A new obsession?

I can see how this new project may become a healthy obsession!
After 4 hour of job searching and resume sending, I decided to take a break and get started on researching things for the Grasshoppa grad cake. Grasshoppa is the name of the class that I was initially in... and the one I was going to grad with had I not taken a term off a while ago. They've asked me to make a cake for their graduation. Having only baked for small groups and... well normal sized cakes I figured this would be a fantastic opportunity to do something bigger. Now their grad is coming up so I've decided to do some research and start baking test cakes.
The girls are all really busy with school work and what not so they haven't really given me any clues as to what they'll want. This means that for now I have artistic and creative power over this little project. I want to make something delicious and unique. Maybe a triple layer cake with a white chocolate matcha layer, a lavender dark chocolate layer and a earl grey vanilla layer. They're all unique flavors... they are also very natural and earthy which is very much like the girls of the group.
My creative mind has taken off and I am totally stoked about this. I've designed what I want the cake to look like and I've found the recipes that I want to try out. Now it's just a matter of putting all of this together. This is definitely harder then anything I've done before (baking wise), however I am sure that I can do it. I will most likely be blogging about this as I go about it so everyone can see my progress (or not :P ).
This week I'll be looking around for the unique ingredients such as matcha powder, dried lavender and floral earl grey tea. I will also be trying one of the recipes and getting the girls to taste test it. This is too much fun! :)

Go Apple GO!

YAY! Apple is regaining my confidence in their technical support competence! I got a case number in record time! 11 minutes and 36 seconds :) The problem this time... the clicker is losing it's sensitivity and won't click sometimes! It's getting worse too!
Last time I was on hold for a REALLY long time and I was afraid that today I would have the same problem. I decided to call in the morning, hoping that people would be too busy at work, school, having fun in the sun (somewhere else in Canada, not here) or really doing anything other then calling apple. After calling once, I got through immediately! No hold time! The only problem was, the person on the other end couldn't hear me. Mark probably thinks I am right crazy cuz if he was awake, he'd have heard me say my full name twice then having a Hello Hello yelling match with the guy on phone. Why do people raise their voices when talking on the phone? If it doesn't work, yelling into the phone won't make it work. Ha ha anyways... I called back and I wasn't even on hold for a minute until I got to talk to Aaron. In no time, I had a case number! YAY!
Sure that's only step 1... I still have to bring it to Simply computing, see if they can fix it, then get it fixed by them. Mind you, after talking to Andrew (a friend of mine), it sounds like my computer needs to be reformatted so maybe that'll help. I doubt it though, I am pretty sure it's a hard wear problem. I wish I had some Mac savy friends that could help me with this stuff instead of paying and arm and a leg to get strangers to do it. Ah well!
Anyways time to go sort through the Hawaii pics that Frank sent me, dick around on the old PC to see if I can find my resume (still haven't started looking for jobs) and apply for jobs. If that fails I might just go swimming instead. Much more fun and I figure Kits pool will be empty cuz it's such a shitty day. The water will be just a warm though... I'll just have to run from the pool to the change room... and keep my head under water.
Gotta keep in shape! Just bought a boustier yesterday and it's a hint too small... but it was on sale! Reg $250 for $50. And no, it doesn't even look like it's worth that much, it's just from a local designer. Will post pics later... maybe.

Two pretty killer recipes

The first one is one that I dum dee dummed last night. It was amazing! I am definitely going to do it again!

Make a cream sauce with melting 1 tbs butter, adding and browning (? not too sure if
this is the term) 2 cloves chopped garlic adding 1/2 cup cream and 3/4 cup milk,
warming milk/cream until bubbly, adding 1/4 cup grated swiss cheese and 1/4 cup dry
parmesan.
In an other pan, while making the sauce, saute 3 cups of mushrooms with lots of
pepper and 2 tsp (or more) of dry chilli flakes.
While cooking the mushrooms and making the sauce, start cooking pasta (I used fresh
herb pasta from Granville... but I am sure any other kind would work fantastically)
and unthaw (or prepare) 1/2 cup or more of shrimp (do not warm them or else they'll
be over cooked, let the sauce, mushrooms and pasta warm the shrimp).
When pasta is cooked, add sauce, shrimp and mushrooms and mix together.
Garnish with fresh grated parmesan and enjoy :)

For breakfast this morning I made banana pancakes. I had never made banana pancakes before but we had some really yummy ones in Oahu so I figured I'd try to make some. Sure it was missing the banana mac nut sauce but I didn't have any mac nuts so I figured I'd try that later. Here's the recipe for the pancakes:

1/2 cup mashed banana (I used 1 cup, the pancakes were a little more fragile but they were yummy none the less)
1 egg

3 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. In large bowl, combine banana and egg; beat at medium speed 2 minutes or until fluffy. Beat in milk, oil and vanilla. In large bowl, stir together all remaining ingredients. Slowly add to banana mixture, beating at low speed just until combined. Batter will be slightly lumpy. (For thinner pancakes, add additional milk.)

2. Spray griddle or large skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Heat over medium heat until hot. For each pancake, pour scant 1/4 cup batter onto hot griddle. Cook 1 1/2 to 2 minutes or until puffed on edges and bubbles begin to break on surface. Turn; cook an additional 1 to 2 minutes. Makes 8 pancakes (actually it made 4).

A chef in the making...

