Awww, I wanted to see what my best post of all time was, but I can't figure out how anymore. Oh well. It won't be this one, but it comes from the heart... bye, FF!
Lo! :D
- That one guy. Bren.
thank you for joining!
- Lo
Lo
Pastry chef!!!
Thank you to anyone who's ever listened and been there for me here. I wanted to do a series of posts for the last month, but it's too upsetting to confront this somehow. This place has been there for me in some terrible times. I love you all!
Apr 5, 2015
from
((Lo))
- Julian
aww, Lo! Thank you for sharing parts of your life with us. You are just as sweet and beautiful as those delicious treats you create! ;) All the best to you, honey! <3
- AHnix (Anna Haro)
I know we've all seen it coming for a long time, but somehow I still can't quite believe it!!! :(
((Lo))
- AHnix (Anna Haro)
Urgently needed: name for this dessert. Dark chocolate cake filled with whipped ganache and crushed pretzels, drizzled with melted ganache, served with salted caramel ice cream.
If someone suggests a winning name, I'll buy you one. Or mail you something if you live far away.
Dec 27, 2014
from
A Slice of Heaven, as far as I am concerned.
- Friar Will
It needs work, you guys. Anyone who got it tonight is probably satisfied but I feel sorry for them a little. It'll be much better on New Year's Eve.
- Lo
Thanks for always being there, FF. To repay your kindness, I actually took photos of fun baking experiments! With a real camera! Apple roses, so pretty but easy to make, and they taste just like tiny bite-size apple pies.
Fantastic!
- Spidra Webster
Wow!
- AHnix (Anna Haro)
They look delicious!
- WoH: Professor MOTHRA
They really are surprisingly easy to make and there's many methods, just google apple roses. This was my first try. Most of the tutorials are aimed at dudes: "impress your girlfriend!" I bet it works.
- Lo
I was just getting to the point where I didn't hate the holidays so much... And then I got in-laws.
Dec 1, 2014
from
That'll do it.
- Eric @ CS Techcast
Ah, yes, that's the heart of it for me. I'm pretty confident that his mother has not stopped to consider AT ALL that this might impact me. That maybe I love her son, too. I guarantee she hasn't done the math that I will be alone. I am happy for him being with his family... it just gets me that she's that freaking inconsiderate, emotionally manipulating him like a child while I'm sitting RIGHT THERE. Ugh. I take the hard-line "there will be consequences" approach with my family, wonderful. Thanks guys!
- Lo
I am 140 Mercury years old today, and you guys are the only people I can think of to tell about it. I'm pretty excited! It feels cooler than knowing my age in earth years. I'm glad Mathaversaries exists!
Happy Mercury Day!
- WoH: Professor MOTHRA
^LOL
- Spidra Webster
Financiers and Visitandines - Obscure French pastries! - I got 4 days off work before my assistant's vacation, which is stunning. I did multiple little works on days off, too, which in some ways is sad. But it's also a good sign. It means I'm interested in baking again. I just kinda jumped in and prayed the joy would come back :)
Someone remind me to take real pictures of stuff. I always have a terrible phone picture of 10% of what I made. If I shot everything, I could make all your days 42% more delicious.
- Lo
*makes plan for visit*
- Spidra Webster
Everyone come down for Thanksgiving! I think the restaurant is closed that day :P
- Lo
INCREDIBLY OBVIOUS PSA: Opening a restaurant is a lot of work.
I was thinking, "maybe I could work part time at first." HA HA HA hello overtime. Miraculously I can handle it physically, though things are not quite as tasty as I'd like. YET, hopefully :)
- Lo
There's a series on Serious Eats by a guy opening a BBQ place: http://www.seriouseats.com/tags...
- Andrew C (see frenf.it)
Sometime over the past five years I have developed an appreciation for Alanis Morissette. Isn't that weird? I don't own her albums or anything, but these days if her songs come on, I'm like, "cool." When did the visceral hatred fade away?
