DAY ONE HUNDRED NINTY OF COOKING COURSE

 What a day!  I finally finished the Aperitivo - Tapas dish from my vegan cooking course. This dish had a number of parts: 

• Farinata - chickpea flour crackers
• Miso Cashew Butter
• Salsa Verde
• Beetroot Pate
• Gremolata
• Potato Peel Chips
• Grilled Pumpkin
• Sweet Roasted Eggplant
• Pickled Vegetables

It took me four days to finish this dish with all the different parts. 

The second photo is salsa verde and pickled vegetables. The third photo is beeetroot pate, roasted pumpkin and gremolata. The fourth photo is miso cashew butter, sweet roasted eggplant and radish. They are all on the farinata crackers.

That is all I did today besides a work phone call.

Until tomorrow...

DAY ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY-NINE OF COOKING COURSE

 Today was a blow to my cooking confidence.  I have been a pretty confident cook/baker up until now. Today shook that confidence. First, I made Sweet Roasted Eggplant (aubergine) and it seemed okay but it took three times as long to cook as the directions said. I am still not convinced it is cooked. I can't taste it because I found out I am allergic to eggplant last year. I just have to trust it is cooked.

 I then cooked Farinata which is a crispy pancake made from chickpea flour. My farinata cooked three times as long as the directions. It is not as thin as the directions but it tastes good. I will see what it looks like in the morning. 

 All of these issues shook my confidence. I usually have at least one recipe come out well but having two come out so oddly kind of shook me. I need a recipe to work tomorrow to bring back my confidence.

No time to do anything but laundry and take a soaking bath. My legs were so sore this morning from my long walk yesterday that I could barely walk this morning. The bath helped. Lucky was not impressed. She wanted a walk.

Until tomorrow...

DAY ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY-EIGHT OF COOKING COURSE

 I got up real early today so I could get walking down to the veterinarian’s office to get Lucky’s medicine. I timed it so I would walk back and get my flu shot when the pharmacy opened. I was a little late and ended up waiting a little bit but I got my shot. I walked home and was exhausted. My feet were killing me and I was in pain. I probably shouldn’t have walked that far while I was feeling this bad. 

Last night I put some items together in a bowl and something was not right. It seemed like the flour to water ratio was off. I emailed the chef and sure enough the amounts were inverted. I wasted 500 grams of flour. Tonight I have the amounts correct and will make the item in the morning. 

I did make Miso Cashew Butter. It tastes fantastic. I also finished the pickled vegetables. It is cauliflower, radishes, carrots, and onions. 

This is all for the Tapas. 

Until tomorrow...

DAY ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY-SEVEN OF COOKING COURSE

 I finished two items from the Tapas dish today. I would have finished three items but the eggplant I bought went bad so I had to compost it. I need to get another eggplant to finish the dish. 

I made Potato Peel Chips. This is one of the most unique things I have cooked so far. I thought this could be good but it actually it okay. It’s crispy and salty. My peels are little because I only had little potatoes. 

I didn’t have time and I didn’t feel like walking. I am feeling a lot of RA pain. 

I dealt with a box that I have that is someone else’s. I arranged to have it sent out. I am happy to get rid of another box. 

Until tomorrow...

DAY ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY-SIX OF COOKING COURSE

 I finished the Risotto.  The risotto has 8 components and I made 7 of them.  1. Veg stock 2. slow cooked shallots 3. almond butter 4. roasted almonds 5. roasted tomato sauce 6. tomato concasse 7. risotto. I did not make the 8. roasted garlic because I don't eat garlic. It took me four days to make all the components to put together the risotto. It tastes delicious and amazing. It is creamy from the almond butter and crunchy from the almonds and delicious from the roasted tomato sauce.

I did not have time to take a walk. I also made three desserts from the cannoli for neighbors. I am trying to get rid of them so I don't eat them or throw them away. I worked some of the day.

Poor Lucky has a tummy ache tonight so she is being a little baby and wanting to curl up on my lap.

Until tomorrow...

DAY ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY-FIVE OF COOKING COURSE

 I started the Contemporary Italian Cuisine course by first making almond butter. Making this almond butter has made me realize that my purchase of the Vitamix blender was probably not the best. I got a lower end Vitamix blender which is probably great for making smoothies and Margaritas but is awful for making things like hazelnut butter. I need a much stronger blender to do the things I need to do. I tried to save money but that didn't work. I am going to wait until Amazon sale days and get a much better blender. 

Then I made some cannoli for my neighbor and took them over to them to try.

Then I roasted some tomatoes in the oven and blended them up to make a chunky sauce.

Then I took two large tomatoes and sliced just the skins and put them in boiling water for a short time and then into ice water. Then once cold I took off the skins (boy is that like something out of a horror movie!) and diced them. This is waiting until tomorrow to do the next part.