Being Mum and Dad aren't here I've got the run of the kitchen... and being I am not home alone, Mark and I have been cooking quite a bit. Usually it sucks to cook for one so it helps to have company. It's also a form of mild competition too :)
Over the past couple of days we've managed to cook up a storm. Though yesterday I impressed myself. We were going to make the usual (usual for me) garlic butter prawns until Mark suggested that we cook em Cajun. I'd never done that so I figured why not. After finding the Cajun magic spices in the cupboard, we started to debate the best way to make a Cajun sauce. Mark tried to make a sauce by mixing mayo, garlic and Cajun spice. The results... not so good. I gave it a try by reducing some milk and Cajun spice (to infuse the milk with the spice flavor), thicken it all with a bit of corn starch, a couple chunks of butter, add a bit of salt and 3/4 of a lime and... hot damn that's one nice Cajun sauce! It was even better once we let the shrimp (which were cooked with lots of garlic and olive oil) chill in the sauce for a bit. What was even better was that there was some sauce left over so we dipped some bread in it and it was amazing! Hooray me!
So far, I've discovered the wonders of cooking a fantastic Channa Masala, putting together a great portobello burger with "killer guacamole" (courtesy of Mark), making cinnamon buns from scratch (and without the bread maker) and making Cajun shrimp. I love having the run of the kitchen! It's great. It's also quite fun to cook as opposed to bake. I'm also learning to cook without a measuring cup. Being with baking you have to measure almost everything, it takes a while to figure out that with cooking, that's not the case. It's more of a "dum dee dum", as Dad calls it.
Anyways neither of us have plans for tonight so we'll see what kind of delicacies we can come up with tonight.

It's gonna be a productive day!

I can't believe it! Almost two weeks have gone by since I've come back from Hawaii... and what have I done? Well not much really and it's been fantastic!
Mark, the cute Scottish boy, got here on Tuesday and will be living here until... well until I kick him out or he starts work sometime in July (which ever comes first). Mark and I met in Hawaii and though he worked in Whistler all winter and will be working there during the summer time, he's got some down time and with that down time, he's travelled to Hawaii (yes, a vacation from a vacation... life's tough) and is now living in Vancouver, hoping to get a job that'll keep him out of mischief until July. It's been good having him here. The house is less lonely and he's great company. He's not too gung ho on the whole being a veggie shtick but he's adapting pretty well :) So far he's learnt that fiber is great, but too much is not and that protobello burgers (aka mushburgers) are a delicious alternative to hamburgers. We also made cinnamon buns last night which was a hoot to make... and great to eat. Kinda fun to be living with someone who loves to cook just about as much as I do. We've been eating well.
But the fun has got to end eventually and eventually is coming up pretty quick. Though I haven't started job searching quite yet, there are a few possibilities floating around... it's just a matter of sending out resumes. I'll be applying for Cirque Du Soleil today for sure! Hopefully it's not too late. As for the landscaping... I am not too sure what to do about that. It doesn't look like we'll get much of a summer this year and I hate being cold so maybe I'll hermit indoors. We'll see. So finding a job is definitely on the agenda.
But so is starting the fundraising effort for the 2008 Underwear Affair! So far I've raised 60 out of $1 000. Better get on that :) So far a facebook group has been created, e-mails to the team have been sent out and soon e-mails to family and friends will be sent out as well. This years team goal is $8 000 or more! I am sure we can make it! Donations for the cause can be made here!
While searching Fbook for the Vancouver event, I found an event that used our team photo as their main photo! It was strange... check out the event Underwear Affair town Edmonton by Sarah Subchuck. Bizzare! But cool :)
Anyways I better get going... washrooms don't clean themselves! Resumes aren't updated and sent out on good intentions either.

A map for Saturday

I just watched the documentary: A map for Saturday. I am sure glad I stumbled upon this documentary because not only did it take me travelling for two hours but it also explain how I feel about travel. It also explain long term travel very well. Most people who haven't travelled just don't understand... no matter how much I try to explain to them how it feels it just doesn't compare to being there and living it.
When I leave to visit family in Winnipeg or even on my latest trip to Hawaii, I bring my backpack, the same one that I travelled around Australia with when I was 18 (4 years ago!!) and a familiar sense of comfort and calm falls over me. I know that no matter what happens, everything will be alright because my backpack and I have made it through lots, have covered a lot of ground and seen many things. Where ever my backpack is, is my home.
Brook, the guy who did the documentary, explained why he travelled and though I wasn't able to quote him, this is basically what he said:
I travelled to get something out of my system... but that didn't work. Instead going back to a normal life, having a normal job, doesn't seem like something I want to do.
I feel that same way. I really do. No matter what I do now it doesn't seem to be the same as travelling. You're always looking to get your next fix, dreaming of your next destination.
Hawaii tickled the itch for travel. Now it burns and since I've come back, I've been feeling like something is missing. I want to travel so badly because when I am at home I feel like I am tethered down and I am struggling to stay grounded. I want to travel, stay in hostels, meet strangers, see so many breath taking sights that eventually I become immune to them and don't find them that amazing any more, I want to be away, get lost in an other country where I cannot speak the language. But that'll have to wait. At least until I graduate and become registered. Then I can travel for a year or I can move to a foreign country and live in their lifestyle for a while or maybe I can do both.
In the mean time, I am going to go make Channa Masala (for real this time, I won't be distracted by awesome documentaries) and pretend that I am cooking in India... ha ha well no, no pretending... I will most likely blast my music, sing and dance while I cook... cuz really, that's what I do.

In fifty or sixty years I am dead. I want to say, "I had a good life."

Jens: 27, Germany

Hooray!!!

I got my marks back and I passed EVERYTHING!!! HOORAY!!! Time to celebrate! Wait... I already celebrated, time to make some Channa Masala from scratch. Yum yum!
The best part about all of this... is that I have FOUR months off!!! FOUR! I am looking forward to what the next four months will bring.