentD’s skull scarf I’m going to start teaching myself to knit in the round.

I made it from scrap material we had laying about, remnants from my ren fair skirt and the shirt and jacket from DmentD’s pirate outfit.. I have no clue where the ribbon was from but it fit in nicely.

The last week in January saw my family braving the transatlantic flights to come and visit us here. Well, technically they flew the week prior and spent time in Florida having a good time.

Deciding to drive from Florida to Austin we went to meet them in NOLA to spend the weekend there, letting my Mum and DmentD’s Mum meet! We had the Saturday together to wander about town. Morning coffee at Cafe Du Monde, a walk around the French Market, and the French Quarter. Stopping at St Louis Cathedral to replicate a photo mum took there 30 years ago. And then on to Crescent City Brewhouse for a snack before we went on the river boat.

While we were stood waiting the fog started rolling in off the river and by the time we left dock it was thick around us. Most of the trip we were surrounded, you could catch glimpses of things if you were on the top deck. We came out of the fog right at the point where we were turning around to go back! It was still fun, and oddly atmospheric. We had lunch on board which was surprisingly good, and were able to go into parts of the engine room to be nosy!

We walked around a few shops and then headed off to Lola’s for dinner, followed by Angelo Brocado’s for ice cream!

We drove back into Austin on Sunday to spend Monday being good and lazy having BBQ for lunch and then homemade jambalaya for dinner.

Tuesday promised to be the nicest day of the week so we headed downtown. Stopping in at my work for lunch and then a walk to the capitol building, we went on the Duck Tour. It was slightly different to when I did it 3 years ago, on my first visit to town, and was still interesting. It was a newer vehicle too, much nicer!

We ended the day by going out to the Oasis for dinner, I’d not been there before. Beautiful views, even when the sunset wasn’t all that spectacular, and good food.. Nice cocktails too!

We took them round the games shops, and introduced them to Amys Ice Cream and the Alamo Draught house, we made them some authentic gumbo too.

The end of the week we took a side trip to San Marcos to visit the outlet mall.

Their trip coincided (on purpose) with my graduation from the TCA. The Friday night had an open house at the school, for free food and a chance to show them round the place. The ceremony was Saturday morning.

DmentD and I were up bright and early to make sure I got there in good time, so I could get my photos done without queuing for hours. Badly organised, the students were told where we needed to be and what we needed to be doing with little time to spare, I was glad I’m halfway through the alphabet so I could see what other people were doing! It was nice to see people from class and catch up, and the instructors too.

I got the gold braid for graduating Summa Cum Laude, the medal on the blue ribbon for attendance, and the pin just for graduating *grins*

The Saturday evening we invited people round, a belated wedding celebration (we promised to put it off until my family visited), a graduation celebration and a ‘hey, here’s my family’ celebration *grins* We pulled together a cake, baking it Friday night and decorating it Saturday, DmentD made some of the ever popular family ribbon cookies and we cooked a whole pork loin that we’re still eating!

It was a fun week, and now I’m back to the grind! Work should start picking up finally with Valentines day on its way.

Rest of the photos in the usual spaces

I’m sure someone promised me a hover car, or something along those lines, by now!

I figured it was about time I got round to uploading photos and letting people know how the holidays went. I took far less photos this year, why take photos of decorations that I took photos of last year! We decorated the house up nicely though, we even made a hat for Gustav, the Germanic looking skull that we got at Halloween and decided should stay out all year round (he got a New Years party hat too).

Our big project was making Christmas presents. Using the new chocolate molds I had, and finally using the gorgeous chocolate book DmentD got me last Christmas!

We had good fun, we made three types of chocolates, taffy and peppermint sticks, and dog bones too! Two of the chocolates were molded, a caramel ganache and a cherry bounce cordial. The third (a white chocolate lemon) was piped out and had sugar crystals grown on it to form a shell, it’s a fascinating process and fun to watch, it also produces the prettiest most unique looking truffle.

The taffy was a work out, and since we were using a silicon mat due to a lack of marble (which we now have – Yay!) it was made a fair bit harder. The mat buckled and caught the spatulas (because I’m failing to remember what they’re called) and eventually tore causing a mad panic to rescue what we could! After all that we still had to pull it to aerate and stretch out!

The investment in a heat lamp was well worth it for the peppermint sticks.. though another one would be helpful. We used isomalt instead of sugar, it’s more stable and less hygroscopic it can also be cooked to much higher temperatures. The added bonus is it has a low glycemic index making it safe for diabetics! That was cooked to over 300F and then poured out onto my trusty silpat. Worked so it cooled evenly it was pulled a little to introduce air, turning it from clear to silvery (then as it cooled to white). Keeping it warm under the lights we then pulled a little at a time and twisted them together.. It’s definitely something we need practice at, they weren’t all that consistent but they looked entertaining.

