Happy Monday Guys!!!
Yup! December is finally here and I cannot contain my joy!!! Despite the really cold weather of late, everything seems in place. Christmas is most definitely in the air and the smell of mulled wine hugs the town. You just have to love the most wonderful time of the year. The only sad thing to tell is that my time in lovely London town is up. In three weeks time, I will find myself on a plane back home.
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| Carving Delicious Turkeys They were AMAZING Gis!!! |
But let's not delve into melancholic sadness. So this week flew by so quickly, it felt like day switching to night. Last Monday, one of my closest friends flew into town (remember my surprise?) and I couldn't be happier. We had not seen each other in a year and it was a nice reunion. I didn't let her put down her bags, before we were back out the door on our way to South Kensington. Apparently we were "late" for dinner, but we made it just in time.
Tuesday greeted us with a gray sky and light rain. Spending the entire morning inside the cozy flat, we went for lunch to Bento Cafe. I've told you before of this place. It really is good and we had a craving for sushi. With some hot green tea at the side, we caught up on our missed time and enjoyed some yummy maki. We parted ways a little later in the afternoon, as I worked on a school portfolio and baked a lovely banana bread and two vanilla sponge cakes. The following day was my second assessment of five and I went to bed early.
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| Jumbo Maki Set on the Lunch Menu |
So at 7:45 in the morning, we were all in uniform, ready to begin our Sugar Module exam. It consisted of a poured sugar centerpiece and a pulled sugar rose. The class was divided in two, while my group started on the pulled sugar rose and the other finished their centerpiece. It was quite an interesting class, as midway through the exam, the power went out and if not for the sugar lamps, we'd be all in the dark. It made the room very warm, but we continued our work. After a short break, we returned to the kitchens and started on the missing part. My sugar centerpiece design was based on two of the previous ones I'd done, as I felt more confident in my abilities to make them again. I didn't like some of the colors I used but the overall centerpiece was good and I'm sure I passed it.
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| Pink Pulled Sugar Rose and Oceanic Centerpiece |
The sugar exam was over and we all breathed with relief, but the day wasn't over. In the afternoon, we'd be having our very last wine lecture. This time, we experimented with food pairings. Thank's to the school's production kitchen, we had some nice canapes to accompany the different wines. Some of them were good, some were unexpected and some were just plain bad. It was stimulating experience and I'm sure we all know a little bit more about wine now. I hurried home to finish off the vanilla sponge cakes as I was making a Strawberry Cream Cake with them. The result was fantastic and I'm sure the birthday boy appreciated it.
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| Strawberry Cream Madness!!! Not the best picture... Messy but so worth it ;) |
If you're interested, check out The Moveable Feasts. Amy has amazing recipes!!!
With groggy eyes, I woke up on Thursday, not ready for the day's plan. We had our Chocolate Module exam and so far, the other groups has said it was a nightmare, as the school's kitchens were at temperatures not suitable for chocolate work. To our lucky surprise, the room stayed a nice 24 degrees Celsius for the entire four hours. We were able to successfully create our chocolate boxes and twelve identical molded truffles. I liked the end product, but there are definitely some skills I need to work on, and they will reflect on my mark. It still looked lovely, neat and presented the required elements, so I still have that going on for me.
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| What do you think? |
After a delicious chicken pie at Silva's (same as last time), I headed home to bake an apple strudel. Considering our Thanksgiving dinner had been cancelled the previous week, it got postponed to this past Thursday. With two small turkeys with gravy on the side, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, corn, bread, salad and cranberry sauce, we had an amazing dinner. Like the turkeys, most of us were stuffed by the end, but there was still dessert to be served. So I sliced the strudel (in a very messy way, to pay tribute to my name) and served it with vanilla ice cream on the side, with the apple syrup on top. One of our hostess' claimed it to be SOULGASMIC! She should patent the word. I am proud to say it was that good hehehe.
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| Soulgasmic Apple Strudel |
Sleep came easy that night, after some turkey and wine. On Friday, we found ourselves food hunting in the Borough Market. I have to say, it is one of my favorite places in London. Great food, great ambiance and some of the cities hidden treasures. If you haven't been, please check it out!!! I was surprised to know that my friend hadn't been to the Tower Bridge, as she's come here often, so we walked next to the Thames River and headed to the bridge. The cold was turning unbearable but the view was breathtaking. I filled my tummy with caramelized peanuts and we headed to Covent Garden to see the beautiful Christmas Tree they have right in front of the Apple Market in the plaza. We browsed around, took pictures and headed home. I have to thank Prachi, as I made use of my dining table in the proper way (not hosting wine nights) and enjoyed dinner (with wine on the side of course!)
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| "Oh Christmas Tree! Oh Christmas Tree! Of all the trees, most lovely!" |
Saturday I spent most of my day at home, working on my portfolio and in the evening, we visited the Christmas Market in Southbank. It was absolutely beautiful. So far, no Christmas Market compares to the one set up in Montreux, Switzerland, but this was nice enough. Some mulled wine kept us warm as we walked around looking at what the stalls have to offer. Between four, we shared mushrooms, roasted potatoes and salted beef. It was so good!!! But we needed something sweet. After discussing what to have, we decided to share a chimney cake. It tasted like a sweet pretzel, but it was much softer. I suggest you head down to the market and try one. It was really good. In the end, the cold was too much so we left.
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| Christmas Market in Southbank, London |
Check it out:
Southbank Centre Christmas Market
16 Nov – 24 Dec 2012
(11am – 10pm MO - FR / SA & SU 10am – 10pm)
Sunday came with blazing sunshine and we decided we needed to be outside. The sun was lovely, but the cold still ruled. We walked to the Camden Market, where we had lunch, and I gave a short tour of the place, as it is too big!!! The day passed in a blur and my mood had darkened. I guess I'm truly realizing I'll be leaving soon and it's kind of a depressing thought. So how to cheer myself up? In the supermarket, we met up with two friends, bought cheese, wine and a lovely, miniature Christmas tree. It's been a dream of mine to someday decorate my house for Christmas, but considering I won't be here, the only solution was a miniature tree. I also bought movies and we stayed up watching two.
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| Christmas Time Wine Night |
Monday knocked on my window today, with busy people chattering away and hurrying to catch the bus in the rain. The sky's cleared up a bit, from what I can see from my window. With this, I take my leave. Gotta finish that portfolio and study, study, study!!! Tomorrow we have our Theory Exam!!! We'll see how it goes. Wish us luck!!!
Until next time.
xx
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