Isn't it.....(wait for it)....
- WoH: Professor MOTHRA
That's great. Thanks, you really took this post to the next level :)
- Lo
THE LINE COOKS ARE MAKING MAC AND CHEESE TODAY. It has parmesan, cheddar, some other cheeses, topped with a bleu cheese crumble. HOLY CRAP YOU GUYS!!!
I had to pop home to pick up a rolling pin, figured you needed an update.
- Lo
I love a good percentage of imported Swiss in my baked mac & cheese. I pretty much like Swiss in anything that requires melted cheese, except lasagna.
- April Russo (FForever!)
PSA: If you throw bread in the fridge to retard the final rise overnight, then you get really busy and bake it three days later... It won't really work. Unless your husband is weird and loves the incredibly dense "bread." It's like a black hole.
Oct 31, 2014
from
Steven Perez
and
MoTO Boychick Devil
liked this
I'd post a pic but it's the saddest looking thing to ever come from my oven. It looks like a special effect from Army of Darkness.
- Lo
Sounds like you found an alternative way to make pumpernickel :)
- Eivind
Lord no, it's way more dense than that. It's like matzoh on CRACK. It's like 1.5 inches tall and weighs 8 pounds.
- Lo
After 13 years of longing, ever since I first got REALLY excited about cooking from watching Iron Chef, after years of dreaming and trying unsuccessfully to convince people it was an important life goal... I GOT TO USE A COMMERCIAL ICE CREAM MAKER. It was AWESOME.
I get to use it all the time, maybe even every day, and nobody else uses it! Just MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! It is sooooo freaking rad, did not disappoint a bit. I am sore beyond fucking belief, but I'm working and not humiliating myself with incompetence, so huzzah. Also, did I mention ice cream?
- Lo
Working in a restaurant is a whole different ball game from my previous experience. I'm totally confused like 8x a day, but I just keep playing along and this inexplicably seems to be working. A lot of the things that sucked about my last job are helpful now, like I'm super comfortable working in chaos without competent leadership, and the time benchmarks are downright comical to me. 1 hour to make vanilla ice cream custard? Maybe if I have to go to Madagascar to get the vanilla!
- Lo
I love that you're loving your work!
- Starmama
Clothes without pockets is one of those things about being a girl which isn't necessarily oppression, but seriously annoy me. The relative lack of professional gear options for women in manual fields (e.g. chef pants, plumber pants, etc) sucks too. AND THEN I FOUND (see comments) WOOHOO!
http://www.scrubsandbeyond.com/Dickies... HOUSTON WE HAVE POCKETS
- Lo
I do really like the idea of pants with "Taclite" in the name :D
- Lo
Well, that was unexpected! - Three days in, and I have completed step one of three to making bread pudding for dinner with friends. Good thing they postponed the dinner to Friday!
I'll take two please.
- Eric @ CS Techcast
Yeah, hubby & I eyeballed how much dough would make a loaf... I learned something :P
- Lo
I'm baking brioche from a starter! It's my first time making brioche. And my first time using natural leavening. Everything has taken longer than I expected/read, but it seems to be turning into bread? It smells SO GOOD in here, you guys. Wish I could share smells!
Oh god the top is turning black ABORT MISSION
- Lo
:(?
- Anne Bouey
I'm officially transitioning from baker to pastry chef. It may seem an abstract difference, but I feel gratified and respected, and I like about the fact that there's a tinge of affirmative action in play. It's kinda crap that historically women belonged in the kitchen, but only men were good enough to go pro. Further good news in comments.
