Life Things

Winter is starting to creep in, and its filling me with so much joy. On my days off my housemate and I are going for bike rides through the cold crisp air to visit local cafes, and at night warming dinners are being cooked to accompany rich red wines. I always think everything feels just a little bit more special in winter. To me winter feels like everyday is sunday, it just has this glorious sleepy feeling to it where you could stay in bed reading all day or potter around the house for hours while drinking tea. 

This week I've decided to embark on a few new projects. Im going to made some ginger beer and apple cider. I'll keep you posted with how they both go. I've also been considering a woodwork project, to make a apple crate for my bike. I've never really done wood work, so I pre-emptively feel a little sorry for whoever serves me at the hardware. I'm really going to bombard them with questions. 

My little vegetable patch is coming along nicely. Im really enjoying learning all about growing food, and watching how the seasons take effect on the different plants. I bought a whole heap of ornamental kales to plant in my front garden from a new nursery that opened up not far from my house. Just as a side note, I would like to add that the nursery was stocked with not only glorious plants but also the pretties lovelies boys to help serve. I felt so very grateful for the wealth of knowledge my father has been pouring out to me about growing plants, so that I could go in and not look silly. 

I best be off, I have all my projects to start on, a pot of tea waiting for me and some very good books to read.

Easter Treats

It is Easter weekend and I've been having such a lovely and interesting time working out what that means to me. My life these days does not include much organised religion (disorganised however sounds so much more lovely, and I envisage it including much more wine and cake?) however I feel its a shame to miss out on all the celebrations. People who know me well will know I have such a fondness for rituals and tradition. Growing up in and around churches meant that lots of different traditions were woven in my day to do life, and as an adult I found I needed to work out how to integrate my own rituals into my life. Some of these traditions are silly, like believing that on sunday you can eat whatever treats you want without any ramifications (a lot of chocolate gets eaten before breakfast, and I have been known to drink a whole bowl of coffee.) While others involve special places I go with my friends once a fortnight for breakfast and a shopping trips. A lot of my traditions revolve around ethical purchasing of food,  such as going specifically to an artisan bakery for bread, supporting local farmers by buying my vegetables at local organic stores, or buying wine from my favourite cellar. These tiny things bring beauty and significance to daily life and I love the routine of visiting all these different places to buy treats. 

This year I wanted to celebrate Easter with the people I care about without having to buy a heap of mass produced chocolate. So this is what I did. Firstly, I made my own hot cross buns, which is something I do every year. I left them in my house for the whole household to eat. Next instead of giving chocolate I made jam and gave it to friends as gifts. It was so nice to have a token of celebration without needing much more than strawberries, sugar, jars and a bit of time. And lastly of course, there were feasts. Over the weekend I got together with different friends at different points and just enjoyed each others company, some good food and a decent amount of good wine. 

After all these celebrations I was left feeling so full and blessed. What are your Easter traditions? Hope they are lovely and filling your heart up to the very top. 

Luxury Time

Lets have a little chat about the idea of luxury. This year I've taken a little step away from the conventional burn out pace of chef life to do a little more freelance style work. I work for a few places designing cake flavours or baking new recipes for them to sell. A lot of time is taken up simply riffling through old cook books and magazines and dreaming up the sort of cakes I feel like making that week. Its pretty great, I'm not going to lie. The best thing about this lifestyle though is that I have free time, something that last year I next to never had. "I'm so tired" became my catch phrase last year, and has now been replaced by statements such as "Shall I ride my bike to the shops and buy some wine?", "Do you want to come over for dinner", "I read this amazing book", and "I think I'll take up french lessons." Its glorious to say the least. 

This life at first took a little getting used to after being a wee bit of a workaholic. I really had to sit myself down a few times (with a glass of wine) and sternly tell myself to relax. So thats exactly what Im doing (right now at 8am in the morning drinking coffee and eating the chocolate chip cookies I blogged about in my last post....delicious.) 

Learning how to stop is a big deal. Learning to accept the beautiful different phases of your life is important. Sitting on the other side of a relationship (yeah yeah, again) and simply saying "well at least I have more time now, and I can eat cookies in bed without judgment" is so damn precious. So this is what I plan to do for a while now. Winter is settling in in Melbourne, and I must say, I am one content lady. Im going to spend the next few months doing all the things 'busy me' couldn't do, like growing a garden and reading books on wine making. 

Hope your feeling glorious and luxurious today too. 

Chocolate Oat Cookies

There are few things in life that can't be cured by a warm batch of cookies baked at home. In my short twenty four years of life, I have been baking cookies to cure all sorts of sadness. When our family dog died, I baked cookies for my sister and I. We ate them all, drank tea and grieved slowly together. As I have watched relationships flow into my life and once again flow out, I have baked cookies in the middle of the sadness and wiped away a spare tear. One long winter in Melbourne where it felt like the cold had seeped right into my bones, I made cookies twice a week, and would sit at the kitchen bench icing them with intricate patterns until I felt cheered by all the beautiful colours and could get on with my day. 

