An update for those of you who I have not kept in quite so good contact with since I stopped blogging - sorry:
So as most of you know, I did indeed graduate from school over a year ago. After graduation I went to work on a MT dude ranch as a baker, then later as the head cook. The ranch was wild and crazy and we (there were only 2 of us) cooked for hundreds at parties and most typically an average of 60 per week. We cooked for a wide variety of people with various allergies (everything you can think of, someone probably had it) and people of all ages and all tastes for food. Cookies were made daily along with 3 meals a day, 7 days a week. And through all of the craziness of the ranch (from pudding pie fights in the lodge to the bee stings to the weekly square dances) and cooking out 'on the range' for cattle drives, I loved it all in the end. Maybe not right at the moment of all the things going on at the ranch, but looking back at it I did indeed like it in the end. But while I did like working there, last winter I chose to move on and look for more baking focused work. While I had hoped to stay MT, jobs were not quite as plentiful for baking, and so I made the choice to move back to CA.
Oh, CA. To me, CA is where I can come and immediately fit in and not feel like I was gone. But it is also where I feel out of place. I miss MT. I felt very at home there. But coming back to CA has been the right choice this time. Upon arrival back to good ol' Orange County (I refuse to call it "the OC"), I began job hunting again. I had been looking while in MT, but only received a few responses, and most of those were not even in CA. After many many MANY job applications and resumes filled out and a few interviews later, I was hired at the Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill (at LA Live/Staples Center) as the Pastry Chef. The only Pastry Chef in the restaurant. Now it isn't the biiiiigest restaurant by any means. But for me, 550-650 people dining on some evenings was a lot. Without going on and on and on here, I worked there for a few months, but chose to leave for various work related reasons. My quitting though, happened to coincide with a time when I needed to be home with my family, and so in the end worked out for the best.
And so, here I am 4 months later, and I am yet again stuck waiting to find a job. I have once again been looking for ages, applying for practically anything (not only baking related), and still I wait. I have been very unmotivated to bake lately. I want to, get all ready, but then lose all motivation. It is very saddening to me to not have the want to bake as I did in the past. Since I last worked, I have only made one cake until this last week. The cake was specially made for two good friends as a celebration and was perfect for them. A chocolate cake with a mocha mousse filling, frosted with a chocolate honey mousse and chocolate cake crumb coating, with homemade honeycomb candy and chocolate filigree on top. It held up as best it could do on a drive from LA to Vegas in the middle of summer with temps around 110*. But in the end, it was a tasty celebration and fun to make. I came home from that weekend wanting to do more baking and would once again get everything ready and then ::poof:: no motivation to do it.
This last week my mom asked me to make some Baklava and Scones for her to take to some friends. While I have no motivation to bake for myself, I can bake just fine for others if they ask. And so I did. I (stupidly) started my Baklava around 11pm one evening - which made for a verrrrry late night - and the next day made Cranberry Scones, both so tasty. And I loved it! Even without much motivation, I still love baking!
And so this is where I am at today. Since baking for my mom last week, I have begun compiling a list of things I want to bake. Anything and everything! Things I have tried in the past and love and things I have never tried before (some I had never heard of til I was dinking around online!) and I have a loooooooong list started. And from this list, I am going to start what I am calling '30 days of baking'. In my mind, I am going to try to bake something for a month straight. I will be trying all kinds of recipes and hopefully get back into blogging on here to show anyone still reading what I am up to. I miss my bloggie and my baking so I am starting back up on both.
So when will I start my '30 days of baking' you ask? I will be starting on Wednesday, September 15, 2010.
And so I am off to look at more cookbooks, food blogs, and grandma's recipe cards to find more yummy recipes to add to my list. I want a large variety to choose from as I wake up each morning and decide what to bake that day! Any suggestions or requests? Perhaps some lil' boxes might make it out in the mail during this next month... :)
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