Most people I know have already been told about this, however, there is a bill trying to be passed to allow baking businesses from home in Texas. Obviously DmentD and I are very eager for this to be passed.

Tonight this bill made it from the Public Health Committee to the Calendars Committee (don’t ask me for the specifics, this is my crash course in American Politics).

Anyway, there is a call out now to inundate and overwhelm the Chair and members of the Calendars committee with phone calls requesting that HB 3282 be put on the calendar immediately for floor debate and vote. It must be out of committee by May 11 or it will die. There are 7,000 bills filed this session, we must be BIGGER and LOUDER than all the others to get pushed to the front of the pack.

Please, please, please call them, it all helps, we want this to be passed.

Well, it wasn’t quite that drastic, but my hair is at least a foot shorter than it was! We even took before and after photos. There’s not really much else to say about it, I was finding it too hot, it is now much cooler and lighter.. it looks a little bouffant at the moment from the way the stylist dried my hair and put gel etc in it.. we’ll see what it looks like after I’ve washed it.

I’m happy with it, though it’ll take some getting used to.

Friday we had our one official practical test in class, making a chocolate box. It was fiddly and frustrating though it does look pretty cool. Maybe with practice I could come to like it, right now it’s not my favourite thing to be doing. The bow was probably the worst part.. and getting the sides stuck in place! But, all my chocolate was in temper, my milk chocolate bloomed, but I did gain bonus points for not using dark.

Recently in class we took a break from the chocolates and set to work making some confections. The first project, finished last Friday, contained candied zest, orange marzipan squares, divinity, praline, fudge, pate de fruit and marshmallows. The second project we did from start to finish on Tuesday making toffee, nut brittle and honeycomb. I definitely did a lot better with these projects than I did on the chocolate. Bloom is still my biggest enemy with chocolate. Something I need to get sorted with the projects we have coming up.

Yesterday we got to create our own candy bar. I chose to stick with traditional flavours, a layer of honeycomb, caramel ganache and marshmallow fluff. I think in hindsight it would have been better to do normal marshmallows rather than the fluff, but the flavours worked nicely together. DmentD came up with the name – the Honey CaraMallow bar, he even ate one and quite enjoyed it, despite the chocolate!

Today we have our first theory test, on everything chocolate related. We then get to practise for our test tomorrow, making a chocolate box with a bow. I think at some point soon we’ll be deciding on the theme for our chocolate showpieces which we’ll be making next week. It’s certainly going quickly.

I had Monday off this week which was nice, a little odd that they didn’t give it to us over Easter. I made some bread, we’re experimenting with white to wheat flour ratios in the hope we can make all our bread at home rather than buying it. If we buy the big sacks of bread flour I’m fairly certain it works out cheaper. So we now have a loaf we’re working through now, and one in the freezer, already sliced ready and waiting. I posted off the application for the scholarship, the deadline is May 8th, so I’ll hear somepoint after that if I’ve made it to the finals. I spent some of Monday out in the hammock which was very pleasant, DmentD came and joined me when he got home and we had a wonderfully relaxing hour sat talking and reading, swaying gently under the trees.

Saturday we went to see Avenue Q, it was awesome and funny and even better than I was anticipating. We met up with a couple of friends from class and went for pizza afterwards and on to Hey Cupcake, for.. a cupcake! *grins* Now, I thoroughly admire what they’re doing, they’re selling cupcakes, something simple that people can and do make from home. With a menu that contains 4 cakes and 3 frostings in different combinations. They started in an airstream trailer and have done so well this year they opened a store front too. Kudos to them, they’ve done wonderfully, I don’t want to impinge on that.

However I felt, that the cupcakes were.. mediocre. The chocolate cake was good, the vanilla sponge was kinda dry. And the frostings, while not bad, were nothing special. American buttercream is my guess.. I’m only thankful that it was all butter and no shortening as there is nothing that makes frosting worse than the inclusion of shortening *shudders* I really don’t know what cake ever did to you Americans to deserve shortening being slathered on them!