For the folks that follow my story, bless you kind souls, I talked to the executive chef (my direct boss) a bit more about my injury. Physical therapy is going well, but it's slow and I'm daunted by the job ahead. The restaurant opening got delayed another week, so that's good for me. Now I will get a week of training alone in the kitchen with EC. I can run through our opening dessert menu, and he'll work with me some on bread (by far my weak spot, I am lord of desserts but bread was always my husband's domain). If I can't keep up with the workload, they will hire an assistant for me... the most qualified other applicant for my job, an older man who specializes in bread. So that'll be incredibly helpful, and I gotta say it feels great that someone wants to hire me this bad. After my demoralizing experience losing my last job, I am very fortunate to have someone pursuing me when the thought of me pursuing a job was a bit overwhelming. Feeling grateful is the best, y'all.
- Lo
That's really great, Lo!
- Jenny H.
Holy cow, you guys, I uploaded a new dance video! It's more of an outtake, but still. It's been a while. I have so much backlog of footage :) - http://www.youtube.com/watch...
I know it's everyone's favorite season, but I kinda hate autumn. I'm surrounded by things that are really pretty and I want to take photos, but those same pretty things are cruel reminders that all the leaves and life and beauty will be gone for 7 freaking months. I know, minority opinion. I respect your love of fall, but I'm just sayin'.
Like going to your really good friend's really amazing going-away party.
- Lo
Autumn is truly a double-edged sword.
- Jenny H.
*le sigh*
- MoTO Boychick Devil
Autumn makes me miss Summer. As the evenings get darker, I miss Summer more and more.
- Stephen Mack
Things I have made so far warming up to work in a kitchen again: brown butter ice cream, chocolate truffle pie, gorgonzola ice cream (to go with maple caramel pears? if you like the cheese, I do recommend the ice cream). Suggestions for what to cook next? I can post pictures, if not mail you the actual food. Trying to get back on my feet!
What produce is in season where you are right now?
- Spidra Webster
I just made some pear cake. Other really late-season stuff.
- Lo
And chocolate is always in season!
- Lo
Brown butter ice cream? Oh myyyy.
- Jenny H.
http://www.youtube.com/watch... - holy cow, an Into the Woods movie! Although based on the trailer, I gotta be honest the cheesy Broadway special effects probably worked better than all this fancy stuff. Still, 12 year old me is pretty stoked! We sang the songs so much in middle school, probably drove teachers CRAZY.
I wonder what they'll do with the second act... a bit cynical for Disney. Maybe it'll just be the first half :P
- Lo
I didn't like the woman who does my physical therapy - nothing major, just rubbed me the wrong way. I hesitantly mentioned racism (talking about husband's job) and she went on this unexpected rant about the racist school system here. What a delightful surprise!
Oct 9, 2014
from
She said "my children are biracial, and..." From that point on we saw each other in a new light. At the end she doubled my PT sessions to help me be able to work soon enough to accept this new job. I believe this is the first time hating racism got me ahead in a social situation with a stranger. :D
- Lo
Rather unexpectedly got offered a job today, now I just have to hope that the physical therapy works well enough that I will be able to do the job without screwing over the whole kitchen. I'm going to be in charge of desserts for a new restaurant! Working with my favorite co-worker ever!
I'm excited to somewhat have my own "kingdom" creatively speaking. I didn't even apply for this job, just went to meet the executive chef (my former co-worker, close friend, and on-again-off-again (currently on) roommate is the sous chef & had recommended me as pastry chef). He was like, "yeah, we'll work around that [injuries], it's about the right fit... based on this conversation, I want you for the job, just gotta check on salary with the owners."
- Lo
Congratulations!
- bentley
This is my inspiration for the week! (You will not regret watching) - http://www.youtube.com/watch...
Spidra Webster
liked this
I got a cast on my wrist today. I CAN STRAIGHTEN MY ARM. I cannot convey how exciting this is.
- Lo
Also, if Penguin is reading: http://www.youtube.com/watch...
- Lo
Holy old school, Batman! http://www.youtube.com/watch... That's some seriously impressive upper body strength.
