tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37249856657432774702023-11-16T10:57:36.728-05:00Just Like A WomanCelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871879969054133260noreply@blogger.comBlogger107125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724985665743277470.post-19800464852143000042015-10-29T21:07:00.001-04:002015-10-29T21:11:56.681-04:00Brain CakeI'm still alive and kicking. I made a brain cake (red velvet cake, with fondant and raspberry jam) for my birthday dinner this Halloween. Cheers!<br />
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Celhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871879969054133260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724985665743277470.post-33591602503395033422015-06-08T12:07:00.000-04:002015-06-08T12:07:04.802-04:00Arrowhead ParkI'm close to quite a few provincial parks here and I'm planning to take full advantage during my time here. On my last day off, I headed off to Arrowhead Park to walk some of their trails and revisit places I hadn't been since I was a young girl.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/18419427719" title="June 4 2015 A by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="June 4 2015 A" height="800" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8895/18419427719_f3ce57fd2c_c.jpg" width="600" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/18419421989" title="June 4 2015 B by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="June 4 2015 B" height="800" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/420/18419421989_076e2b211f_c.jpg" width="600" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/18417861908" title="June 4 2015 C by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="June 4 2015 C" height="480" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8830/18417861908_74b898bc2f_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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I camped here with my father, cousin and some family friends when I was young. It's one of my fonder memories of adventuring as a child and it was interesting coming back again after so long. Shockingly, when we were here, we were swimming at the head of these falls which now have NO SWIMMING signs everywhere haha...<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/18419442059" title="June 4 2015 E by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="June 4 2015 E" height="800" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/428/18419442059_be6a8af5eb_c.jpg" width="600" /></a>
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<span class="">I only met one elderly couple while there, but it was a week day and school isn't out yet. I can just imagine how many people must be here on weekends in July and August. I'm glad I was able to enjoy it mostly to myself.</span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/18417939508" title="June 4 2015 H by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="June 4 2015 H" height="480" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8839/18417939508_691c2f544c_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/18418026900" title="June 4 2015 I by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="June 4 2015 I" height="800" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8876/18418026900_700954cb40_c.jpg" width="600" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/18601186802" title="June 4 2015 J by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="June 4 2015 J" height="480" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/268/18601186802_bab2f90be5_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/17985086463" title="June 4 2015 K by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="June 4 2015 K" height="800" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/350/17985086463_dcebefaf35_c.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
There were a lot of little side trails I would have loved to explore but the bugs got really bad after the falls and it was all I could do to keep my sanity. Despite multiple reapplications of bug spray, I was still being bit and dive bombed. Not to mention it was hot and humid and I was getting uncomfortable. I think I'll have to buy some bike shorts to wear under my usual clothes if I hope to walk anywhere more than half an hour or so. *sigh*<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/18607888751" title="June 4 2015 L by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="June 4 2015 L" height="800" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/557/18607888751_755e380eca_c.jpg" width="600" /></a>
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All that being said, it was still a lovely little nature walk and I'm so glad I went. It was a beautiful day and it felt so good to be under the trees again. Cheers!Celhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871879969054133260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724985665743277470.post-23186055056126683382015-05-29T08:57:00.002-04:002015-05-29T08:57:56.770-04:00Diploma Number Two!Wednesday the 27th I graduated from college with honours in a two year diploma in Culinary Management. It seems like yesterday that I was applying to the program, I almost can't believe it's over.<br />
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This last semester was incredibly intense and stressful for me, on top of working part time on the weekends. That's largely why I've posted so little here. But now I'm done!!!<br />
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My grandmother and my parents attended the ceremony. It's the second time they see me receive a diploma. My first was back in 2008 for Library and Information Technician, which seems like a lifetime ago. I'm almost a different person.<br />