I firmly believe I was thoroughly spoiled at Christmas. My stocking was full of English goodies, Walkers shortbread, Mr Kipling mince pies, Quality Streets, Malteasers and After Eights! Then some awesome gingerbread men cutters (Already been chewed!), a gorgeous book on Artisan chocolates, the Professional Pastry Chef and DmentD and I both managed to give each other Unseen Academicals!

Christmas Eve we had the now traditional Chinese meal. Christmas Day was spent at a friend’s house, we made ribbon cookies and pecan pies for dessert. The following Wednesday we went to see Sherlock Holmes (awesome) and then off to another friend’s house for New Years eve and a glow in the dark party. I attacked a t shirt with some florescent paint, and DmentD painted a skull on his face.

New Years Day called for the traditional meal at our place, stewed cabbage, black eye peas, ham and an English dish, this year mini Cornish Pasties.. I had intended to make larger ones, but failed to make enough pastry, mini ones worked out well, I believe most people ate them as an appetiser (and all the excess filling went into a Beef Bourgiugnon on Sunday). I also made gingerbread men with the new cutters.. having far too much fun piping on drips of blood! I used it as an opportunity to try out a new recipe as well, for a gingerbread apple upside down cake.. I don’t think we’ve had any cake go down so well in one sitting! I used a mix of granny smith and honeycrisp apples and it was moist and tasty and delicious!

This week saw me determined to finally get my Texas license, since I’ve been putting it off since September. I took the theory test on Monday and couldn’t believe the different between it and the English test (or the difference in costs). My practical test will be taken at some point in the future.. I know when.. I’m just not saying *grins*

I’ve been lax I know, almost an entire month since my last post. December has apparently been a busy month.

It started with a cake for the local Astronomy Society, swiftly followed by us inviting everyone round to put up Christmas decorations and feeding them with a giant bowl of chili.

We’ve been doing some more bread making, still working on the sourdough, and trying out a potato bread. The potato bread seemed a little bland to me but the sourdough is definitely a nice loaf, still not much of a sour flavour, but it has a nice flavour and texture.

Work has flitted between being inhumanely busy (with far too many cakes in one week, more than we have storage space for, we had to get creative), and dead to the world.. I was in fact supposed to be working today, but there was nothing for me to do so I got a lay in instead.

DmentD and I went to see the Princess and the Frog, it was a cute film, and I personally liked to see Disney going back to cel animation, I hope they do some more.

We have also been working on Christmas presents, more information on that after the holidays, suffice to say it has been killing me having to keep quiet about it! It has been exciting.

I made a nice big pot of turkey stew, to get me in the winter mood ad we invited people round to watch The Hogfather, hopefully starting a Christmas tradition!

Tomorrow we are round to a friend’s house for Christmas dinner, and at some point before the New Year we’ll be going to see the new Sherlock Holmes film.

My love and best wishes to any and all who are reading this, hope you have a splendiferous Christmas and your New Year is prosperous and happy.

Happy Holidays

Alma from Rodrigo Blaas on Vimeo.

Actual update coming at some point.. Been busy with things I can’t mention til after the holidays.

A much more leisurely trip this year we set off just after midday Wednesday to head to New Orleans for Thanksgiving. We did catch a lot of holiday traffic leaving town and then again in Houston, plus some roadworks so it took us til 11 to get there. We got a little rental car to save wear on the truck (and to be more efficient) so it took the trip to get used to being so low down on the road! I was standing up to get out the car rather than jumping down *grins*

Thursday – Thanksgiving day – we spent with DmentD’s family, his Mum put on a wonderful spread, we brought some of the gumbo home with us! We played a few games and relaxed  lots and ate even more *grins* a nice day together.

Black Friday we wanted to avoid anywhere with shops, so we went off to the Audobon zoo. We got there not long after opening so it was still quiet and we were able to park near by! It’s a nice zoo, not as large as I had been lead to believe but interesting to walk around. We spent about 4 hours there, and I took over 240 photos, I averaged about a photo a minute *grins* I chose a select few to upload here, didn’t fancy putting them all up! It was a really enjoyable morning. We messed about and acted like kids, taking photos playing with the sculptures, and ‘climbed’ to the top of Monkey Hill. There were a lot of interesting exhibits, a Mayan section with ant eaters and jaguars and the Louisiana Swamp with alligators, nutrea, bears and racoons. They had some white tigers, and we spent a while watching the orangutans playing.

In the evening we went out to our all time favourite restaurant in town – Lolas. Spanish Creole, killer garlic mushrooms and a paella to die for *grins* We headed to Angelo Brocado’s for dessert, gelato!

Saturday we met some friends for breakfast and then went and did what we’ve been talking about doing the past few visits. Go to the cemetary! As New Orleans is below sea level the dead aren’t allowed to be buried straight in the ground, so mausoleums and crypts are built with everyone wanting to show how rich and prosperous they were. We went to Lake Lawn, one of the more well kept cemeteries I’m told, and spent a while wandering about taking photos of some of the more interesting pieces of statuary and stained glass. We were there at a nice time of day to catch the sun shining through some of the glass. And while taking photos of the castle we met a couple walking their dogs who told us about the weeping angel so we finished the visit by finding her.