That was basically my day of cooking until my dinner time. 

I made a double decker vegan burger.

This is not the best photo and I tried to fix it but the lighting was off and made it too yellow. The burger tasted awesome.

Lucky and I went on two walks today for about 2,500 steps. I did some work.

We had another food delivery to get some needed stuff for this chapter. I went in my garage and found my last bottle of wine from my birthday party in 2019. I don't drink so when people give me wine I just store it and re-gift it. Now I am going to use an expensive bottle of Pinot Grigio for cooking. Oh, well. It is being sacrificed for a good cause. Italian food. I need to find me an alcohol dealer. The last person who helped me with alcohol bought me expensive bottles of wine. I need the Costco bottles of wine since I am using them for cooking.

Until tomorrow...

DAY ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY-FOUR OF COOKING COURSE

 Today I started the Contemporary Italian Cuisine chapter with an easy task. I roasted almonds. They are for a component for a larger recipe.

I took it easy today because I was tired after baking for more than eight hours this weekend. I had a little bit of work this morning and no time for a walk.  

I just needed a day off.

I needed dinner so I made a tofu scramble with peanut sauce.  The photo with the peanut sauce was too dark but here is the tofu scramble.

Tomorrow is another day.

Until tomorrow...

DAY ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY-THREE OF COOKING COURSE

 Well, I finally finished the last Italian Pastry in the course chapter.  It was a long dessert.  It took me days to complete. Some things had to be in the refrigerator for 24 hours and some for 8 hours.  There were three steps and four steps with breaks in between where the thing I was working on had to sit for hours.  But it is done and it looks like a masterpiece. It really looks like something I would order in a restaurant. Something I would pay $20 for. 

The cannoli before I fried them.

From the bottom up: There is Wine Zuppetta (the red liquid) that has prunes soaking. It is a sweet, flavorful liquid.  Then there are dots of Seasoned Vegan Ricotta cheese with orange zest.  It is a sweet cheese. The soaked prunes are on top of the dots of cheese. Then on top of the prunes is the Moscato Gel which is a clear gel but very flavorful. On top of that is the Marsala Tuile - Cannoli. It is a flat cannoli made with marsala wine. It comes out a beautiful pink color.  The cannoli is not made into the shape of a cone in this dish. Then on top of the cannoli I put more dots of Seasoned Ricotta with a few herbs. Then the last item is Vegan Salted Pistachio Ice Cream. This ice cream is amazing. It tastes like something out of an expensive ice cream store. I am so bad I don't want to share any of the ice cream. It is decadent. The whole dessert is decadent. If only I had a sous chef, I would love to make these again!  

Lucky and I took two walks today. I needed it since today was super hot and I was frying 12 cannoli on the hottest day so far this fall.  The ice cream was melting before I even took this photo! I took one cannoli to a neighbor but I am sure these will be a hit!

I took my test for the Fine Italian Pastries and Desserts chapter and passed with flying colors.  I am now moving on to Contemporary Italian Cuisine. I can't do another sweet chapter!  I have to cook real food for awhile.  I will come back to the the chocolate chapter when it cools down outside.

Until tomorrow...

DAY ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY-TWO OF COOKING COURSE

Today was a lovely hot day and I spent most of it in the kitchen cooking.  I want to finish this multi step dessert tomorrow and I had to do a number of things today to make that happen.  I wanted to finish it today but I soon realized that was a non-starter.

First I made the almond milk to make the ricotta cheese. I took the almond milk and did some stuff and then had to let the stuff drain through cheese cloth and a sieve for an hour. At which time I took Lucky for a long walk.  Then when I got back I could do the next step and get it in the fridge overnight.

Second I took the mixture I made the other day with the pistachio paste and put it in the ice cream maker to make salty pistachio ice cream.  That had to churn for 30 min. During which I washed dishes to get ready for the next dish.  The ice cream is incredible.

Thirdly I boiled some stuff and made a gel that is now solidifying in the downstairs fridge until tomorrow when I will finish.

That was my day. I had to eat lunch so I made a Thai curry nugget burrito. It was quite good. I never thought to put curry in a burrito before. Well, it wasn't curry but curry flavored nuggets and red curry paste.

Lucky and I went for two walks today. A long walk around noon and a short walk around 6pm.  It was so nice outside.

Until tomorrow...

CLEARED OUT MY EMERGENCY BAG

 I had another busy work day.  This is all good and I will have more hours in these months than expected. 

I gathered more things in the garage to get rid of. I went through my emergency bag of clothes.  When you live in a danger zone, you have to have an emergency box of food, pet stuff, and other items, an emergency first aid kit (including one for dogs), and an emergency bag of clothes and toiletries.  I have them all in the same place ready in case of emergency.

I didn't get to walk today with all the other stuff I was doing. In fact, I didn't get to eat lunch until 3pm. 

Until tomorrow...