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I'm already working at a great place, utilizing everything I learned over the past two years. Likely I'll get around to sharing some of what I do here eventually. Cheers!Celhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871879969054133260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724985665743277470.post-49764086122837339402015-05-18T14:33:00.001-04:002015-05-18T15:04:56.676-04:00Nature Walkin'Now that I've started working again (yaaay!) I've been pretty busy, but I got a few days off and the first thing I did was go on a little nature walk in the nearby trails. It was a gorgeous warm day with lovely sunshine and it was nice to get out and smell the green freshness of all the growing things.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/17803201386" title="May 17 2015 H by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="May 17 2015 H" height="800" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5443/17803201386_4c7a41d47e_c.jpg" width="600" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/17829468145" title="May 17 2015 G by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="May 17 2015 G" height="426" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8785/17829468145_5e72434891_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/17641902970" title="May 17 2015 F by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="May 17 2015 F" height="426" src="https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7724/17641902970_fa75bce99f_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
You can just barely see the momma spider and her egg sac (round white sphere) in the last photo. I heard her before I saw her, since she was a pretty big and made quite a lot of noise as she ran over the ground of the open field. Of course I had to stop and compliment her on her lovely egg sac and wish her the best with her little young ones.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/17829436825" title="May 17 2015 E by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="May 17 2015 E" height="800" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8865/17829436825_a40398c1ae_c.jpg" width="600" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/17208948583" title="May 17 2015 A by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="May 17 2015 A" height="427" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8864/17208948583_e7b7beaafe_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/17829347325" title="May 17 2015 B by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="May 17 2015 B" height="800" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5343/17829347325_f0fa36579a_c.jpg" width="600" /></a>
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At one point I'd almost totally lost the trail, it was barely marked and I was just about to turn around. As I was doing that, I happened to look down and see this snail! He was just slowly oozing his way along and I had nearly stepped on it. I love a good cute snail, so I snapped a few photos and then covered it with a leaf before leaving to make certain nothing spied it and made a quick snack of it. Cheers!Celhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871879969054133260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724985665743277470.post-64311446234300156642015-04-23T14:52:00.000-04:002015-04-23T14:52:54.898-04:00Tart TimeI'm visiting a friend to meet her new baby girl this evening, and I made this sweet treat to bring along. It's a basic flaky sweet tart crust, with a dark chocolate mousse and cinnamon poached pears drizzled with dark chocolate. Num!<br />
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/16627171383" title="Chocolate mousse and poached pear tart A by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Chocolate mousse and poached pear tart A" height="480" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7625/16627171383_3b5a238f3d_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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If it tastes half as good as it looks, it will be so delicious. Goodness knows the mousse is tasty, I practically licked the bowl clean after filling the crust heh. It's great to finally have the time to do this sort of thing again, I've missed baking. I used <a href="http://www.savorysimple.net/chocolate-mousse-poached-pear-tart/">this recipe</a>, it's super simple and makes more than plenty of everything for a big round pie despite the recipe being for a rectangular mold. Cheers!Celhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871879969054133260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724985665743277470.post-22994852597523446122015-04-22T12:57:00.000-04:002015-04-22T12:57:05.965-04:00Abandoned WanderingsI'm finally finished school - for good. Immediately I went to go spend a week with my honey on his job site. He's rebuilding a huge wrap-around deck in the muskokas, the boards of which had rotted in the shade, so he's had to trim all the surrounding trees, rip up the rotted wood and put down all new joists and decking. While he did all this work, I spent my time relaxing, reading, exploring and cooking.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/17048359230" title="April 13-17 2015 L by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="April 13-17 2015 L" height="800" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7629/17048359230_13833b3d53_c.jpg" width="600" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/17235923095" title="April 13-17 2015 N by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="April 13-17 2015 N" height="800" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7683/17235923095_2ee0ece6ee_c.jpg" width="600" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/17028421357" title="April 13-17 2015 B by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="April 13-17 2015 B" height="480" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8732/17028421357_652dd062bc_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/17235291771" title="April 13-17 2015 A by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="April 13-17 2015 A" height="800" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7673/17235291771_044e83679a_c.jpg" width="600" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/17028484597" title="April 13-17 2015 M by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="April 13-17 2015 M" height="800" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8796/17028484597_7cd29b4ec8_c.jpg" width="600" /></a>
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The area he's working in is just gorgeous and I spent a good chunk of time wandering around through the old muskoka houses left half-abandoned. Families with too much money leave these big old houses badly shut up for winter and then squirrels get in and make a nightmare of the place - but they don't care because maids come in each summer to make it all disappear for the weekend or two they might spend there.<br />
