What I Want to Be When I Grow Up: Another Week In!

I have a great pantry-this is just 1/3 of it!

My kitchen

Ok,

Another week in! On Monday, I was ready to drop out. It was such a bad day, but luckily I had a friend who talked with me, convinced me that I was just having a bad day and I'd be alright. It's now Saturday and I'm still not too sure. So this past Monday I drove the 15 minutes to school, was ready to take the stairs, and realized...I forgot my knife kit at home. I may as well have forgotten to wear pants. How could I forget it? You can't do anything in class without it! So, I asked my chef if I should drive back home and miss 1/2 hour of class...he said, "No, you can use mine." I felt like I was eight years old! How many times did I scold my kids for doing the same thing! It was humbling. The day went down hill from there. We had to each make a Chicken Consomme' and our table had to make Espagnole - one of the Mother Sauces. My Consomme' did not turn out. I let it come to a boil instead of a simmer and it was screwed right from the start. I learned a lesson. We need to make a successful Consomme' for our mid-term in two weeks. Our Espagnole didn't turn out as well as it could have I THINK because I made the roux and it could have been a bit thinner and would have incorporated nicer. Learned another lesson. The next day I made a roux and it was much better. I know now I'm learning, but on Monday I felt like a total failure. The week did get better - except for a fancy cut called a Tourne'. You cut a vegetable to resemble a seven-sided football. So, you guessed it - I'm going into school today - SATURDAY - for open lab time to practice that cut, along with all of the other cuts. We need to produce all the cuts we've learned so far on our mid-term as well. This week we're covering breakfast foods. Chef told us to go home and put a slice of bread into a saute' pan and practice flipping! I CAN do that! I'm also going to practice making poached eggs this weekend. Oh, it is so humbling. These kids in my class just pick this stuff up. All the other "adults" in class have restaurant experience. That would be very helpful, so next session I'm going to look for a part-time job. I hope I can get a part-time job with no prior experience to gain experience!!
Anyway - my photos. Tried a new pie crust and a new technique - best I've ever made and I'm pretty critical of my dishes. My pantry is the best part of my apartment - it's HUGE! My knife kit - from now on it's going to sit in front of the door so I'll have to trip over it before I forget it again. My hip is slowly healing, but this week I did a few minutes on the treadmill! What a great feeling - to be running again. I know I can't rush it, but just a few minutes running felt fantastic!