Saturday we spent with friends, playing the wii and having a good time. DmentD and I bought a new game that allows us to sit on the balance board (which we may now need to get *grins*) as a control, for a game where you’re sledding down the mountain on a cow! We had a fun evening and got home late!

Friday night we had seen a poster for an exhibition at the Museum of Art. So Sunday morning we decided to visit there and see what it was about. It was a Disney display, Dreams Come True, in New Orleans only to commemorate the opening of The Princess And The Frog which is set there. It showed the history of their animation, taking us from the Silly Symphonies, through Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, finishing with a display on The Princess And The Frog. It showed processes and techniques that had been pioneered in those films, preliminary sketches and story boards and character development. It was a fascinating display, we spent a few hours there, using up all our allotted time so we didn’t get to see the rest of the Museum.. but then that exhibition was the whole reason for our visit so I’m not really bothered about missing the rest of it.

We spent a little more time visited with family, and napping, before leaving New Orleans about 8 in the evening. We got back home about 4 this morning, grabbing a sleep before returning the rental car, then I headed back to bed for a few more hours.

I got home and discovered my new glasses, I was being the guinea pig and trying out an internet company, Eye Buy Direct. They weren’t too expensive and took precisely as long as they said they would, the glasses fit and seem just fine (though it’s raining now so I can’t wear the sunglasses *grins* I think I cursed us!). I would say they met expectations all around. If anyone else is interested I would recommend them, and can send you a coupon code for money off!

As usual, the full selection of photos are in the gallery

With the time and the inclination on hand this weekend DmentD and I decided to have a try at a new sourdough recipe. We started it yesterday morning, mixing the starter (good ol’ Bready) with some water and flour to create a sponge and letting it ferment for 12 hours.

Then last night, when we got home from GonzO’s birthday gathering we started the second step, adding some more flour and water to form more of a dough, and letting that ferment while we slept.

This morning before breakfast we added the final ingredients and formed the two loaves it made. Letting it proof while we went shopping we came back this afternoon and baked it off.

Definitely not a loaf to start without preparation, but definitely a fantastic loaf, soft and tender with a nice crisp crust, we immediately had to cut off a slice, or three *grins* and eat it with butter melting on it.

It needs to be a little more sour, next time we’re going to try repeating the second step which should result in more of a tangy flavour, but it’s a beautiful loaf of bread anyway!

This afternoon, while that was baking, I started some kolaches to take for Thanksgiving breakfast. We managed to get the same sausages as last time (chicken, roast garlic and mozzarella.. mmm yummy) only this time I ran out of bread flour so I had to sub in some whole wheat.. I’m interested to see how these turn out.

The rest of this week has been alright, not a whole lot to do at work. I did manage to cycle most of the way in to work one day, taking the bus the last couple of miles (and all the way home at the end of the day), I want to try and do that vaguely regularly and see how that goes.

Two new cakes of late, the first being the wedding cake we were working on last week. The other being the Bass I did at work.. mostly on my own but with some help on the finer points of airbrushing technique.

Finally! A week after the day, I finally get the chance to look through my camera, see what photos are allowed online (and that I can be bothered to put online, certainly not all 300 of them!) and write our account of the party.

By some miracle we were actually all set and ready for 7, the time on the invites. Food was cooked and laid out, decorations were up and lit, we were dressed, it was impressive let me tell you *grins*

We had carved our pumpkins Thursday night and I had the cake all made.. well, okay, it was mostly styrofoam, cheaper and allowing for a more impressive looking cake!

The bar followed DmentD’s old tradition of being the blacklight room. We followed a couple of other old traditions too, making a big entryway, and taking photos of everyone by it as they arrived.

I’m not entirely sure what to say here about the party.. it was a party! Fun was had, drinks were drunk. Sadly it appears that DmentD’s camera got damaged, but the rest of the house is still in tact! We attempted a game, we even had prizes, and had more planned just in case, but the vibe didn’t swing that way.

The fire pit got christened! A momentous occasion, and something we’ve been dying to do since May. We in fact used it twice, at the party and then just DmentD and I, snuggled under a blanket together in front of it on the Sunday night.

We ended the party by smashing up a few of the pumpkins.. don’t ask why, there’s no real reason except “because we could”.. and it meant they were pre smashed and ready to go into our compost the next day *grins* You’ll have to go to the gallery to see those videos.

It took us til today to get everything fully cleaned up. We had taken all the decorations down and moved them all into the dining room.. a kind of anti-staging area!

However we’ve spent this week working on a wedding cake for the lovely ladies over at Freak Revolution so we didn’t have time to clean up fully.

Today everything got attacked. Decorations were put in their boxes and put back in the attic, floors were hoovered and mopped, furniture was put back where it was supposed to be.. And then we both heaved a big sigh of relief!

The rest of the photos that I had the energy to upload are in the gallery

Cake photos are with all the other cakes