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/17049713059" title="April 13-17 2015 J by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="April 13-17 2015 J" height="800" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7649/17049713059_f04c00df67_c.jpg" width="600" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/17049718419" title="April 13-17 2015 K by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="April 13-17 2015 K" height="800" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7607/17049718419_fe4e4aaa94_c.jpg" width="600" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/16615669593" title="April 13-17 2015 G by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="April 13-17 2015 G" height="800" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7695/16615669593_c2ffc51f79_c.jpg" width="600" /></a>
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I like being in old homes, the smell of them, the strange sense that you can still feel the generations of people who stayed there. This one house in particular was built before there were even roads in to the place, its owners had to boat everything in on the lake, which is just mind boggling. Unfortunately its current owners have little respect to all the history, and effort that went into the place.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/17209913746" title="April 13-17 2015 F by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="April 13-17 2015 F" height="800" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7659/17209913746_b692a893a8_c.jpg" width="600" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/16613421274" title="April 13-17 2015 E by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="April 13-17 2015 E" height="800" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8728/16613421274_0ccd333320_c.jpg" width="600" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/17028452527" title="April 13-17 2015 H by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="April 13-17 2015 H" height="800" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7599/17028452527_3d6862c2a0_c.jpg" width="577" /></a></div>
While a lot of the snow has melted away, the lakes are still mostly choked up with rotten ice. Little creaks and streams are sprouting up everywhere, rushing with spring melt. When the sun is out and you're out of the wind, it can be deliciously warm but the nights are still quite cold and the wind nips at bare skin.<br />
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<a href="https://instagram.com/p/1i50IkH7nz/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_top">A photo posted by Célynne (@cosmicspider31)</a> on <time datetime="2015-04-16T18:10:17+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Apr 16, 2015 at 11:10am PDT</time></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/17235305641" title="April 13-17 2015 C by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="April 13-17 2015 C" height="800" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7724/17235305641_15e060a21c_c.jpg" width="600" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/17049681119" title="April 13-17 2015 D by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="April 13-17 2015 D" height="800" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7634/17049681119_61e2914bdb_c.jpg" width="600" /></a>
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It feels like real spring will never get here, I'm still amazed at being able to see the ground. Spring has a habit of just showing up overnight here, you go to sleep and it's cold and miserable and grey and you wake to a world sprouting with green life. Hopefully that day comes soon! Cheers!
Celhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871879969054133260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724985665743277470.post-89089891684895808782015-04-06T11:51:00.004-04:002015-04-06T11:53:00.868-04:00That InstagramI suppose it's finally time that I got myself an Instragram account, now that I have acquired a phone capable of posting to it. You can follow me at @cosmicspider31 Mostly it's silly selfies with animals, photos of food and other snapshots of my rather bland life, but eh!<br />
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<a href="https://instagram.com/p/06N6ilH7jt/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_top">A photo posted by Célynne (@cosmicspider31)</a> on <time datetime="2015-03-31T22:57:03+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Mar 31, 2015 at 3:57pm PDT</time></div>
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<script async="" defer="" src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>Celhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871879969054133260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724985665743277470.post-83375642053089590252015-03-23T19:05:00.001-04:002015-03-23T19:05:38.560-04:00LostI've been insanely busy lately... Classes five days a week, and working both days of the weekend, and I essentially have no time to myself anymore. It's running me ragged, to be honest. I haven't seen my honey since the end of February, and likely won't see him again until April. I have no spare money to speak of, despite my job. I'm stressed, and tired, and worn thin. I try not to live in a state of 'I just want this to be over' but seriously, I just want this period of my life to be over. I know it's only temporary and things will slow down again in a month or so but that doesn't change how difficult this is for me right now. The last time I felt this way was working at Camp Wabun last summer and that just destroyed me, so I'm eager to be done with this phase. A few more weeks and I'll be done college, and leave my part time job to take a few weeks off before beginning my next job. *sigh* Why does our species insist on doing so much and everything at the same time?Celhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871879969054133260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724985665743277470.post-67812646859957652132015-02-17T20:45:00.001-05:002015-02-17T20:45:17.222-05:00Vintage MinkMy honey gifted me this gorgeous vintage mink stole over Valentine weekend. It was actually his mother's and - I'm still shocked by this - his sister was going to throw it out! So he snatched it up and made it a gift to me. I wore it out for Valentine's Day dinner and felt like an old time movie starlet.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/16378248388" title="Feb 14 2015 by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Feb 14 2015" height="800" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7298/16378248388_cf5ee8d786_c.jpg" width="533" /></a></div>