- Lo
Spending the day working through feelings and pondering choreography ideas, thanks Janet for bringing that to mind! Finding some awesome inspiration that's close to what I have imagined. Dude mourns his father to Radiohead - http://www.youtube.com/watch...
wange
and
Jennifer Dittrich
liked this
I used to know how to post videos here...
- Lo
If you take out the s in the https, it might then load up.
- Back to just Joe
Thanks Joe. I dunno why youtube keeps doing that. Plus I was like, when did the share bookmark stop working? I've been doing too much FB, not enough FF!
- Lo
The doctor said I should be able to dance again, but not for a year. I can get through this but I feel grief like a part of me has died, albeit temporarily. BF telling me 10min later I should be glad I'm not paralyzed. Can I be sad, FF?
Sep 14, 2014
from
I mean it's only my #1 coping mechanism AND way to get in touch with my emotions, plus my favorite mode of self-expression, not to mention the only activity that has consistently brought me joy at all times of my life.
- Lo
Emotions are seldom an either/or, strictly one emotion affair. We feel many things at once. They are all valid. Hope and positivity for the future and grief and sadness for the now often live comfortably (and uncomfortably) together.
- Michael W. May
Ugh, I want to love the world but it's so freaking disappointing sometimes. http://www.theguardian.com/society...
Sep 14, 2014
from
I am not a doctor but I can think of multiple things WHO could do to address this and they're just not. And where is the CDC? It almost definitely means that there are political reasons to let a bunch of people die horrible deaths for no real reason. Rwanda all over again!
- Lo
Why is the first and only discovered treatment for Ebola suddenly being characterized as "new" and "experimental"? Why aren't the hundreds of survivors being encouraged to donate blood to make more serum? Why isn't the CDC doing field training in West Africa like they have in Central Africa? WHY AM I SEEING PHOTOS OF PEOPLE LYING IN THE STREET WITH SUSPECTED INFECTION are you freaking kidding me?
- Lo
I don't know how to keep going right now.
Stephen Mack
and
Steven Perez
liked this
I'm ok but I'm scared. Not going to hurt myself, don't worry please. Just need to let this out somewhere.
- Lo
Thanks guys. I cannot enjoy real hugs or snuggles for some time, so I am taking all the ehugs I can get :P
- Lo
The entire city of Washington D.C. does not contain enough paper for Ruth Bader Ginsberg to express her dismay.
This dissent is looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong.
- Lo
But I so want to read it... because seriously, what the hell, Supreme Court. WTH.
- Lo
She just quoted Citizens United! HA, oh, I haven't moved on from that either.
- Lo
"I have run out of things to read." <--- Things people say that I do not understand at all.
I usually try to say, "I've run out of things I want to read," because that reading list I have right now is huge.
- Jennifer Dittrich
Was that their way of asking for directions to the nearest library? If not, then hand them a shampoo bottle or something, quick! Let them read the ingredients while they figure out what to do next.
- April Russo (FForever!)
Is it just me or is "Xavier Guillemane" an awesome name?
It is awesome. What is it from? Am I dumb?
- Eric @ CS Techcast
The only thing coming up on Google is a developer of Podcast Addict.
- OCoG of FF, Jimminy
Yeah, I use podcast addict and saw his name on it... he should be an x-man! He's not famous or anything.
- Lo
I'm still sad they changed their logo... the old one was the rss symbol with a syringe, which is so perfect. I always thought "Yes! Put the radiolab right in my veins!"
- Lo
How not to say the wrong thing - I approve this article! Helpful if you have a friend in a crisis and want to avoid being an insensitive jerk by accident. Because even if you didn't mean to hurt the feelings of your friend with cancer, it's still shitty if you do. "I had good intentions" seems like a weak excuse sometimes. - http://articles.latimes.com/2013...
Apr 3, 2014
from
People always tell me "it's the thought that counts," but in my experience I am responsible for the outcome of my actions 100% of the time, not just when I get the reaction I'm looking for... just sayin'!
- Lo