The problem with cookies however, is that they are not a bullet proof plan. Having the ability bake hundreds of different varieties and flavours doesn't actually protect you from the storms in life. I learnt this over the last six months while I have been absent from the blogging world. Life has just been a little interesting and I (along with my cookie baking skill) just had to take cover for a while. 

Today after work, as I stood in my little kitchen in need of something. I pulled out the flour, I found some oats, dark chocolate and a few other bits and pieces. It was time to make some cookies. After I put them in the oven, ate a decent amount of cookie dough, brewed some tea and procrastinated a lot, I decided it was time to get back to this little blog, and all of you my dear readers and friends. 

So thanks for not minding too much while I went on hiatus, and disappeared on a short journey of the soul. I promise to be about a lot more now, with recipes and stories of good times. 

Much love, Cherry

Chocolate Oat Cookies

150g butter
1/2 cup of sugar
1 egg
1 cup of plain flour
1/2 tsp of baking powder
2 cups of rolled oats
1 cup of dark chocolate chips

Method:

1. In an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until pale and light
2. Slowly add the egg, scraping down the sides as you go.
3. Add the flour, baking powder and oats.
4. Stir in the chocolate chips.
5. Roll into balls, and press down slightly on a baking tray lined with grease proof paper. 
6. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 for 11 minutes or until lightly golden. 

Buttered Grapes

So recently I had a parting of ways. I ended things, it was not mutual, it was probably not on the happiest of terms, but alas it was time for things to end. We both gave it a decent crack and put in a lot of hard work, still however things just didn't feel right. I may have said a few "It's YOU not me" comments, but this is irrelevant.

Before you go jumping to conclusions and presuming that somewhere in amongst my busy life I have managed to fit in a secret love with one of the usual suspects (actor/writer/chef/singer/wine maker/director/some ridiculous creative type) I'll set the record straight. I have not been going through a break up. I have however left a job, which I had very high hopes for.

Being the person I am, and seeing things the way I do, I treated leaving a job in the same way I often treat parting of ways with a significant other (to me food, cooking and romance are all the same so its hard for me to distinguish between any of them.)

I may have shed a few tears, I may have drank one too many glass' of wine, and I may have hashed over the details repetitively with my friends and family. Lets be honest, the whole experience shook me so much that I couldn't stand to bake a single cake, or even look at a Donna Hay magazine. I was too heart broken.

Like any good heart break, your life becomes shaken up enough to take a good look at who you are and where you are going. After three years of working pretty nonstop at culinary school, and a five star hotel, I realised that I was pretty tired. I also realised that if I kept working so much I would start to loose my love of food. Too many chefs work themselves into the ground, only to forget why they are actually in this industry.  I totally had one of those huge 'Wow maybe I've got this all wrong" moments, where I realised that life is speeding past me very very quickly, and unless I start doing the things I want, and taking time to enjoy it, very soon I will miss these moments. Don't get me wrong, Im not saying in any way that I don't love being a chef, I'm just saying I think I love being a person more.

So here is what I plan on doing. First of all I have taken a job at a really cute little cafe right down the road from my house, which means no more 4am starts and 12 hour days without a break. Next I have taken a very long nap (actually I napped for a good part of a week), and now it is time to extend all this loveliness to you, my readers. I want to take some time to actually make some food I love (simply because I love it)

and share it with you. I want to tell you about all the glorious things going on in my kitchen, be it a lovely bottle of wine I'm drinking, some flowers I've planted in my back yard, a wonderful tattoo I got on my ankle (yes mum I got another tattoo), how wonderful my friends are, all the dinner parties Im planning on hosting, and just how damn good it is to be alive. So if you're up for all this, then so am I! Welcome to my rebranded blog. Welcome to my rebranded new little life. Welcome to nonstop wonderfulness.

Doughnuts!

So this is the new year. It seems to be a year of new things too. I have happily settled into a new house, a new job, a new romance, with a couple of new cook books for inspiration and a new bike. Everything seems so exciting and fresh. I am about to endeavour on a whole year of bold adventures, and Im pretty thrilled. 

I have been promising a doughnut recipe for sometime now. I'm pretty keen on making doughnuts these days. I actually haven't made any for about two weeks and today I had such a craving for them. 

The recipe comes from a book called "Doughnuts, simple and delicious recipes to make at home." Its one of my new favourite books. I found the following recipe on a great blog called 'Leite's Culinarie' Hope you enjoy it. 