We had a wonderful, dreamy, romantic time together. I couldn't have asked for more... Cheers!Celhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871879969054133260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724985665743277470.post-13302411199406919322015-02-10T17:50:00.000-05:002015-02-10T17:50:02.258-05:00Something's FishyWe're still in terrine and tray mode in Garde Manger class - thankfully next week we switch over to sausages and charcuterie. Today we made poached trout in court bouillon, and scallop mousseline terrines on mirrors with tray garnishes of our choice.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/16494268011" title="Poached salmon and scallop mousseline C by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Poached salmon and scallop mousseline C" height="480" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7391/16494268011_d6e8d11c6a_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/16309733059" title="Poached salmon and scallop mousseline B by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Poached salmon and scallop mousseline B" height="480" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8575/16309733059_06eb1697b2_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/15873442544" title="Poached salmon and scallop mousseline A by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Poached salmon and scallop mousseline A" height="480" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8587/15873442544_7fc2085563_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
I made the little choux pastry garnishes for our tray, it's so simple and quick, and with little discs of the scallop mousseline and some parsley mayonnaise, they were actually quite tasty. Giving the trout a little hot pepper to hold in its mouth also amused me to no end. Plus now I know that mousseline is what the little fish balls in phò soup are made of and I can now make my own. Eureka! Cheers!Celhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871879969054133260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724985665743277470.post-50894913432878966062015-02-03T18:42:00.001-05:002015-02-03T18:42:28.987-05:00Salmon Mousse Terrine and Chaud-FroidWe're in the terrine phase of our Garde-Manger class and today was salmon mousse terrines on decorated chaud-froid. That's just a fancy way of saying gelatinized salmon and cream, on velouté sauce with more gelatin. So. Much. Gelatin.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/16437845432" title="Jan 3 2015 D by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Jan 3 2015 D" height="800" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7296/16437845432_d29275a5fe_c.jpg" width="600" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/16437010851" title="Jan 3 2015 A by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Jan 3 2015 A" height="800" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7443/16437010851_3833dcfe5d_c.jpg" width="600" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/16252875807" title="Jan 3 2015 C by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Jan 3 2015 C" height="480" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7393/16252875807_57804698b6_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/16251371980" title="Jan 3 2015 B by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Jan 3 2015 B" height="480" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7419/16251371980_0b18a140b5_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
My partner and I had fun making our undersea scene with little carrot fish and dill seaweeds. The only bummer is I botched the clean whiteness of the chaud-froid with some dark aspic instead of the clear gelatin glaze Chef had prepared for that purpose. Ah well! We still got 84% and I am quite happy. Cheers!Celhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871879969054133260noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724985665743277470.post-55050764256142655242015-01-28T16:59:00.000-05:002015-01-28T16:59:18.920-05:00Quickly NowThis is a pretty horrible photo in terms of quality, but I loved my outfit today. I just felt really cute and happy, so I decided to quickly snap a few shots and take what I could get.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/16203615580" title="Jan 28 2015 by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Jan 28 2015" height="800" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7448/16203615580_67fc065425_c.jpg" width="534" /></a></div>
The only things missing are earrings, because I somehow left the house without any today, which is odd for me. Early mornings make my brain all foggy, I guess. Cheers!Celhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871879969054133260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724985665743277470.post-90351965013510299402015-01-24T19:51:00.000-05:002015-01-24T19:51:40.414-05:00Sticky Toffee PuddingI was making the sticky toffee pudding, with roasted banana ice cream and candied pecans for the restaurant at the college this week. I'm very happy with how the little puddings came out, as well as the plating. Making little 'cookie' bowls for the ice cream is always fun and easy, too.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/16358286442" title="Jan 23 2015 Sticky toffee pudding C by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Jan 23 2015 Sticky toffee pudding C" height="480" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7446/16358286442_1534aff889_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/15736734044" title="Jan 23 2015 Sticky toffee pudding B by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Jan 23 2015 Sticky toffee pudding B" height="480" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7413/15736734044_20fc88e6e9_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/16358280182" title="Jan 23 2015 Sticky toffee pudding A by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Jan 23 2015 Sticky toffee pudding A" height="800" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7383/16358280182_5b45e9691e_c.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