So much I’m already not wanting to eat it all.. now, put a nice juicy tender steak in front of me and it’s a whole different matter. Yes! That is what this class has done to me.. my sweet tooth is still there, it’s just a little overwhelmed with being surrounded for 5 hours a day.. That’s not to say I’m not eating sweet things, just that I, and most of my class, finnd ourselves craving proteins and savories foods where once we craved chocolate, sweets and cake.

I’ve been enjoying chocolate block, it’s hard, and I’m really having to work at it. But on the whole I am enjoying it. We started with rolled truffles for the first project and then moved onto molded truffles for the second. The third, which we’re working on now, and will present tomorrow, is the first of the confectionery projects. A variety of flavours, skills and techniques showcased.. with most of the skills and techniques requiring much practice to get right. Chef makes it look so easy! While I might have my moments, or days of it not working and me hating it all, on the whole I am enjoying it.

We had a nice Easter weekend. I spent the Saturday finishing off the cooking for my entries for the Texas Food and Wine Foundation’s Pastry Competition (the scholarship I’m entering), with help from DmentD, doing my dishes and helping to clear up.

In the evening we went to a divorce party! It was fun, a chance to get out and see others and relax. Something I think we both needed.

Sunday we had plans for a picnic, but the weather forcast foiled that plan so we were round a friend’s house. We had sammiches, good company, an Easter egg hunt (I stole my one egg off of DmentD!) and a game of zombie croquet!

Most people will have heard by now my externship fell through, and that’s all I’m going to say about it on here. The search for a new one is ongoing. I have contacted several places and I’m hoping to hear back soon.

I know, I haven’t written in a while. I was putting it off last week, working on the wedding cake every day I had nothing new to say until it was finished. Then with yard work and being busy, and now I’m working on a scholarship application. Suddenly it’s been nearly two weeks! My doesn’t time fly.

So, anyway, I finished the wedding cake. It came out pretty well. There was plenty wrong with it, especially if you looked closely *grins* but I got an A for it, I learnt lots from making it and I had fun with it. I find the last two there more important than the grade.. though of course a good grade is nice. It meant I got an A for the unit overall. More photos in the gallery as usual, along with some of the cakes from other members of my class.

Now we’re onto chocolate.. Well, it’s chocolate, a chocolate showpiece, a sugar showpiece and then our final exams covering everything from the past nine months. It’s hard to believe I’m on the last unit already, not long now til externship. I’m still searching for a job that will keep me here, no luck so far, I’m hoping my externship will be able to help me out with that a little.

So far we’ve made dark chocolate truffles, cafe cognac truffles and rocher truffles, we have one more rolled truffle today to be presented tonight with the rest for the first project then we move onto molded truffles. As a bonus and extra credit Chef showed us how to make Easter eggs, I got one made yesterday, if I get the time today I’d like to have another go.

Last weekend DmentD and I worked hard in the garden. We had a few beans to plant out and the peanuts but the big project was setting the posts for our hammock. It took longer than anticipated, DmentD using a post hole digger to break up the ground and get through the limestone, and then I was laying on my stomach getting the loose soil out the hole with a cup! We set them with cement and I got to test it briefly.

We took a break in the evening to go and see Monsters vs Aliens, it was cute.

Now I’m spending all my free time working on a scholarship application, about the only one I’ve found that doesn’t say non-residents aren’t allowed. It’s for the Texas Wine and Food Foundation. I have to make four items (a restaurant dessert, a tres leches cake, a creme brulee and 3 petit fours) using a set pantry list and submit recipes and photographs of the items along with an essay and some letters of reference. Three finalists are chosen and there’s a cook-off at the TCA when you make the four items, and a yeast bread, the winner gets $5000, the two runners up $1000. So now I’m figuring out recipes and trying to make everything so I get the application sent off.. Wish me luck!