GLAZED DOUGHNUTS RECIPE

• Quick Glance
•  1 H
•  3 H, 30 M
•  Makes 8 to 14 treats

Want it? Click it.

INGREDIENTS

• For the doughnuts
• 3 tablespoons active dry yeast
• 1 cup whole milk, heated to 110˚F (43°C)
• 2 to 2 1/2 cups bread flour, plus more for the work surfface
• 2 tablespoons superfine sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 large egg yolks
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• For the sugar glaze
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted to remove any lumps
• 3 to 4 tablespoons milk or water
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (optional)
• For the chocolate glaze
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons milk or water
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (optional)

DIRECTIONS

• Make the doughnuts
• 1. In a medium bowl, dissolve 2 tablespoons of the yeast in 3/4 cup of the warm milk. Stir in 3/4 cup of the flour to create a smooth paste. Cover and let rest in a warm spot for 30 minutes.
• 2. Combine the remaining warm milk and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the flour mixture along with the sugar, salt, vanilla, and egg yolks. Mix until smooth. Turn off the mixer and add 1/2 cup of the remaining flour. Mix on low for about 30 seconds. Add the butter and mix until it becomes incorporated, about 30 seconds. Switch to a dough hook and, with the mixer turned off, add more flour, about 1/4 cup at a time. Knead the dough on medium speed between additions until the dough pulls completely away from the sides of the bowl and is smooth and not too sticky. It will be very soft and moist, but not so sticky that you can’t roll it out. (You may have flour left over.) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours.
• 3. Line a baking sheet with a lightly floured dish towel. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/2 inch thick. With a doughnut or cookie cutter, cut out 3-inch-diameter rounds with 1-inch-diameter holes. (Note: If making filled doughnuts, clearly, don’t cut out the holes.) You can re-roll the scraps and cut out additional holes.
• 4. Place the doughnuts at least 1 inch apart on the baking sheet and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rest in a warm spot to proof until they almost double in size, 5 to 20 minutes, peeking every five minutes. To test whether the dough is ready, touch it lightly with a fingertip. If it springs back immediately, it needs more time. If it springs back slowly, it is ready. If it doesn’t spring back at all, it has over-proofed, in which case you can punch it down and re-roll it once.
• 5. While the doughnuts are proofing, heat a heavy-bottomed pot with at least 2 inches of oil until a deep-fat thermometer registers 360˚F (182°C). With a metal spatula, carefully place a couple of doughnut holes or doughnuts in the oil, being careful not to crowd the pot. Fry for 1 to 2 minutes per side, until light golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain on a wire rack over a paper towel, and let cool slightly before glazing. Repeat with the remaining doughnuts and holes, keeping the temperature consistent.
• Make the glaze
• 6. Whichever glaze you’re making, place the sugar (and cocoa powder, if relevant) in a bowl and slowly stir in the milk and vanilla, if using, a little at a time, to make a smooth, pourable glaze.
• Glaze the doughnuts
• 7. Pour the glaze into a shallow bowl. Dunk the doughnuts, let any excess glaze drip off, and then transfer them to a wire rack placed on a baking sheet or over a sheet of parchment paper to rest until glaze sets. (Who are we kidding? We know these glazed doughnuts are going straight from bowl to gaping mouth.)

Doughnut time!

Life has been changing so much lately. Suddenly everything is different and I have been flung head first into the festive season. I am constantly running around at the moment, covered in flour, with chocolate on my face, just trying to fit everything in....and make time for some sneaky afternoon wines. 

I've been having so much fun working at 'Little Cupcakes' once a week baking treats and coming up with new cupcake recipes. This week I made pecan pie cupcakes which were pretty delicious. I may have eaten one or two of them while cleaning up after my shift. 

Another pretty exciting thing is that one of my friends is having a little baby pretty soon. Its so strange to think that a little version of two of my favourite people is about to come into the world and grow into being an adult. One of the chefs at work recently asked me if I wanted to have a baby anytime soon. I looked at him shocked and said "What are you talking about?! Im still a baby myself!" He laughed at me a lot. 

Today I had a glorious time making doughnuts. They are for a little project Im helping out with. They really are pretty delicious. I was so excited to cover them in sprinkles and take some photos. Im pretty happy with how they turned out and I'm looking forward to trying out a few different variations and coming up with new flavours.  

Work has recently handed over the responsibility of the 'official macaroon maker of the hotel.' This is wonderful and frustrating all at once. Who knew that a tiny cookie could bring so much joy and fear? The days I make huge batches of them, I look forward to so much, but when I put them in the oven I silent prayers of "Please do not crack! Please form proper feet! Please please work!"

Today is my day off and I have 100 recipes to practice and ideas to work on, so I must depart. I promise to put up a doughnut recipe soon. 

Much love to all my readers!