Shortbread

A very awkward thing happened to me today. It was the sort of awkward that usually only happens in cheesy teen movies. A boy that I was previously seeing occasionally (and is now ignoring me for no given reason) sent me a little message asking me out for a drink. Against my better judgment (and that of my best friend) I replied casually saying I was busy tonight but sometime during the week a catch up would be nice. So there I was feeling all smug (they always come groveling back!!) and he sends me another message saying that the text wasn't for me but another friend, and he is incredibly busy at the moment. I couldn't believe it! It was so incredibly embarrassing that all I could do was laugh. My Nanny once told me not to take life to seriously (I took this advice very seriously) and this was the perfect moment to apply this. I took a long shower, composed myself, thought of all the rude things I could send to him and then replied with a friendly "Have a lovely week then". I wanted to hold onto the scraps of dignity I had left. It was actually quite awful, but I thought I'd share it with you so someone could enjoy the comedic value.

Apart from that life is just plodding along quite beautifully. I feel excited about life everyday. Its not that anything that amazing is happening on a day to day level, but things are starting to fall into place. I finally feel like I'm doing the things that I'm meant to be doing. Its all starting to make sense. I feel the things I want out of life (like a career in cooking and writing) are achievable and its such a good feeling. I feel much more grounded. There is such a freedom that comes with this. No longer do I feel obliged to do 'what everyone else is doing' just to fit in. I know what I want, and I set about getting it.

Last night I went to a nice bar called Bimbo's. Its on Brunswick street if you ever want to check it out. The whole set up is pretty funky. Its a huge room filled with couches and there is an amazing rooftop bar. Its quite beautiful really. Anyway the reason why I tell you all this (and there is a reason) is that they do really yummy pizza for four dollars. The selection is huge, and they are really simplistic and rustic. They even have a few desert pizza's with chocolate on them.

Tomorrow at cooking school we are making Sacher Torte and a Raspberry Mousse Cake. The Mouse cake should be beautiful. They are both incredibly rich and much too sweet for my liking, but still its so lovely to bake cakes. It just feels so good. All the whipping of eggs, sifting of flour, and mixing together. Its like a little meditation or a spiritual chant. I'm looking forward to the holidays when I have more time for cake baking. I love to bake alone (it gets really hectic in class at times with 20 people in there all burning there chocolate and cutting their fingers off and what not) and just think. You really go somewhere else.

We are also making a really simple shortbread at school tomorrow. Its very yummy and looks quite nice when its dipped in chocolate.

Shortbread

You will need:
125g soft butter
60g caster sugar
125g plain flour
60g rice flour
100g dark chocolate

What to do:
Cream the butter and sugar (that just means whisk it lots with an electric beater until the colour lightens. You will notice the difference)

Sift in the flours.

Give it a good mix and roll it into a ball

Wrap it up and put it in the fridge for 15 minutes (this makes it easier to work with)

Take it out of the fridge and place it between two sheets of baking paper (this means you can roll it out without having to add any flour. That way the consistency doesn't change at all.)

Roll out dough. Cut into 2cm by 5cm strips, or use cookie cutters to make shapes

Prick with a fork.

Bake in a moderate oven for ten to fifteen minutes

Melt your chocolate in a metal bowl over a pot of simmering water

When your shortbread is cooked and cooled dip half of each one in the chocolate and sit aside to set

Serve with a big pot of english breakfast eat.