There was a birthday, hence the special plate. We were out of chocolate so I just nicked some leftover ganache from another person in the bakeshop and used that to write out the letters. They're a little more blobby than I like but it did the job. Cheers!Celhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871879969054133260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724985665743277470.post-24600319115900801232015-01-22T09:52:00.001-05:002015-01-22T09:52:57.357-05:00SushiThis week we made sushi in our Garde Manger class. Not bad considering I'd never made any before! Cheers!<br />
<br a="" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/16340111832" title="Sushi Jan 20 2014 by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr" />
<img alt="Sushi Jan 20 2014" height="480" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7485/16340111832_53969a9c08_z.jpg" width="640" /> Celhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871879969054133260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724985665743277470.post-27009102045493159632015-01-11T15:38:00.000-05:002015-01-11T15:38:34.224-05:00Soup SundayI woke to a world blanketed in snow today, and it felt like a good day to make some soup. I've been meaning to make a batch of this awesome<a href="http://www.spoonforkbacon.com/2013/10/pumpkin-beer-cheese-soup/"> Pumpkin Ale Cheese Soup</a> for months now, and finally I got around to it today.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/16071447677" title="Jan 11 2015 B by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Jan 11 2015 B" height="800" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7507/16071447677_bdf2080ab3_c.jpg" width="600" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/16231390946" title="Jan 11 2015 C by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Jan 11 2015 C" height="480" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7555/16231390946_e2357934cf_z.jpg" width="640" /></a> </div>
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I always like to add a little more pumpkin puree than the recipe asks - 2/3 of a cup just doesn't seem like enough to me - to give it that added little pumpkin kick. With smoked paprika and dry mustard in here, the flavours need to be robust enough to stand up to those spices.</div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/15637406643" title="Jan 11 2015 A by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Jan 11 2015 A" height="480" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8635/15637406643_21a3984068_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>
Now I'm going to enjoy some soup! Cheers!Celhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871879969054133260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724985665743277470.post-78692143661362454012015-01-10T11:08:00.000-05:002015-01-10T11:08:10.993-05:00New MenuWe have a new menu for this semester in the restaurant and we all got together in the kitchen last night to cook and bake up all the dishes - and then stuff ourselves silly eating them. The idea was that we'd all know what they looked like and how they're supposed to taste.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/16060399607" title="Jan 9 2015 E by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Jan 9 2015 E" height="480" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8640/16060399607_46633e086d_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/16058699358" title="Jan 9 2015 A by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Jan 9 2015 A" height="480" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7488/16058699358_1ccba11c3e_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/15626359603" title="Jan 9 2015 C by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Jan 9 2015 C" height="640" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7508/15626359603_040482f326_z.jpg" width="480" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/16244389651" title="Jan 9 2015 G by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Jan 9 2015 G" height="480" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8655/16244389651_611bf27663_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/16244388291" title="Jan 9 2015 F by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Jan 9 2015 F" height="480" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7556/16244388291_458a7cbb57_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>
I didn't manage to get photos of everything, unfortunately some stuff got eaten before I had a chance, like most of the main course proteins. But ah well!<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/15623824984" title="Jan 9 2015 D by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Jan 9 2015 D" height="640" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8596/15623824984_eb70bd83fe_z.jpg" width="480" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/15626358613" title="Jan 9 2015 B by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Jan 9 2015 B" height="480" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7495/15626358613_9bb4f967c6_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/16246245885" title="Jan 9 2015 H by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Jan 9 2015 H" height="640" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7501/16246245885_1410a42a1a_z.jpg" width="480" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/16060114749" title="Jan 9 2015 J by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Jan 9 2015 J" height="480" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7572/16060114749_fddbf42a77_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/16060113529" title="Jan 9 2015 I by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Jan 9 2015 I" height="480" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7522/16060113529_827c57895b_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Why our chef decided the put a bread pudding<i> and </i>a sticky pudding on the menu was beyond us but eh. I've got the beef mufalleta next week and I'll be hard-pressed to top the one made by my classmate with the onion rings. A challenge! Cheers!<i> </i>
Celhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871879969054133260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724985665743277470.post-58937867625404319032015-01-07T18:28:00.002-05:002015-01-07T18:28:45.690-05:00Holi-DazeI spent most of my holidays with my honey, eleven straight days of loving bliss. Now I'm back in school and already feeling swamped. It's nice being able to look back on some of these photos and remembering the wonderful time we shared.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/15603616734" title="Honey Holidays 2014-15 M by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Honey Holidays 2014-15 M" height="480" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7568/15603616734_f06d040369_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/16226007335" title="Honey Holidays 2014-15 L by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Honey Holidays 2014-15 L" height="640" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7533/16226007335_59e729bc7e_z.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
Before heading off to the cottage, I convinced my honey to eat ramen with me at the Momofuku Noodle Bar in Toronto. SO GOOD. Their pork buns were melt-in-your-mouth delicious, but so rich. Plus discovering my man can use chopsticks like a pro was another reason to adore him.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/15603604764" title="Honey Holidays 2014-15 J by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Honey Holidays 2014-15 J" height="480" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7568/15603604764_5736d3b922_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/16225203112" title="Honey Holidays 2014-15 K by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Honey Holidays 2014-15 K" height="480" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7577/16225203112_80eaf46782_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/16224135891" title="Honey Holidays 2014-15 i by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Honey Holidays 2014-15 i" height="480" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8598/16224135891_9971bc086f_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
I may look a tad grumpy in that last photo but it was my I'm-cooking-and-concentrating face. I made us tasty fish chowder, and tomato rice soup, and other nummy warm things to eat when it's cold and snowy outside. I even baked up a chocolate Guinness cake with cream cheese icing for my honey's son's birthday, but the lad was a bit of a grumpus (unfortunately) and there aren't any photos of that.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/16038487128" title="Honey Holidays 2014-15 H by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Honey Holidays 2014-15 H" height="480" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7513/16038487128_0d7e22645b_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/16038480628" title="Honey Holidays 2014-15 F by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Honey Holidays 2014-15 F" height="640" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8627/16038480628_7f07549268_z.jpg" width="480" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/16038484188" title="Honey Holidays 2014-15 G by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Honey Holidays 2014-15 G" height="640" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8582/16038484188_3c7341acb3_z.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
We got a good dumping of snow and the boys did quite a bit of cross country skiing while I stayed inside by the warm fire, reading and relaxing. Eventually our stay at the cottage came to an end and we have to treck back out. They skied, I followed behind on foot because I'm stubborn and feel if I were meant to ski, evolution would've given me ski-feet.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/15603578774" title="Honey Holidays 2014-15 B by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Honey Holidays 2014-15 B" height="480" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8664/15603578774_e378a08d78_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/15603585504" title="Honey Holidays 2014-15 D by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Honey Holidays 2014-15 D" height="640" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8565/15603585504_17d4372db7_z.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/16040142517" title="Honey Holidays 2014-15 C by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Honey Holidays 2014-15 C" height="640" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8607/16040142517_12febaf9e3_z.jpg" width="480" /></a>
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That's my grumpy face in the cold, and the distance across the lake we had so far traverse. Not counting the section in the forest, first... And then the way left to go!<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/16039880299" title="Honey Holidays 2014-15 E by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Honey Holidays 2014-15 E" height="640" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7472/16039880299_d919e0713c_z.jpg" width="480" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/16039867719" title="Honey Holidays 2014-15 A by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Honey Holidays 2014-15 A" height="640" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8673/16039867719_4f0aa96864_z.jpg" width="480" /></a> </div>
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While I certainly wasn't having a blast walking back out to the vehicle, our time at the cottage as a whole was wonderful. It was good to get away from civilization and enjoy some peace and quiet. I missed it soon as we were back on the busy highway again. I hope you all had wonderful holidays. Cheers!</div>
Celhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871879969054133260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724985665743277470.post-12811324499076532882014-12-20T15:49:00.000-05:002014-12-20T15:49:34.940-05:00Blue Sky<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/16065840975" title="Dec 20 2014 C by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Dec 20 2014 C" height="480" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7541/16065840975_33145e4290_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/15878546310" title="Dec 20 2014 B by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Dec 20 2014 B" height="800" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7475/15878546310_9690713260_c.jpg" width="600" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/15880060057" title="Dec 20 2014 A by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Dec 20 2014 A" height="800" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7467/15880060057_eaf49a9aaa_c.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
Celhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871879969054133260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724985665743277470.post-56059353219815729792014-12-16T14:09:00.000-05:002014-12-16T14:09:39.937-05:00Fleeting Moments<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/15851411739" title="Dec 14 2014 by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7520/15851411739_e1f96dafd5_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="Dec 14 2014"></a>Celhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871879969054133260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724985665743277470.post-87467312577533760782014-12-10T17:35:00.001-05:002014-12-10T17:35:44.026-05:00Spotted<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/15967690906" title="Dec 10 2014 by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8637/15967690906_3bd93583e8_c.jpg" width="534" height="800" alt="Dec 10 2014"></a>Celhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871879969054133260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724985665743277470.post-74763305053477317242014-12-10T12:30:00.000-05:002014-12-10T12:30:24.440-05:00SoapsMade little soaps as Christmas gifts - and a batch of green patchouli hearts for me. Technically I didn't <i>make </i>any soap, I just bought a huge block of glycerin and some essential oil scents and did the whole melt, mix, mold thing. But <i>still</i>. Semi handmade soap for the win!<br />
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/15805745449" title="Soaps Dec 9 2014 by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Soaps Dec 9 2014" height="480" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7468/15805745449_908727ea3c_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
I attempted to make little coffee scrub bars, which are those brown ones with the black stuff. I know now that I should have mixed the coffee grounds with some of the melted soap base since a lot of the grounds didn't stick, but they still turned out cute and do their job. I also used little candy molds instead of larger soap bar molds - partly because I already had candy molds - but the little shapes are just so much cuter than some boring rectangle! Cheers!Celhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871879969054133260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724985665743277470.post-22307099827201831052014-12-07T20:34:00.000-05:002014-12-07T20:34:02.110-05:00Sniff Sniff<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/15946021686" title="Dec 7 2014 B by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Dec 7 2014 B" height="800" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7552/15946021686_df9f6fc4c2_c.jpg" width="600" /></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/15352160543" title="Dec 7 2014 A by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Dec 7 2014 A" height="800" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8608/15352160543_bf1b858f92_c.jpg" width="600" /></a>Celhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871879969054133260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724985665743277470.post-13982295273678426962014-12-06T15:31:00.000-05:002014-12-06T15:31:08.390-05:00Fly Away FruitWe had a diabetic in the restaurant last night, so they couldn't eat any of our desserts. I was asked to make up a fruit plate for them, but I didn't want it to be blah and boring, either to eat or make! So I had a ball making an apple-swan and prettying up the dish with fruit and berries.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/15339259044" title="Fruit platter Dec 5 2014 by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Fruit platter Dec 5 2014" height="480" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7498/15339259044_eb0ff1116b_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>
My Chef told me the guest really loved the presentation and was very happy. Just because something is simple doesn't mean it has to be plain! Cheers!Celhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871879969054133260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724985665743277470.post-49896311288756427592014-12-04T23:24:00.001-05:002014-12-04T23:24:30.215-05:00Lovin' PavlovaI'm making the vanilla pavlova with lemon curd and fruit for the restaurant this week.<br />
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/15762475500" title="Mini pavlova and lemon curd by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Mini pavlova and lemon curd" height="480" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7532/15762475500_1b0fce2783_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>
I've very happy with my plating, and I'm glad I decided to grill the mango slices, it really helped polish things off and give it character. Cheers!Celhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871879969054133260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3724985665743277470.post-68465850355395359042014-11-25T18:08:00.000-05:002014-11-25T18:08:11.299-05:00SettlingIt's been about a month since I moved into my new home and my room finally feels properly settled. I've got glow in the dark stars on the ceiling and artwork on the walls.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/51137713@N06/15878854582" title="Nov 25, 2014 by Cosmic Spider, on Flickr"><img alt="Nov 25, 2014" height="800" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8643/15878854582_0e9abefc71_c.jpg" width="534" /></a></div>
I'm still swamped with homework but there's only two and a half more weeks of school to go. It'll be nice to have the holidays off to relax and recuperate. Cheers!Celhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17871879969054133260noreply@blogger.com0